J.D. Elson’s journey from homeless addict to award-winning scholar has brought about a lot of changes—not least to the CSUDH graduate student’s self-image.
After a recent ceremony honoring Elson and the other recipients of the 2025 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, a news reporter asked if he saw himself as an inspiration to others.
“If you had asked me that eight years ago, I would have laughed in your face,” said Elson. “I used to think I was capable of getting C’s and barely getting by. I never really thought that I could excel at things.
“But the more time passes and the more that I implement the things that I learn and have success with them, I’m thinking, ‘Wow, I really sold myself short.’ I actually have the capacity to do much larger things than I ever thought!”
Born and raised in Soldotna, Alaska, a town of less than 5,000 people on the Kenai Peninsula, Elson says that he barely graduated high school.
“I had a bit of a misspent youth,” he recalls. “My mom had to follow me to school every day to make sure that I showed up because I just wasn’t going. I had no intention of continuing my education.”
Fast forward to today, and Elson is currently on track to earn his master’s degree in Marital and Family Therapy (MFT) from CSUDH in May 2026.
His academic and personal success have earned Elson a 2025 CSU Trustees’ Award, the system’s highest recognition of student achievement. It provides annual scholarships to one student from each CSU campus who demonstrates high academic achievement, personal accomplishments, community service, and financial need.
“I am honored to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments and perseverance of this year’s Trustees’ Scholars,” said CSU Chancellor Mildred García in announcing the awards.
“Each of these students has overcome significant personal and educational challenges in pursuit of academic excellence, and it is with great pride that we celebrate their achievements.”
Elson is grateful for being named this year’s recipient of the Trustees’ Award scholarship. “This award is acknowledgment that I and others like me are capable of overcoming incredible adversity and achieving great success,” he says. “It’s also a reminder in those moments when I start to doubt myself that there are people who recognize my potential and believe in me—even when I may not see it for myself.”
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After graduating from high school, Elson spent the next two decades drifting from state to state and job to job. “I bounced around, struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction, and had a few bouts of homelessness. I ended up in Long Beach, 36 years old and homeless again. I didn’t know anybody and had no idea what I was going to do.”
Elson’s family refused to let him move home, but his mother agreed to pay for shelter in Long Beach if he would get himself help with his addictions. He entered a treatment program and got himself sober for the first time since his teenage years.
“So then I was like 36 years old and wondering what I was going to do with my life,” Elson remembers. “I had worked a ton of different jobs. I was a jack of all trades, master of none.”
He decided to go back to school, with the thought that having a degree might lead to slightly better job opportunities. “I started at Long Beach City College (LBCC) with the mindset that ‘C’s get degrees.’ I had never been a good student and was just hoping to scrape by and get an associate’s degree.”
Elson soon found himself doing much better than that. “What happened is I applied all the things that I had learned how to do in recovery—show up on time or early, reach out and ask for help when you don’t know—to school. It turned out that I’m actually a really good student! I surprised myself and ended up on the dean’s list every semester.”
He found himself drawn to psychology courses while at LBCC, becoming interested in how the mind works and human behavior. He finished his associate’s degree in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, then was accepted into the psychology department at CSUDH. In 2022, he graduated summa cum laude and entered the university’s graduate MFT program, where he maintains a 3.8 GPA.
Elson is deeply committed to giving back to the recovery and sobriety community. He sponsors individuals in 12-step programs, offering his support to those in the early stages of their own recovery. After attaining his MFT, Elson plans to earn a Doctor of Psychology degree and become a licensed clinical psychologist, with the goal of helping others through his own private practice.
Meanwhile, Elson’s relationship with his own family has been mended thanks to his hard work and recovery. “It’s actually incredible. I had family members in Italy, Alaska, Hawaii, and Louisiana all watching and supporting me on the livestream of the (Trustees’ Award) ceremony. It’s been a long road of heavy conversations and some amends that had to be made, but my family has welcomed me back. They never stopped loving or supporting me.” Elson will be moving on from CSUDH to pursue his doctorate, but says, “I’m super grateful for the experience that I have had at Dominguez Hills. It’s been exciting.”
