“We never heard about people going to college,” said Barrera, who earned a bachelor's degree in human development in 2018 and a master's in public health in 2024. “If it weren’t for Upward Bound, I wouldn’t have known it was a possibility for me.”

Through Upward Bound, a program that helps low-income and first-generation high school students prepare for college, Barrera received academic support, mentoring and help with applications.  

When Barrera arrived at Cal State San Marcos, she discovered a community that was both welcoming and unfamiliar.

“I met an international student for the first time," she said. "Back home, everyone is Hispanic. It was so interesting to be in a place that celebrated diversity. The campus and the student life centers showed me that there’s a place for everyone.” 

After earning her bachelor’s, Barrera began working in health-related fields and discovered a passion for research. Returning to CSUSM for her master's helped her refine that passion and find belonging.

“That’s when I really felt seen as a Mexican-American researcher,” Barrera said.

Receiving a scholarship from the CSUSM Alumni Association was another milestone.

“The money was helpful, but more importantly, being selected was super validating,” she said.

Today, Barrera works at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., and hopes to pursue a doctorate in public health. As an employee benefit, she was able to create a will and decided to include a $10,000 scholarship for public health students at CSUSM.

“Making a will was so easy, a lot easier than I thought, and I’m extremely grateful to be in this position to give back,” Barrera said.

Supporting students like her and the public health field is at the heart of Barrera's motivation to give. Asked what she’d tell future recipients of her scholarship, she doesn’t hesitate.

“You received this scholarship for a reason," she said. "There are people out there who see your potential and have invested in it. Lean into that and trust your capabilities to do incredible things. Keep going!”

How You Can Support Future Students in Your Estate Plan

Barrera’s story is a powerful example of how anyone, at any age, can help future students thrive.

Gifts in estate plans – through wills, trusts or retirement accounts – can be changed by the donor at any time, and there are many possible planned giving options to suit your needs. Gifts at all levels make a difference for students.

“I want young people to know it’s easier than they think,” Barrera said. “Even with modest assets, you can still set up a planned gift. You don’t have to wait until later in life.”

To learn more about planned gifts, contact P. Vien Walker, director of planned giving, at 760-750-8138 or vwalker@csusm.edu, or visit plannedgiving.csusm.edu.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Each year, PLS brings a group of diverse, committed leaders who are interested in growing their skills to Washington, D.C. Throughout the program, the selected scholars collaborate and gain skills necessary to create long-lasting change. Scholars are chosen through a rigorous application and review process, based on their leadership growth potential and the strength of their personal leadership projects.

The program emphasizes four core skills: vision and communication, decision-making, persuasion, and influence and strategic partnerships. Participants explore these skills and additional lessons learned during the administrations of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson. The program's agenda includes hearing from distinguished speakers, studying methods of leadership and reviewing a variety of presidential leadership skills.

The scholars also have opportunities to develop a personal leadership project. Hampel, the vice chair of administration and finance in the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry, is developing a project titled “Connecting Minds.” The program – which aims to address the growing concern of loneliness and trauma, and its impact on mental health in students – uses behavioral health coaches and mentors to provide support, guidance and social interventions to university student peers and alumni.

Hampel started the six-month program on Jan. 24.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Honorees were nominated by faculty or staff and endorsed by their college’s dean. Here is a closer look at each award recipient:

Kodie Gerritsen, visual and performing arts and physics

President's Outstanding Graduate

Dean’s Award, College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences

Gerritsen is a double major who was lauded for their avid curiosity and adventurous scholarship.

Nominating professor Lucy HG Solomon noted that Gerritsen is not only an outstanding student, but a talented artist and a curious scientist who is engaged with the community. Since 2017, Solomon has worked closely with Gerritsen on digital art projects that tie into the environment and social justice and on interdisciplinary endeavors that combine art and science.

Among Gerritsen’s accomplishments are the work they did with Solomon on an interactive art piece called “Degenerative Cultures” that uses living organisms and artificial intelligence to comment on social networks. Gerritsen also worked on the Jaguar Umbrella Project, which included kits for schoolchildren to explain the importance of jaguars as umbrella species in the Amazon rainforest.

Gerritsen was a STEAM ambassador who designed and delivered curriculum on art and science to K-12 students, bringing craft, sculpture, color theory and the science of rainbows together in an engaging hands-on activity.

Learn more about Gerritsen’s achievements here.

Christine Briggs, literature and writing studies

Dean’s Award, Office of Graduate Studies and Research

Briggs stood out for her outstanding record of achievement in the literature and writing studies master’s program, which included presenting award-winning original research, serving as an exemplary teaching associate and addressing timely issues in the original research for her master’s thesis.

Rebecca Lush, who served as research director of Briggs’ thesis and taught her in two advanced-level courses, noted that Briggs has shown the makings of a promising research career during her time in the master’s program, and the work she produced is suitable for consideration for peer-review publication.

Briggs presented her original literary research at major national conferences and was awarded the “Best Essay” prize by the Margaret Atwood Society in 2018 for her research on the novel “Cat’s Eye,” a project that started her graduate-level work in feminist literary studies and paved the way for the methodological concerns and practices that she used in what eventually became her culminating thesis.

Sofia Davis, Master of Public Health

Dean’s Award, College of Education, Health and Human Services

Davis had a stellar academic career while also supporting friends, family and community members during the pandemic.

After earning her bachelor’s in global health from UC San Diego, Davis maintained a 4.0 grade-point average while being consistently lauded by her instructors at CSUSM.

Davis has worked as a volunteer contact tracer for the CSUSM COVID Management Team, which helps infected individuals understand the virus and care options. Her efforts help keep the campus community safe while minimizing the risk of virus transmission.

Davis also works with different agencies to help provide services and coordinate care. She has been an intern at Palomar Medical Center for seven years, including nearly four years as part of the internship’s leadership team. She has also served as a medical scribe at a family medicine clinic in Escondido, ensuring that patient needs are documented accurately as they go through care and treatment.

Davis plans to attend medical school to become a primary care pediatrician.

Zsuzsanna Dianovics, computer science and information systems

Dean’s Award, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Dianovics was honored for her exceptional academic record, undergraduate research experience, impressive leadership achievements and significant participation in community outreach.

Dianovics excelled in two computer science courses taught by professor Nahid Majd, which led Majd to encourage Dianovics to apply to the 2020 Summer Scholars research program. Dianovics was accepted into the program and worked on a research project on blockchain technology, an emerging technology in cybersecurity. She presented her research at both the Summer Scholar showcase last August and the CSUSM undergraduate research showcase in December.

Dianovics also prepared a scholarly manuscript based on the research she did in the summer program and submitted it to the 2021 Computer Science Conference for CSU Undergraduates hosted by CSU Monterey Bay. The paper was accepted, and she presented her research at the conference in March.

Dianovics plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science.

Christian Galvis, global supply chain management

Dean’s Award, College of Business Administration

Galvis excelled both academically and through his numerous service accomplishments.

A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Galvis credits his military experience for helping to hone his values of commitment, perseverance, self-worth and volunteering.

Those values were at the forefront of his time at CSUSM. In his first semester, Galvis helped revive the Student Veterans Organization after a two-year absence. Galvis also served as president of the Global Supply Chain Management Society for the past year, keeping members engaged virtually throughout the pandemic. He also helped spearhead CoBA’s first virtual career fair and a second successful event this spring.

Galvis collaborated with other student organizations to develop best practices on retaining members during the virtual environment, and he served as a resource for other student society presidents who are new to their positions.

Galvis has accepted a position at global communications company Viasat as a procurements specialist upon graduation.

Gladys Guzman Guizar, sociology and criminology and justice studies

Dean’s Award, Dean of Students

Guzman Guizar excelled academically while also making lasting contributions to student life at CSUSM.

Guzman Guizar has been dedicated to social justice initiatives, including the DREAMer Resource Office and the creation of the HUMAN Club. She is also an active member of University Without Borders, playing a key role in providing support to students from diverse backgrounds and ensuring that CSUSM provides a diverse, equitable and inclusive space where all students can be comfortable and successful. Her contributions to diversity and inclusiveness were recognized last fall as a 2020 recipient of the President’s Student Champion Award for Inclusive Excellence and Diversity.

Guzman Guizar has worked to help students develop a sense of belonging on campus through her roles as a peer adviser for the Office of Academic Advising and a student assistant at the DREAMer Resource Office.

Guzman Guizar plans to attend law school to pursue immigration law so she can help the undocumented community.

Read more about Guzman Guizar here.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Holub, recently hired as an assistant professor of public health at Cal State San Marcos, created a wellness-focused academic planner to help students better cope with school-life balance. She entered the planner in a contest that was set up similar to the reality TV show in which budding entrepreneurs present their business concepts to a panel.

And she won.

Holub was working as a research assistant professor at San Diego State when she took first place in the social track category of the university’s Zahn Innovation Challenge in the spring of 2015. Her winning project used paper academic planners to help people manage their mental health through a variety of wellness tools.

“The contest was a really good intersection between public health and entrepreneurship,” Holub said. “It was really interesting to try something different. You could really think about, ‘There’s a health problem that’s normally addressed one-on-one through counseling and therapy. But how can we address that from a public health perspective?’ ”

Award money from the contest helped Holub found Cogtoolz to produce the planners for a wider audience. The planners were available in SDSU and UC San Diego bookstores during the 2015-16 academic year and sold out. They will be available in CSUSM’s bookstore before the start of the semester on Aug. 29.

Holub launched a Kickstarter campaign, running July 29-Aug. 27, with a goal of raising at least $2,000 to produce a smaller, 6-inch by 9-inch version of the planner in response to customer feedback from the first run.

While the digital age has led most students to rely on a computer device for their calendar planning in recent years, Holub noticed paper planners beginning to enjoy a resurgence. While she has a planner app undergoing beta testing, she likes that everything is in one easy-to-find place with the paper planner.

“If students are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, or if they are experiencing depression and anxiety, some of those tools are already implemented in the calendar format and they can practice them and have reminders,” she said.

Holub started the project with a general wellness planner, which focuses on issues like improving mood, measuring the severity of anxiety and stress-reducing tools and tips. She said one of the most popular tools is a self-care checklist called GRAPES -- Gentle With Self, Relaxation, Accomplishment, Pleasure, Exercise and Social.

“A lot of times if you’re feeling anxious or depressed, you’re not doing a lot those things,” she said. “It can help remind you to take care of yourself.”

The student version includes all of the features in the wellness planner as well as additional tools specific to academics.

Holub said it's important to note that the planner is not a replacement for a counselor, and CSUSM's Student Health and Counseling Services is a great resource for any student who needs support.

While Holub continues work on the planners, she is also excited to be part of CSUSM’s Master of Public Health program at its inception. She has experience in public health programs at four other universities, earning her masters from Yale, her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, working at SDSU and teaching classes at National University.

“It’s really nice to take all of that experience and figure out how we can build a great public health program here,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”

Holub has been transitioning to her new position over the summer, spending three days a week at CSUSM and two days at SDSU. She will be here full time in late August.

In addition to teaching public health courses, she is piloting an exercise program for Pacific Islanders called PIC Health.

“We work side by side with the Pacific Islander community from start to finish,” said Holub, who added that she is looking for interns at CSUSM who have an interest in exercise and health promotion.

Visit www.cogtoolz.com for more information on the planners or Holub’s Kickstarter campaign, and pichealth.org for information on her research.