Since 2006, the Cal State D.C. Program has given CSU students the opportunity to spend a semester studying and working in the world of politics in our nation’s capital. Through the program, which is offered in spring and summer, California State University, Northridge students can make the most of their Washington experience while still progressing toward graduation.

The undergraduate students earn full-time college credit on site, in courses taught by and supervised by CSU faculty. Lawrence Becker, CSUN political science department chair; Stella Theodoulou, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; and CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison joined the spring 2015 semester students for dinner during a recent visit to Washington.

“This was a great experience for the students to tell President Harrison themselves about where they are interning and the kinds of experiences they are having,” Becker said.

He called out the success of one particular student, political science major Jasmine Hernandez, who landed an internship with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). There, Hernandez works as an assistant to the HUD liaison for the White House.

During his time in Washington, Becker said, he had a chance to visit Hernandez in her office. The staff there were very pleased with her work — and they asked him to send more CSUN students their way. Soon after that visit, Becker found another Matador to intern with HUD, starting in April.

“Jasmine has made the program look good,” Becker said. “With the work she is doing, she has made CSUN look good.”

The Cal State D.C. internship opportunities include working at congressional offices and executive agencies, as well as with political parties, advocacy groups, nonprofit organizations, foreign embassies, museums and lobbyist firms. Those organizations tackle issues ranging from homelessness to international finance, defense and foreign intelligence.

Thus far, the summer 2015 cohort has accepted 21 students, though not all choose to attend, for various reasons.

“This is the biggest group for summer that we have ever had,” said Becker. “We sent five last summer, so this summer I am sure we are going to send somewhere from 10 to 15.”

The program originally had accepted only students who were political science majors, but now welcomes CSU juniors, seniors and graduate students from all disciplines in good standing to apply.

“It’s a program that is open to all majors,” Becker said. “We would really like to have more students from a wide variety of majors participate.”

The minimum GPA required for admission to the program is a 3.0, however, past CSUN participants have demonstrated even higher academic achievement, as well as strong references and relevant experiences and activities.

To learn more about the program, check out CSUN’s Department of Political Science page at http://www.csun.edu/social-behavioral-sciences/political-science/dc-internship.

California State University, Northridge chemistry professor Gagik Melikyan is the Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award recipient.

The annual Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards publicly recognize specific educators by spotlighting their impact on the lives of students. The awards celebrate the teaching profession, the important role of teachers in society and seeks to inspire others to pursue this profession.

“To be a teacher is the most exciting, most demanding and most rewarding profession,” said Melikyan. “I enjoy challenging my students, making them believe in themselves, creating life-changing opportunities and putting them on the path to a prosperous future. Every new day is as exciting as the first day on the job as an educator.”

“I have known Gagik for close to 10 years as dean of the college,” said Dean of Science and Math, Jerry Stinner. “I have tremendous respect for Gagik and consider him to be one of the finest scholars and mentors in the college. He is a first-rate scientist, with a remarkable publication record, and is incredibly dedicated to training students in his laboratory.”

Nominated by students they once taught, the award recipients reflect the power one teacher has to inspire others and transform lives, according to Kennedy Center officials.

Melikyan was nominated by Christopher Wild, a student who earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from CSUN, and is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas Galveston.

“He is one of those students who will make CSUN proud as their alma mater,” said Melikyan of Wild.

“Dr. Melikyan is my professional role model and was the catalyzing figure of my academic and professional development while at CSUN,” Wild said. “He continues to play a prominent role to this day.”

Wild noted that Melikyan’s “high level of knowledge is apparent just after one lecture. He demands excellence while being very fair. In his research lab, Dr. Melikyan trained me himself. As an incoming Ph.D. student in medicinal chemistry, I was able to hit the ground running. I was so well trained that I was immediately able to conduct research independently.”

Another one of Melikyan’s colleagues, Steve Oppenheimer, a biology professor at CSUN, noted Melikyan’s  talents when he said,  “Gagik is a fantastic teacher, research scientist and author. His enthusiasm and clarity in the classroom are distinguished. His award-winning book on exposing problems with hundreds of thousands of chemicals (Guilty Until Proven Innocent), is a truly important contribution to public health and welfare. It is a classic and should be read by everyone.”

Melikyan is quick to point out that CSUN has been one of the main reasons for his success.

“Over the last two decades, CSUN has provided such a large amount of support, encouragement, understanding and appreciation that I could hardly receive in any other setting,” said Melikyan. “And the current accomplishments, both in the classroom and research laboratory, could not be possible without continuous assistance and help provided by the university, college and departmental levels.”

On the award, Melikyan said “of course, it is a great honor coming from such a reputable institution. I consider it to be an appreciation of my decades-long commitment to provide  quality professional training to my students, both in the classroom and most importantly in the research laboratory.”

The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards were created in 2010 in honor of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday and were initiated and funded through the generous support of Freddie and Myrna Gershon.

On March 22, Stephen Sondheim‘s birthday, a select number of these teachers received The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award, and a money grant in appreciation for their contributions to the field of teaching. Awardees will also be showcased, along with the people they inspired, on The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards website.

“The award will support my quest to educate the general public on health-related issues, as well as ongoing professional activities as an educator, writer and public advocate,” said Melikyan.

Wild knows first hand the importance of that education. “The greatest lessons he taught me, was that to be successful you must have confidence. And confidence comes from preparation which requires hard work.”

To find out more about CSUN’s chemistry and biochemistry department, please visit the website athttp://www.csun.edu/science-mathematics/chemistry-biochemistry.

And to find out more about the Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards, please visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/awards/sondheim/.

Have you ever felt alone? Did you ever think that college would never be something at which you could succeed? Did you look for inspiration but couldn’t find it? These are the challenging questions many people who attend college often face and overcome in the hopes of harnessing a better education and life.

With the help of Mark Stevens, director of California State University, Northridge’s Counseling Services, and under the lights and cameras of CSUN’s Visual Communications studio VISCOM, a short video series could show students who are searching for their path in college that they are not alone in their struggles. Selfies of Your Professors follows five CSUN educators and their college experiences.

Professors included are Frankline Augustin ’08 (Biology) the Department of Health Sciences, Sylvia Alva, dean of the College of Health and Human Development, Department of Journalism professor José Luis Benavides, Department of Electrical Engineering professor Benjamin Millard and University 100 professor Darlene Mininni.

The concept for the video gained momentum when Stevens led a faculty workshop in 2014 and posed a series of introspections to the group: Tell me about yourself. Tell me a story about how you might have struggled getting into college, and the academic confidence issues that you struggled with.

“Some professors started really opening up,” Stevens said. “And my jaw dropped. What would it have been like for a student to hear these stories?”

The concept of Selfies of Professors clearly aligned with Stevens’ Experience Confidence and Enjoyment in Learning (EXCEL) video series program, which explores student issues with academic confidence, building connections on campus and gaining a sense of belonging.

“For me the bottom line is that I believe that when students believe that their professors can relate to them, they are more likely to ask for help and it is more likely that they will try harder in their classes,” he said.

CSUN students who were shown the video said they felt that the teachers were more relatable to them, and that college is easier to get through because of the professors sharing their college experiences.

Of the professors Stevens interviewed for the video, many of them are first-generation college students like Augustin.

“I was trying to be brave because my mother was there [during class registration],” she explains in the video. “I didn’t want to seem scared even though the whole thing was pretty scary. Out of nowhere I just started crying. I was just done, I was tired and I didn’t get any classes.”

Stevens explained that stories like Augustin’s could be a source of inspiration for students, especially those who are among the first-generation college students who currently make up about 30 percent of CSUN’s undergraduate population.

“The targeted audience are college students who may not see professors as approachable,” he said. “There may be a perception of too much of a hierarchical gap; we’re wanting for the professors to really look approachable to students.”

Stevens also explained that he hopes to inspire students to use their professors as a resource for their academic success.

“[Students] have a right to utilize their professors, and the professors want them to do that,” he said. “They like to have relationships with their students – they are inspired and motivated by their students.”

In the video, University 100 professor Mininni discusses how students and professors are really on the same side of the learning experience – both wish to be inspired.

“Here I am today talking to you, supposedly on the other side of the hill, but I still do this. ‘Who can help me navigate the next hurdle? Who’s done something I haven’t done here?’” she asked. “I’m always looking to be inspired. I think until the day we die, all of us are looking for inspiration. It never ends.”

Sembiam Rengarajan, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at California State University, Northridge, has been elected to the United States National Committee of the International Union for Radio Science (USNC-URSI).

Sembiam Rengarajan

He will serve as secretary and chair-elect for the organization’s 2015 to 2017 term, and as the chair during the 2018 to 2020 term.

Rengarajan said, having served for many years in different roles, he was honored to have been selected for his new position.

“In my opinion, the USNC-URSI is perhaps the most scholarly and scientifically enriching community,” he said.

“The USNC-URSI sponsors national meetings, disseminates information about national and international radio science activities, and advises the National Academy of Sciences in all matters pertaining to the International Union of Radio Science.”

“The USNC-URSI also represents U.S. radio scientists to support cooperative international studies that advance radio science research and standardization and affect appropriate participation in the Union. As part of the international activities at the NRC, the USNC-URSI will be encouraged to look at issues not only specific to radio science, but also relevant across several disciplines,” said the USNC-URSI in an official statement.

Rengarajan said he is looking forward to his new responsibilities.

“I am excited about my election and the possibility of contributing to the URSI activities,” Rengarajan said. “Though my election means a nine-year commitment on my part, requiring a lot of effort, it is a pleasure to work with other officers, and members of USNC-URSI on all technical and business activities of the organization.”

Rengarajan pointed out that The officers of USNC-URSI (chair, secretary, past-chair and accounts manager) provide the leadership to USNC-URSI and are responsible for all activities of USNC-URSI such as organizing the annual National Radio Science Meeting in Boulder, Colorado every January. “The annual joint summer meetings with IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium in North America. In addition, we work with the International URSI in scientific activities, and work with the National Academies,” said Rengarajan.

For more information on the department of electrical and computer engineering, please visit their website at http://www.csun.edu/engineering-computer-science/electrical-computer-engineering.

To learn more about USNC-URSI, visit their website at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/biso/URSI/index.htm.

CSUN’s Associated Students’ video created as part of a campuswide campaign to educate the CSUN community about ways to to combat sexual violence.

The posters feature actual California State University, Northridge students reminding their peers that together they can stop sexual violence. The message is repeated in videos featuring CSUN student-athletes and leaders played during games in the Matadome and on the student government YouTube channel.

The videos, posters and new brochures that detail the rights and options for survivors of sexual violence are all part of an ongoing campuswide campaign to educate CSUN community members about ways to combat sexual violence and make the campus safer, including increasing awareness about available university and community resources for people who are survivors, as well as those wanting to find out how to help someone in need.

One of the posters used in the Shine a Light campaign.

This week is Sexual Assault Awareness for Everyone week on campus, during which students, staff and faculty can attend a series of events — from the screening of the controversial film “The Hunting Ground” to a presentation from actress Annalynne McCord about surviving sexual assault — to learn more about preventing sexual assault and abuse.

“CSUN has had a variety of sexual assault prevention and awareness programs and resources for many years,” said Susan Hua, CSUN’s Title IX coordinator and a member of the university’s Sexual Violence Prevention Committee. “What the committee hopes to achieve with its campuswide ‘Shine A Light’ initiative is to bring those efforts together from all corners of the campus to collectively and unequivocally say we, as a community, oppose any and all forms of sexual- and gender-based violence — regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, or whether you are a student, faculty or staff.”

Members of the committee will facilitate a discussion following the film screening, scheduled for Thursday, April 23, in the Reseda Room of the University Student Union, to encourage a thoughtful dialogue about the chronic problems of sexual violence on university campuses across the nation and institutional responses.

Child and adolescent development major Lucy Le, 22, of Northridge, is an instructor for CSUN’s Project DATE,  which holds peer-to-peer presentations in classrooms across the campus throughout the year. Le, a member of the Sexual Violence Prevention Committee, applauded the campuswide effort.

“When most people think about sexual assault, they think it’s like in the movies or on TV — a women in a skimpy dress walking down a dark alley at night,” Le said. “That’s not reality. Rape can happen anywhere, at any time, and it doesn’t matter what you are wearing.

“Part of the what we do in educating our peers is to talk about the ‘bystander effect,’” she added. “We all have a responsibility to look out for one another. If you see something that doesn’t look right, you need to step in and make sure that everything is okay.”

The educational campaign goes beyond the classroom. CSUN’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council has created an “It’s On Us” video that is played in the Matadome during games, while Associated Students, CSUN’s student government, created a similar video that is available for viewing on its YouTube channel.

“It’s on all of us to make a difference and work together to stop sexual violence,” said Ashlie Kite, senior associate director of athletics. “Our student-athletes are proud to be at the forefront of this initiative and to raise awareness and spread the message to the community.”

Student body president Tiffany Zaich said it was essential that everyone on campus, especially students, take part in the campaign.

“As a Matador, it’s important to come together as a community and help each other understand the importance of not being a bystander, but to take action,” Zaich said. “Students educating other students is one of the most powerful and effective ways to create real change. We are seeing this happen on campus with the issue of sexual assault, and it has brought us together as a community of Matadors.”

Hua said educating the community about sexual violence is an ongoing and collective effort.

“Preventing and ending sexual violence requires more than the efforts of one person, one group, one office, and it’s not just a woman’s issue,” she said. “It’s on the entire community of Matadors — we all have a shared responsibility to foster a safe and respectful campus culture.”

Below is the student-athletes’ video:

Some computers still sit in boxes hidden under desks. The walls are bare of any posters and the furniture still looks new.

But in the two months since California State University, Northridge opened the office of its Dream Project — which provides resources and support for CSUN’s estimated 1,000 undocumented students — the project’s staff and peer mentors have interacted with more than 300 students who’ve walked through the door and answered dozens of emails and phone calls asking for information and assistance.

“We just haven’t had time to really set up yet,” said Dream Project Coordinator Dario Fernandez with a rueful glance at a computer box sitting under his desk. “Our priority has been the students, making sure that we take the time to answer their questions and help them find the resources or support they need. We’re also conducting a needs-assessment survey to make sure that we are giving the students the support they actually need, not what we think they need. Housekeeping just hasn’t been at the top of our priority list.”

Though the official estimate of undocumented students on campus is about 1,000, Fernandez admitted the number is probably higher, given students’ reluctance to reveal their immigration status, as well as fears they could jeopardize themselves or their families.

The Dream Project office is a safe haven for CSUN’s undocumented students, a place where they can learn how to navigate the university’s bureaucracy; get information about financial aid — including campus scholarships specifically for undocumented students — and other services available to them under California Assembly Bill 540, which grants qualifying undocumented students the right to attend college in the state and pay in-state tuition; or find a sympathetic and knowledgeable person to talk to about problems or issues they are facing.

“The Dream Project at CSUN serves two very important roles,” said Juana Mora, assistant to the provost for diversity initiatives. “First, it will provide a safe, confidential space for undocumented students to get the information and support they need. Second, the project coordinator, Dario Fernandez, will be able to provide current training and information to the campus community about the needs of these students so we can all support their efforts. I am very pleased that CSUN has made a commitment to support all of our students, including those who come to us from many countries and who are undocumented.”

Fernandez pointed out that contrary to stereotypes, not all the students served by the project are Latino.

“We have students who are Persian, Ethiopian, Filipino, Vietnamese … they come from all over the world,” he said. “They all have questions, and it’s our job to help them find the answers. For some of these students, this is the first time they’ve been able to talk to someone who understands where they are coming from.”

Daniela Barcenas, 23, of Oxnard, is a graduating senior studying political science and Chicana/o studies. She works as a peer mentor for the project and has long been an advocate for undocumented students on campus. She said she has been struck by how little the students — and even faculty and staff — know about what rights and opportunities the undocumented students have.

“Most of these students are first-generation college students, so they are trying to figure out the college experience while at the same time struggling to deal with the obstacles created by their undocumented status,” Barcenas said. “When you add on the lack of information or misconceptions that are out there, it just makes it all very frustrating.

“But it’s so important that the project is here,” she said, “so that students have a place to go to find help where they feel safe, and faculty and staff have a place to go to get the right information.”

Fernandez said he plans to use input from the students the project serves to shape its future.

“The only way we can remain relevant and successful is to ask our students,” he said.

In the meantime, Fernandez is looking to set up programs that help students with financial literacy, develop a centralized list of vetted legal organizations that can offer the students and their families advice and even a car pool program that can ease the time it takes many of the students, who often rely on public transportation, to get to school.

“Some of the things we are looking at are very practical, while others are more complex — like how to make the educational experience for these students easier — but the bottom line is, we’re to help these students succeed,” he said.

It’s not every day that a foreign representative flies in from Washington D.C. to talk to college students. But political science students at California State University, Northridge had a rare chance to listen to Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) representative Robert Avetisyan discuss his country’s situation on April 13.

Political science professor James Mitchell’s “American Political Institutions” students came to hear the other side’s perspective following a confrontational meeting with the Azerbaijan representative last month, during which many Armenian students in the class questioned the information he presented.

Hosted by the CSUN Armenian Student Association (ASA), the NKR representative came to give students his perspective on the tense situation between the neighboring states.

“Unfortunately, the existence of my republic is linked with the conflict,” Avetisyan said.

At the rise of World War I in 1918, the Soviet Union moved into the Caucasus region and made Azerbaijan and the NKR satellites of the state and redrew their borders. It wasn’t until 1991, with the weakening of the Soviet Union, that Azerbaijan and the NKR received independence. Ever since then, the two nations have been in conflict, at times violent, over regional land ownership.

“Since 1994 we began to restore our lives,” Avetisyan said. “It’s a tiny piece of land that’s easy to destroy and much harder to restore.”

With a population of 145,000 people on a piece of mountainous land roughly the size of Connecticut and wedged between Armenia and Azerbaijan, safety and stability are of upmost importance to the NKR’s existence, the representative explained.

Students asked questions of the republic’s hopes for diplomatic relations between the tense states.

One student wondered what the relations were like with Azerbaijan representatives who visited the republic.

“We attempted several times for them to come and visit us,” Avetisyan said. “Visits that do not imply political moves. Unfortunately after the visits, they go back to their country and say either the Armenians are starving and there is no life there, or, ‘you will be prosecuted and you will be oppressed.’”

During a presentation to the same class on March 16, Azerbaijan consul general Nasimi Aghayev said his country is making attempts at diplomatic relations. Many students questioned Avetisyan about the validity of the consul general’s claims of peace.

“There is no war or peace situation. We have almost every day shooting from the Azerbaijan side,” he said. “The deadly situation is very often, unfortunately.”

One such incident occurred on March 19, Avetisyan said, when 20 Azerbaijan militant troops attacked seven NKR private sites.

CSUN ASA President Christine Dashdemirians said having Avetisyan come to the campus was vital to giving both perspectives on the conflict between the two regions.

“A lot of people were uncomfortable about what was said about Armenia by the representative. Because of the Azerbaijan consul general’s presentation, we felt like the students were not educated properly,” Dashdemirians said. “We wanted to show both sides. We wanted students to see our side. Our topic was the result of what was happening in history. We’re very lucky that he adjusted his schedule to fly out here from Washington, D.C. It’s so important to our history that it be recognized.”

10 percent of CSUN’s student population is of Armenian descent – the highest student population of Armenians outside of Armenia. Avetisyan said it was important for students to understand about the culture and the political situation in the region.

“It is always important for us to reach out to learning communities – always,” he said. “We need to educate and spread truth and to offer our perspective on maybe the same range of issues, which is often misinterpreted.”

Avetisyan added that when there is a highly sensitive matter at hand, it is critical for students who may become involved in international affairs down the line to have a well-rounded understanding of the situation.

“It is important to know there are always two sides to a story, especially in a conflict situation,” he said. “It is very important to have a broader and more comprehensive understanding of the situation. And that required me coming here, which I was perfectly glad to do.”

CSUN’s Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition and Wellbeing will address nutrition and health public policy involving children.

Issues ranging from childhood obesity to reducing the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to legislation that promotes healthy families will be addressed at the “Nutrition and Health Public Policy Event: Collaborating Today for a Better Tomorrow” forum on April 27 at California State University, Northridge.

The event, organized by CSUN’s Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics, the Dietetic Internship Program, the Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing and the and the Northeast Valley Health Corp.’s and Northridge Hospital’s Choose Health LA Kids programs will be held will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Delmar T. Oviatt Library’s Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room.

“This event will provide hands-on information for students and community members, updating them on current health policies and bills while showcasing our students’ and community’s public policy efforts,” said Annette Besnilian, executive director of the Marilyn Magaram Center. “It will also provide policy makers with an opportunity to hear students, parents and community voices.”

The event will include presentations by the office of Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) on AB 1357, legislation that would provide funding for the Children and Family Health Promotion Program; CSUN’s 100 Citizens Program; and a screening of The Raising of America, a documentary.

The day also will include a photo-voice exhibit showcasing the work of the Northeast Valley Health Corp.’s and Northridge Hospital’s Choose Health LA Kids programs parent collaborative groups.

“This is an opportunity for community partners to collaborate with policy makers to help make healthier communities,” Besnilian said. “We are encouraging students and the community to get involved with public policy from the beginning.”

To register, visit http://nutritionandhealthpolicy.eventbrite.com or for more information, contact Jessica King at JessicaKing@nevhc.org.

The Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge will once again partner with CSUN’s gender and women’s studies department, queer studies program, and Pride Center to present their second annual “Sex in the Library” series of lectures and presentations.

“Sex in the Library: Beyond Boundaries” will kick off on Tuesday, April 28, with “The Arousal: Queer Studies Student Research Symposium,” from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room located on the garden level in the Oviatt Library. This first event in the series will feature student research presentations from the Queer Studies program.

“Students have been specifically challenged to use the archival materials held in the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Collection on Sex and Gender to inform their research,” said Gregory Knotts, coordinator of the Queer Studies program.

On Monday, May 4, the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies will present “The Climax: Gender and Women’s Studies Student Research Symposium,” also in the Library’s Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room. This daylong program will include three panels of student research project presentations.

In addition to the panels, keynote speaker Tiffany Willoughby-Heard from the University of California, Irvine, will present “People of the Body vs. People of the Mind and the work of Gargi Bhattacharyya.” The keynote address by Willoughby-Heard will begin at 2:00 p.m., and, like all events in this series, is open to students, staff, faculty and the public.

“Sex in the Library: Beyond Boundaries,” will culminate on Thursday, May 7, in the library’s newly remodeled Music and Media Lecture Room, with “The Afterglow: Closing Reception & Scholarship Ceremony,” from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 pm.

The closing reception, co-hosted by the Oviatt Library and the Pride Center, will feature a keynote address by Andy Sacher, founding executive and creative director of “The Lavender Effect.”

In addition, two students, one from queer studies and one from gender and women’s studies, will be presented with Vern and Bonnie Bullough Endowment Student Research Awards. The selection of these scholarships is based on the students’ successful integration of archival research into their capstone projects. Funding for these scholarships is provided by the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Endowment, which was also the catalyst for the creation of this series of events. The primary objective of the Bullough Endowment is to support programs and exhibitions featuring speakers on the topics of human sexuality and gender issues.

A detailed schedule of all “Sex in the Library: Beyond Boundaries” programing can be found on the Exhibitions and Events page on the Oviatt Library website at http://library.csun.edu/blogs/goingson, or by calling (818) 677-2638.

The Oviatt Library is located at the center of the California State University, Northridge campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. Parking is $6.00 and daily parking permits may be purchased at booths or online at www.thepermitstore.com/csun/event/. The Oviatt Library serves as the main research facility in the San Fernando Valley. For more information about the Library or its hours please visit their website at http://library.csun.edu/ or call (818) 677- 2285.

“Never judge a book by its cover” is a familiar phrase that can be applied when people hear the word “Latino.” A new anthology composed by California State University, Northridge’s Department of Chicana/o Studies, the perception of what “Latino” means may forever be changed.

Chicana/o studies professor Gabriel Gutiérrez and a team of 30 graduate students and six colleagues created “Latinos and Latinas At Risk” to give readers the opportunity to explore the various identities and challenges of Latino/a life in the United States through a series of essays by Gutiérrez and his students. The anthology was also a project of the Center for Study of the Peoples of the Americas.

“[The book] began with trying to conceptualize what it is to be a Latino. It’s a complex issue,” Gutiérrez explained. “In some circumstances, it becomes a unifying term with a pan-ethnic approach, with different nationalities. In other cases, the concept of Latino itself is problematic because people prefer ‘Latino’ to ‘Hispanic.’

“This is because Hispanic is more referential to the European,” he continued. “Some claim that ‘Latino’ gives more prominence to the indigenous regions. But the problem is that the very word ‘Latino’ comes from the root ‘Latin,’ which is European. …And the term Latin is then ‘Hispanicized’ with the ‘a/o’ suffix, so it’s sort of a double whammy.”

Gutiérrez explained that the anthology breaks ground by looking at new and insightful perspectives of Latino/a identity, such as the erasure of indigenous roots with some focus on the Los Angeles community.

“On the other hand, people say Latino/a is an attempted erasure of the indigenous,” he said. “One can say that national identities are attempts at erasure as well because what it does is superimpose another identity on what is indigenous.”

An example in the anthology is an essay on the Mayan youth that live in Los Angeles. Written by graduate student Flori Boj Lopez, the piece describes the search for identity by the youth in Los Angeles. While the Mayan youth may see themselves as Latinos, they also come to realize that the deeper they look into their heritage, the more complex placing their identity becomes.

“Are they American, are they Latino/a, are they Guatemalan or are they Mayan? It’s a fascinating question,” Gutiérrez said.

With more than 600 pages of text mainly written by CSUN graduate students delving into the concept of Latina/o life challenges, “Latinos and Latinas at Risk” was an opportunity for them to explore their own understanding of the issue as well, Gutiérrez said.

“Part of what we do is the learning,” he said. “It reminded me that knowledge is not finite. In fact, in some cases to claim to have knowledge is the end of knowledge, the end of wisdom and inquiry. Working with graduate students on this project was instructional. It was about putting theory into practice, about engaging students in the research process to make their work viable and tangible in terms of potential outcomes. It shows them that their work matters.”

Thousands of newly admitted California State University, Northridge freshmen and transfer students began their journeys as Matadors on April 18 at the yearly Explore CSUN event, organized by the Division of Student Affairs. The event helps students and their parents connect with current CSUN students, alumni, faculty and staff. Explore CSUN also makes the transition to campus much easier for new incoming students.

Explore CSUN offers a number of events for the day to provide a well-rounded introduction to the campus. Those in attendance enjoyed an informational and fun day that included a walking tour of the campus and student housing. They also attended the Information Expo, where individual college and student services representatives — as well as current members of student clubs and organizations — were available to connect with students and share resources. CSUN staff also provided services such as admissions, financial aid and records, answering questions and taking student ID photographs.

Graduates celebrating at CSUN’s 2014 commencement ceremonies.

More than 10,600 graduating students are invited to walk across the stage next week in front of California State University, Northridge’s Delmar T. Oviatt Library to the cheers of family members and friends as CSUN celebrates its 2015 commencement.

An estimated 10,658 students — 8,180 bachelor’s, 2,423 master’s and 55 doctoral degree candidates — are eligible to take part in exercises scheduled to begin the morning of Friday, May 15, with the university’s Honors Convocation and conclude the evening of Monday, May 18, with the last of CSUN’s seven 2105 commencement ceremonies. All eight celebrations will take place on the lawn in front of the Oviatt Library.

“Commencement is always a special time at the university,” said CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison. “Students and their families and friends gather with the campus community in what is a momentous and joyous occasion. Honors Convocation and the commencement ceremonies provide a formal setting to celebrate all of our students’ accomplishments. Our graduates have an elevating impact on the entire region, and I look forward to seeing another class launch their futures.”

CSUN’s commencement celebrations begin at 8 a.m. on May 15 with the Honors Convocation. This year’s speaker will be alumna Peggy Nelson, sector vice president for engineering and global product development for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

Nelson is responsible for leading the Aerospace Systems’ engineering organization and managing the processes and tools used to design and develop products. Prior to that role, Nelson was vice president for safety and assurance and chief engineer. In that position, she was the lead executive for mission assurance, quality systems, engineering capabilities and university alliances across Space Technology. She also served as vice president and project manager for Prometheus 1, a joint project with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build a spacecraft that can conduct far-reaching, long-lasting exploration missions.

For several years, Nelson has been a tireless supporter of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and the university. As a member of the engineering college’s industry advisory board, she played a major role in elevating the profile of the college’s programs across Northrop Grumman’s business sectors, which led to the college’s selection as a Core University Partner by the corporation in 2013.

CSUN’s first commencement ceremony — which includes graduate students from all programs (except for those in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences) and all graduates of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education (except undergraduates in deaf studies) — will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 15.

The second ceremony — for undergraduates from the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication — will take place at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 16. An honorary Doctor of Fine Arts will be bestowed on acclaimed film director Robert Townsend during the ceremony.

A respected comedian and actor, Townsend caught Hollywood’s attention as a producer, director and screenwriter with “Hollywood Shuffle,” the 1987 critically acclaimed satire depicting the trials and tribulations of black actors. The film’s success led to other directing and producing opportunities, including “Eddie Murphy Raw,” “The Meteor Man,” “The Five Heartbeats,” “Carmen: A Hip Hopera” and “10,000 Black Men Named George.” He also served as president and chief executive officer of production for The Black Family Channel for four years. Townsend has been nominated for more than 30 NAACP Image Awards for film and television.

He continues to act, direct and produce. One of his latest projects, “Playin’ For Love,” will premier on television this summer. In recent years, Townsend has regularly mentored students in CSUN’s cinema and television arts department.

At 6 p.m. on May 16, the undergraduates from the College of Health and Human Development will take part in CSUN’s third commencement ceremony.

CSUN’s fourth commencement ceremony — for undergraduates receiving a degree in deaf studies from the Eisner College and all students from the departments of Africana studies, anthropology, geography, history, psychology, and urban studies and planning in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences — will take place at 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 17. During this ceremony, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters will be bestowed on former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Yaroslavsky retired last December after nearly four decades in public office, including five terms as a Los Angeles County supervisor. His district included most of the San Fernando Valley. During his political tenure, Yaroslavsky was a key player on such issues as health care, transportation, judicious municipal growth and development, the environment and civil rights. His passion for the arts and his appreciation for the important role arts play in education are well known.

Seeking to expand arts opportunities in the San Fernando Valley, Yaroslavsky worked closely with CSUN officials in the mid-2000s to develop plans for what is now the Valley Performing Arts Center. Yaroslavsky cemented his commitment to the project by contributing $2 million from his district’s discretionary capital funds for the project in 2007.

CSUN’s fifth commencement ceremony — for the remaining graduates of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, including those in the departments of political science, sociology and social work — will take place at 6 p.m. on May 17.

Undergraduates from the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics will take part in CSUN’s sixth commencement ceremony, scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 18.

CSUN’s seventh and final commencement ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on May 18 for the undergraduates in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Science and Mathematics, and College of Humanities.

Below are scenes from last year’s commencement ceremonies:

Emily Bowen Cohen, a graphic novelist working on a comic book about her Jewish and Native American roots, spoke as guest lecturer in Beth Cohen’s religious studies class, April 28, 2015, in Sierra Hall. Photo by Lee Choo.

For Hanukkah, Emily Bowen Cohen learned to make Indian fry bread. Thanks to a little (or maybe a lot of) vegetable and canola oil, the Los Angeles-based artist has incorporated the beloved Native American staple into her annual winter celebration of the Jewish festival of lights, when it’s traditional to eat foods fried in oil.

Bowen Cohen is, as young American Jews affectionately call each other, a “member of the tribe.” She is also a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which traces its roots to what is now Georgia and Alabama but was forced to travel along the Trail of Tears to “Indian territory” in Oklahoma.

“I decided that if I was going to be all the way Jewish, I had to be all the way Indian too,” said Bowen Cohen, who lives in the traditional Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson.

She gave a guest lecture, “Member of Two Tribes: the Real Life Story of a Jewish Native American,” on April 28 to students, faculty members and guests at California State University, Northridge. She spoke to professor Beth Cohen’s RS 378 religious studies class, “American Jewish Experience,” in Sierra Hall on the campus. Bowen Cohen is the CSUN professor’s daughter-in-law and a Harvard-educated graphic novelist. She is working on a comic book about her dual identity — and gave CSUN students a sneak peek.

The faculty members and students — a diverse mix from majors including religious studies, modern Jewish studies and American Indian studies, as well as guests from the surrounding community — sat riveted as Bowen Cohen gave a an account of her journey, accompanied by PowerPoint slides showing her comic-book panels.

“This course is called ‘American Jewish Experience,’” she said. “I’m Native American and Jewish, which is unusual … It occurred to me that I might represent the future of the American Jewish community.”

The artist grew up in the small city of Okemah, Okla. — “the heart of the Indian community” — with her Jewish mother (a New Jersey native) and Muscogee father, a doctor at the area’s only hospital. The couple had met in Boston while he was attending Harvard Medical School, which “was trying to diversify its student population” at the time, Bowen Cohen explained.

She noted that her maternal grandmother, an Ashkenazi Jew, told her children, “True love matters over all else!” and supported her daughter’s desire to marry for love — outside of the Jewish community.

After earning his medical degree, Bowen Cohen’s father wanted to return to his native Oklahoma to do some good for his own tribe, she said. The family relocated to Okemah, where they raised Bowen Cohen, her twin sister and an older sister.

“We lived in a town with one stoplight,” a city of about 5,000 people, the artist said. She was particularly close to her father’s mother, “Mommom Mary,” who lived nearby and kept tabs on her granddaughters’ experiences in public school.

“She wanted to make sure I knew who was part of my tribe. In Oklahoma, surrounded by so many Native Americans, it’s really easy to be part of the Indian community. But — it’s much harder to be Jewish.”

In Oklahoma in the 1980s, the lines between church and state were “fuzzy,” she said. “Our part of Oklahoma was smack in the middle of the Bible Belt.” After a few uncomfortable experiences for her Jewish children in public school, Bowen Cohen recalled, her mother was “called to action.” So, off they went to a synagogue in Tulsa (the big city, about a 90-minute car ride away), so I could go to Sunday school.”

At Hebrew school in a Reform congregation, “I was Jewish, but I was different.” Her skin was darker. In those elementary-school years, Bowen Cohen’s white, Jewish peers teased her for her skin tone and small-town clothes.

Sadly, soon after, her journey took an unexpected turn.

Six months after her oldest sister’s bat mitzvah in 1984 in Tulsa, her father passed away. The family relocated back to New Jersey and moved in with her mother’s parents.

“Then, Mommom Mary passed away, and we lost all contact with my father’s side of the family. I lost my Native American community.”

After coming of age in diverse, metropolitan New Jersey — bat mitzvahed herself and living a typical, suburban American teen life — Bowen Cohen grew up, attended and graduated from Harvard herself and married “a nice Jewish boy,” she said.

Fast-forward to the 2000s, when the couple moved to Pico-Robertson, into the Orthodox community and became parents of three children.

Even though it made people in her new community uncomfortable to hear about her parents’ interfaith marriage, it became too painful to sustain her “passing” as a Jewish girl “from New Jersey,” and not proclaiming her proud, paternal Indian heritage, Bowen Cohen said. “As more people intermarry … there needs to be room for all of the roots — spaces have to be created that allow people to be both sides of themselves wholly, without question and without raised eyebrows.

“You have to be a really strong person to gather yourself when you’re upset or angry about something and confront someone” who has made disparaging or ignorant remarks, she said. “You have to teach them.”

Becoming a mother, she said, was a watershed moment.

“I was trying on my own to teach my children about being Native American. It wasn’t authentic. That’s why we went back to Oklahoma,” to reconnect with her father’s family.

In just the past few years, Bowen Cohen started obsessively researching her father’s family tree (“Facebook was really helpful!”), trying to track them down in the Okemah area and across Oklahoma.

Happily, she found them — and they were thrilled to welcome back Bowen Cohen, her husband and their three kids. She is enrolled in the Muscogee nation (the name preferred by the Muscogee tribe, as Creek is the U.S. government term, she said). Her father was not at all religious, but his extended relatives are practicing Baptists, and continue to practice traditional Indian rituals.

“We always went to powwows with my family — even after my father died, my mom would take us — and I still bring my children to powwows,” she said. She also noted that her husband is incredibly supportive of her ongoing quest. “I could not have gone back to Oklahoma without his support.”

The CSUN students and guests peppered Bowen Cohen with questions. Many wanted to hear her opinions on Indian tribal politics, as well as the judgmental attitudes she encountered in Pico-Robertson’s traditional Jewish community. She attributed the discomfort of her Orthodox neighbors to the intense fear that intermarriage “might mean a watering down” of Judaism in America, and around the world.

“(American Jews) are really worried — they care a lot of being Jewish, and they really don’t want to see it getting watered down and disappear.”

Bowen Cohen, however, offered the class a message not of worry, but of hope. She has become active with the LA group Jews of Color/Jewish Multiracial Network, where she learned to share her love of fry bread — a traditional food at powwows — with her observance of Hanukkah.

Her comic book is in progress, but Bowen Cohen recently sold a “minicomic” at Comic-Con in San Diego. To view her comics and learn more about her art and experience, visit her shop on Etsy.com, memberoftwotribes.

Emily Bowen Cohen, a graphic novelist working on a comic book about her Jewish and Native American roots, spoke as guest lecturer in Beth Cohen’s religious studies class, April 28, 2015, in Sierra Hall. Photo by Lee Choo.

One might expect the atmosphere of a late-afternoon class in public policy on a Thursday toward the end of the semester to be sleepy and routine. Former Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle’s Political Science 471A class at California State University, Northridge is anything but.

Fifteen minutes before class begins, vibrant conversations between classmates, cheerful greetings and smiling faces fill the room. Lingle enters and joins the banter. The camaraderie is genuine and lively. It feels more like a social gathering than a lecture. Then the clock hits 4 p.m. and it’s all business.

The students are seated seminar-style, everyone facing one another, with nameplates in front of their seats, reminiscent of a U.N. Council meeting. All attention is focused on Lingle and her guest for the afternoon, former Maui Police Chief Gary Yabuta.

Lingle has utilized her 30 years’ experience in the public service sector and her many valuable contacts to give her students a one-of-a-kind look at the practical applications in the creation of public policy.

Lingle’s political science pro-seminar class on public policy is untraditional in that there are no examinations. Instead, Lingle asks her students to design three public policy proposals from any perspective – one local, one state and one federal issue – and present them to the class. This, Lingle said, provides her students with practical experience for the real world.

“I designed the course to prepare the students to be able to walk out after graduation – to enter into a public policy setting – and to be positive contributors from the first day, wherever they go,” Lingle said.

“The most challenging part of Gov. Lingle’s class is the public policy projects, but they are also the most beneficial,” said political science junior Eliana Amundson. “You learn about the real world and that’s something you’re going to use for the rest of your life.”

Shantay Shabaz, political science junior, agrees. “You actually practice what it’s like to be in the real world and you pick up skills that you carry with you outside of the classroom. That’s way more meaningful than just a lecture,” she said.

Also unusual is the high interest outside of the political science department in the class. “We had far more interest in her class than we could accommodate and I’m especially pleased that a good number of the students in the class are from outside the major,” said Lawrence Becker, chair of CSUN’s Department of Political Science.

“It’s a class that’s very open to discussion, opinion, a lot of different ideas. You don’t just sit back in here,” said Gabby Sanchez, a political science senior.

High-profile guest speakers also brought practical knowledge and actual public policy experience to the students. Guests this semester included Yusef Robb, director of communications for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; Linda Smith, former chief accounting officer under Presidents Carter and Reagan, and senior policy advisor to Gov. Lingle; Dillon Hosier, senior political advisor to the Los Angeles Consulate General of Israel; and Yabuta, who recently became the director of the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), a federally funded program that advises President Obama and Congress.

“Gov. Lingle has brought a series of guest speakers to the classroom from different areas that have given students a sense of the variety of pathways from where they are sitting into public service,” said Becker. “I can’t express how fortunate we have been to have had Gov. Lingle teaching for us.”

The sentiment is one that is shared by her students as well. “One of my favorite aspects of this class is having the speakers here,” said Randall Ramos, political science senior. “You have the opportunity to find out what it’s really like.”

Ramos was a student in Lingle’s 471A seminar the previous spring. He enjoyed the class, and Lingle, so much that he came back to assist in the Spring 2015 class.

Lingle graduated cum laude from CSUN with a degree in journalism in 1975, changing her major from political science. She founded the Moloka’i Free Press in 1976 and was elected as a member of the Maui City Council in 1980, where she served until elected as Maui County Mayor.

As Maui mayor, she was the first woman and youngest person elected to office. In 2002, she broke more barriers when elected as the sixth governor of Hawaii, distinguishing herself as the  first woman and first person of Jewish ancestry to lead the state as well as the first Republican in more than 40 years.

Lingle will be leaving CSUN at the end of the current semester. She has been appointed chief operating officer for the state of Illinois under new Governor Bruce Rauner, who has referred to Lingle as a “superstar.” Lingle said she hopes to use her eight years of experience as the Governor of Hawaii to help Rauner, who is serving in public office for the first time.

Lingle, who would rather remain out of the spotlight after so many years on the public scene, shifted focus back to her students. “My experience at CSUN, keeping me in touch with young people, is very important. Knowing how this generation is seeing things is important for anyone who is working in public policy,” Lingle said. “Most of the people that I work with [in Illinois] are quite a bit younger than me. [CSUN] has given me an up-to-date perspective on what young people are facing.”

What Lingle has gained from her students is a reciprocation of the dedication that she inspired in them. “It’s a privilege to be a part of this class. She doesn’t disengage when class is over,” said Shabaz.

“The best part of the class is office hours. [Lingle] will talk to you about any issue. She’s very supportive,” said Ramos.

“She answers your emails at 4 o’clock in the morning!” said Amundson. “At the beginning of the course, she said, ‘You guys are going to be my life.’”

Lingle’s prudent teaching style and inclination to give back to her alma mater is testament to the commitment she has given in her years as a public servant.

“I try to mix my classes – not just political science and not just public policy. It’s life lessons. [I’ve] got a chance to stand in front of young people and share that it’s not a straight line for anyone,” Lingle professed. “You’ve got to work hard. You’ve got to be prepared when opportunities come along, and you can’t give up. You just can’t, can’t give up.”

The cheers may be deafening later this week when more than 10,600 students are eligible to take part in California State University, Northridge’s 2015 commencement.

Some of the students are the first in their families to get a college education. Others set out on a path laid out during late-night discussions with their parents or through the determination of loved ones who believed that education would open doors to a world of possibilities.

Below are some of those students’ stories:

Tania Benjamin

Tania Benjamin, B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology

Tania Benjamin, 21, of Santa Clarita, spent much of her time at CSUN doing research in professor Yann Schrodi’s organometallic and inorganic chemistry lab. She’s been helping him look for ways to prevent the degeneration of olefin metathesis catalysts, molecules that allow for the rearrangement of carbon-carbon double bonds. The research could eventually improve the chemical reactions in drugs developed by the pharmaceutical industry.

“As a freshman, I took Dr. Schrodi’s general chemistry class and learned about his research and how it has applications in the pharmaceutical industry,” she said. “Understanding his research and the impact it could have in that industry made me interested in what he was doing. I asked if I could join his lab, and I’ve been here ever since.”

The work led to a rare research opportunity in 2014. She was one of only 10 students from across the country chosen to intern for the Harvard Catalyst Summer Clinical and Translational Research Program. She worked in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School, studying a human enzyme as a potential therapeutic target against cancer.

“It was an amazing experience,” Benjamin said.

Her love of science was sparked by heart-to-heart discussions she had while growing up with her mother, a nurse, and her father, an equipment engineer, both Assyrian immigrants from Iran. They encouraged her to pursue her dreams.

“The talks with my mom really had an impact,” she said. “I spent a lot of nights talking to her about her interactions with her patients. I knew I wanted to go to medical school.”

Despite the demands of her coursework and research in Schrodi’s lab, Benjamin still found time a couple years ago to found Big Buddies, a campus organization that pairs college students as mentors to homeless and disadvantaged youth throughout Los Angeles. The organization currently has partnerships with two shelters and the West Valley Boys and Girls Club. It serves more than 40 young people.

“As a college student, I realized I had various resources that surround me, including other college students,” she said. “I thought, ‘Why not use them to inspire and motivate homeless and disadvantaged youth?’ So, I came up with the idea of Big Buddies.”

Her accomplishments have earned Benjamin distinction as this year’s Wolfson Scholar, the top award for a graduating senior from CSUN. The award is presented each year in memory of CSUN’s first vice president, Leo Wolfson.

Benjamin will take part in CSUN’s commencement ceremony on Monday, May 18, at 6 p.m. She will be heading to medical school at UC San Francisco in the fall. She plans to become an orthopedic surgeon.

Jacqueline Dinh

Jacqueline Dinh, B.A. in Communication Disorders

            For Jacqueline Dinh, 22, of Northridge, communication is a powerful tool. She tells the story of a five-year-old autistic boy with whom she worked a couple years ago as a speech therapist at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders.

“When he came in, he was not really speaking,” Dinh said. “I was his first therapist. When he left therapy after a year or so, he was telling jokes and singing. His personality emerged with our work. It was rewarding, and I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Dinh wasn’t that positive when she first came to CSUN. She just knew she wanted to study something in the sciences. Then she went to a campus employment fair and found a job with the Center for Autism and Related Disorders.

“I loved it, and I knew that I wanted to be speech pathologist,” she said. “CSUN has a great undergraduate program in speech pathology, and the opportunities I have had here to work with patients — while still an undergraduate — have been invaluable. I am so glad I chose this school.”

Dinh said the support she has received at the university inspired her to become a peer mentor within the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences. It’s a role she plans to continue this fall, when she returns to CSUN to begin her master’s degree in speech pathology.

“The faculty and staff here were so helpful as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and they were there to give me the support and guidance while I was learning about my field,” she said. “I want to be able to do that for my fellow students.”

Dinh, who also earned a minor in religious studies, said she loves learning about different people and different cultures. It’s a tool she believes will be useful in the future.

“I want to work in the public school system when I finish my education,” she said. “I want to eventually work with children with autism and those who use alternative means of communication. I’ve talked to colleagues who work in public schools, and I know how overworked and understaffed they are. I know that by working in the public schools, I can make a difference for children who might not have access to a speech pathologist.

“Communication is so important as a way of expressing ourselves and interacting with others,” she said. “I want to be able to help those who don’t have a voice to find theirs.”

Dinh take part in the commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 16, at 6 p.m.

Shaniee Parker

Shaniee Parker, B.M. in Music Performance (Clarinet) and Music Education

Shaniee Parker fell in love with the oboe as a child when she heard a cousin play the double-reed instrument. When a middle school music teacher let her choose her instrument, she selected … the clarinet.

“It was totally by accident,” she said, laughing. “I couldn’t remember what the instrument was called that my cousin played. I just remembered that it was black and silver. So, when the teacher brought out a clarinet, I said, ‘That’s the one I want.’”

Her cousin told her she got the wrong instrument, and Parker mistakenly assumed she couldn’t switch when she returned to school.

“I’ve been playing the clarinet ever since,” she said, of the single-reed woodwind. “I love the clarinet. It can do so many things. As far as I am concerned, it’s the best instrument there is. It’s got the widest range of any wind instrument and it’s the closest to the human voice.”

Parker, 22, of Chatsworth, was raised by her grandparents, who were determined that she should get as much out of her education as possible. When she got to CSUN, she discovered that the faculty had the same goals. She singled out music professor Julia Heinen in particular.

“She’s so amazing. She plays all over the world and teaches master’s classes everywhere,” Parker said of Heinen. “I’ve learned so much from her — not just how to play the clarinet, but how to carry myself, how to be a woman and not to be intimidated in any aspect of my playing or in pursuing my dreams. I wouldn’t have grown as much as I have without her to inspire me.”

In addition to being a member of the CSUN Wind Ensemble, Colburn Adult Wind Symphony and CSUN Symphony Orchestra, Parker has juggled the course load of two majors — music education and performance with the clarinet, the latter of which requires at least three hours of practice a day — as well as volunteering as a counselor for Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, being an active member of the educational foundation LEAP and traveling the state advocating to keep music education in public schools as Miss California Icon.

“Music is the reason I’m where I am today,” Parker said. “Even if you don’t want to become a professional musician, music is so important in helping kids learn about themselves and where they want to go, in addition to giving them an appreciation for the arts. I can’t imagine a world without music. Often, it’s the only way we can communicate across borders or cultures.”

Her love of music inspired Parker to take the next step as a performer. She asked CSUN’s music faculty if they could teach her the art of conducting. She is now assistant conductor of CSUN’s Youth Symphony Orchestra.

“I didn’t know, as a kid, that you could actually buy the CD of the music to movies,” she said. “I would sit there with my tape recorder up to the TV speaker and record it. I’d go back and listen to it, wait for the credits and then wave my hands to conduct it.”

Parker has accepted a graduate fellowship to continue her music performance studies at UCLA this fall. She plans to continue conducting.

Parker will take part in the commencement ceremony at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 16.

Demonte “Tray” Thompson, left, and Demontea “Tae” Thompson.

Demonte “Tray” Thompson, B.S. in Finance, and Demontea “Tae” Thompson, B.S. in Management

            “There are a lot of people going nowhere fast,” said Demontea “Tae” Thompson, 22, of Northridge. “If you know your goals and you have the people to lead you in the right direction, that’s more important than getting there on a whim.”

Tae and his twin brother, Demonte “Tray” Thompson, 22, of Chatsworth, said they found that guidance at CSUN.

When the twins were born, their mother was unable to care for them and their father wasn’t around. They and two of their 10 siblings were taken into the foster care system and placed in the charge of their great-uncle, a 69-year-old cement finisher who came to California from Arkansas as a young man with only a quarter in his pocket.

“He was an amazing man,” Tae said. “He laid the foundation for our lives. That is something, to me, that is very poetic. He instilled skills that he knew were going to be life-long and that we would need for whatever we set out to accomplish.”

“At an age when he was supposed to retire and live his life lavishly,” said Tray, picking up where his brother left off, “he took on this new responsibility. Recently, he passed away from cancer at age 89. He made sure we learned everything we needed to navigate this world, and we want to carry on his legacy.”

Tae and Tray said they came to CSUN because of the support system, including mentors, the university offers foster youth through its Educational Opportunity Program.

Tray chose finance as a major because he was inspired by a number of entrepreneurial ventures that he and his brother launched as children growing up in Compton, including a Kool-Aid stand.

“One of the courses I had the most fun in was one of the last I took — portfolio management,” he said. “We had a chance to manage more than $2 million in assets from California State University, Northridge’s University Corporation. I loved every bit of it. With our portfolio return, we managed to beat the total return of the S&P 500.”

Tae admitted he briefly considered studying acting at CSUN.

“Theater has always been a means for expressing myself creatively,” Tae said. “I always thought I wanted to be an actor. As I got into my second year, I thought long and hard and realized I wanted to do something where, in the long run, I can be a factotum — someone able to take on various roles. So, I decided on business management. Since my brother was going into finance, I thought we’d start a company or something.”

A couple of years ago, the pair started a YouTube channel called “Twinspire” to offer encouragement and emotional support to foster youth in the community. They also briefly had a clothing line, with the idea of using the proceeds to support foster and underserved youth. The two were also very active on campus, including with the University Student Union and the Black Male Initiative.

Tae, who wrote a book, “Raised From Scratch,” based on their experiences, and Tray also regularly go out into the community to share their story with underrepresented young people, hoping to inspire them to attend college.

In all that they do, Tray said, they try to focus on the “larger picture.”

“To me, the larger picture wasn’t about starting a company,” he said. “It wasn’t about making money off those different things. It was about how we support those people, young men like ourselves in our community, who are striving for excellence.”

Both men will take part in the commencement ceremony at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 18. Tray finished his studies in December and is now teaching financial literacy in CSUN’s financial aid office. Tae will be entering USC’s Master of Education in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs program in the fall.

Tania Benjamin knew early, when she was a teenager caring for her sick grandfather, that she wanted to be a doctor. The 21-year-old cell and molecular biology major has spent her time at California State University, Northridge working toward that goal.

Tania Benjamin

During the end of her freshman year, Benjamin joined professor Yann Schrodi’s organometallic and inorganic chemistry lab. One application of the research could eventually help pharmaceutical industries develop more effective drugs and therapies. In 2014, she was one of only 10 students from across the country chosen to intern for the Harvard Catalyst Summer Clinical and Translational Research Program. She worked in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School, studying a human enzyme as a potential therapeutic target for cancer.

Despite the demands of her coursework and research in Schrodi’s lab, Benjamin still found time to found Big Buddies, a campus organization that pairs college students as mentors to homeless and disadvantaged youth throughout Los Angeles. The organization currently has partnerships with two shelters and the West Valley Boys and Girls Club. It serves more than 40 young people.

These are just some of the accomplishments that have earned Benjamin the distinction of being this year’s Wolfson Scholar, the top award for a graduating senior. The honor is presented each year in memory of CSUN’s first vice president, Leo Wolfson. Not only must the student have an exceptional academic record, but he or she must also have made significant contributions to CSUN or to the community through co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Benjamin has a 4.0 GPA.

In the fall, Benjamin will attend medical school at UC San Francisco. She plans to become an orthopedic surgeon.

“I plan to continue sharing the knowledge and tools I used to succeed to other first-generation Americans and college students,” Benjamin said. “Growing up, I found a calling in caring for others and now, I hope to extend that calling beyond the limits of my home to the larger world.”

Benjamin will be recognized at CSUN’s Honors Convocation at 8 a.m., Friday, May 15. Each year, four graduating seniors are presented with the Outstanding Senior Award in recognition of academic excellence, contributions to campus and community, and exceptional achievements or personal life circumstances they have overcome. These $1,000 awards are funded by the CSUN Alumni Association, the University Foundation and the Karen, Leon and Rita Goldstein-Saulter Memorial Fund.

The other 2015 Outstanding Graduating Senior Award Winners are:

Kimberly Arellano, 26, of Pacoima, is the recipient of the Karen, Leon and Rita Goldstein-Saulter Memorial Award. She is a public health major who has maintained a 3.83 GPA. Arellano is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including CSUN’s 2015 Dean’s Award for the College of Health and Human Development and a fellowship with the National Institutes of Health – Maximizing Access to Research Careers Predoctoral Fellowship. Last summer, she interned at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has presented posters at both Harvard and Emory Universities on public health issues. She is active on campus as a member of Health Education Student Organization (HESO) and as an “alive and well” peer health educator, providing alcohol, tobacco and other drug-prevention education and programming.

Kimberly Arellano

Arellano is equally committed to community service. She served on the executive board of the Southern California Society for Public Health Education, and during her senior seminar in public health, she developed obesity-prevention programs for adolescents at local high schools. She is also passionate about animal welfare and rescue, and she volunteers at the East Valley Animal Shelter in Van Nuys. A first-generation college student and daughter of a single mom from Mexico, Arellano credits her success to the mentorship and support provided by CSUN’s Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program. “I’ve had opportunities I would have never gotten without this program,” she said.

This summer, Arellano will complete an internship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her career goal is to pursue a master’s in public health, earn a doctorate and come back to teach at CSUN.

Razmik Kajberuni, 22, of Sunland is the recipient of the CSUN Foundation Award. He is an accountancy and information systems major with a minor in business administration honors. He has attained a 3.98 GPA. Kajberuni has pursued academic success since immigrating to the United States from Armenia with his family at age 11.

“There were culture shocks and language barriers that were challenging, but I wanted to be successful,” Kajberuni recalled. “I worked hard to overcome my challenges.”

Razmik Kajberuni

His hard work has resulted in numerous awards for academic excellence, including being selected as a University Scholar for two years in a row. He co-authored, with two CSUN faculty, an article published in the professional journal CalCPA Magazine. 

On campus, Kajberuni has been active with the Business Honors Association, the Accounting Association, and he has worked as a tutor with the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics and as an income tax preparer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The graduate said he considers giving back to the community part of his “duty,” paying forward the help he received from the volunteers who helped him succeed. He volunteers with the environmental group Tree People and returns to his high school regularly to evaluate student presentations.

Kajberuni’s immediate goal is to pass the certified public accountant exam. But he already has been offered a full-time position at Ernst & Young, one of the most prominent accounting firms in the world.

Jesus Martinez-Ramirez, 21, of Santa Clarita, is the recipient of the Karen, Leon and Rita Goldstein-Saulter Memorial Award. He majored in political science with a minor in business law and has a 3.56 GPA. Martinez-Ramirez said he learned early in his college career that you get out of college what you put into it, so he has spent his time at CSUN focused on his goal of pursuing a career in politics and government.

Jesus Martinez-Ramirez

His first venture into campus life was through his involvement with the cultural student club M.E.Ch.A (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan). He gained experience in organizing and went on to serve two years as a senator with Associated Students; as a member of the board of directors of the University Corporation; and as chair of the University Student Union’s board of directors. He also served as co-captain of the university’s award-winning Model United Nations Team. Martinez-Ramirez said he is inspired to succeed because of his status as an undocumented student and his single mother who has had to work multiple jobs to take care of him and his sister.

“I am a proud Matador because to me, CSUN means opportunity — since it has provided my family and me with access to a quality education, as well as opportunities to prepare me for a career in public service,” he said.

This summer, Martinez-Ramirez plans to participate in the Cal State D.C. Internship Program. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy and a juris doctorate. One day he hopes to serve in a local or state elected office.

Reading from a science textbook alone will not adequately prepare the next generation of citizenry with needed 21st century skills according to two California State University, Northridge professors. Thanks to being awarded part of a $3 million grant from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, newer and more effective teaching methods can be tested out by education professors Brian Foley and John M. Reveles.

The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation supports education programs throughout the state, including efforts of teacher preparation programs to transition to the new Common Core and Next Generation Standards.

Using technology as the foundation for their research model, Foley and Reveles anticipate showing how the use of technology tools in the classroom can make learning about science more engaging and educationally relevant.

“Let’s face it, technology is ubiquitous,” Reveles said. “It permeates society. Students are tech savvy. It’s trying to get teachers on board, not to change practice but to enhance their lessons through the use of technology that is important for us. It’s really supporting good teaching. The computers can support and enhance that.”

Foley and Reveles explained that using Google docs and other technology-based tools in the classroom would enhance the learning experience for both teachers and students by creating real-time collaboration on a project or assignment.

“The work is in real time, you can formatively assess your students on a real-time basis,” Reveles explained.

Foley said the teaching method easily aligns with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which call for more collaborative work in the classroom.

“It supports what NGSS and Common Core State Standards will expect teachers to do. You can support lots of writing with collaborative documents,” Foley said. “Talk about data pooling. If you are doing an experiment in the classroom, students can see bigger trends, can see some places where they can really try and figure out what it means when data is pooled together.”

A co-investigator in the project is CSUN secondary education professor Ivan Cheng who is assisting Foley and Reveles through the use of a collaborative teaching model where teachers will meet to discuss how to create and improve lesson activities for their students, called the Responsive Teaching Cycle (RTC).

Reveles said that working with Cheng has expanded what their technology-based lesson activities can provide for teachers as well.

“That symbiotic relationship is what we entered with Ivan when we started talking about submitting this grant. There are a lot of interconnections here,” he said.

Through two projects, the Computer Supported Collaborative Science (CSCS) and RTC, the New Generation of Educators project funded through the grant allows us to combine both of them to support new teachers. That’s the idea with the New Generation of Educators grant, we can support teaching practices in math and science and eventually in all subjects. That’s our vision. I believe in what we are doing.”

The project, with research analytics and data pooling and sampling by CSUN professor and researcher Andrew Ainsworth and his Center for Assessment Research and Evaluation (CARE) team, will begin with an upcoming three-week summer training session for teachers from the San Fernando Valley area. Local middle school students and in-service teachers will experience collaborative science and teaching practice preparation during the summer institute which gives them the chance to serve as mentors for science and math student teachers from CSUN’s Michael D. Eisner College of Education during the Fall 2015 semester.

“By pairing experienced in-service teachers with pre-service student teachers who receive [our] training, both parties will be better prepared for the new science and core state standards,” Reveles said. “We want to mentor and teach faculty as well as student teachers. One of the key elements for changing the way we prepare the next generation of teachers is to change not only what teachers experience at the university, but the way they utilize and practice that prep in the classroom. So, by training in service and pre-service teachers and linking those two up, then we can really change the way they do business in the classroom.”

Foley agreed that being able to link both groups allows for everyone to be on the same page when learning how to navigate technology use in the classroom, especially with the summer program as practice time.

“Teachers need practice teaching with technology with real students, instead of telling them how to use technology, we provide a class where they are forced to try it. So we give them a few days to get used to the idea,” he said. “We’ve designed a curriculum with fun science activities where [students and teachers] are using collaborative technology so teachers see how it works. I think we’ve seen that they learn a lot and teachers have realized what students can do instead of just what the teacher tells them to do.

“There’s a misconception that if you bring computers into the classroom, you don’t do hands-on science. That would be terrible, we love hands-on science. Our project is built around how the computer supports scientific inquiry and having students make sense of the data.”

For Reveles, being able to provide an opportunity for better learning is paving the way for more effective teaching and learning outcomes.

“We are trying to make these approaches accessible to teachers and students who might not otherwise have had the opportunity for collaborative learning before,” he said. “We’re being revolutionary. You show them the possibility and you give them the tools. The rest is up to them.”