In the opening lines of their Las Doctoras podcast, Cristina Rose (Smith) and Renee Lemus invite listeners to join them at their kitchen table to question systems of power, sip on some tequila, and change the world. It's a premise rooted in the duo's shared mission: to demystify academic discourse by taking it beyond the classroom, and into public spaces. By chance, Rose and Lemus had met and hit it off at their children's playgroup, where they discovered their mutual academic and personal backgrounds. Not only did they hail from the same area of Los Angeles and share similar family experiences, but they also both taught within the CSU system. Rose is a lecturer of Women's Studies at ... Read More
CSUDH Student Turns Hobby into Start-Up Business
When the COVID-19 lockdown first took effect in March 2020, CSUDH student Alexandra Carrasco suddenly found herself stuck at home with a lot of extra time on her hands. She decided to put that time to good use, building a customized computer keyboard for herself. In the months since, she's been able to turn those skills into a fledgling business, creating custom keyboards for clients by hand. Carrasco, a junior majoring in business administration with an entrepreneurship concentration, first became interested in “mechanical keyboards” when she was still in high school. “Mechanical keyboards have a physical switch in them,” Carrasco explains, “so when you press it, it actually hits a ... Read More
CSUDH Alumna Gracie Ann Dinkins Impacts Lives at Home and Abroad
From an early age, CSUDH alumna Gracie Ann Dinkins ('87, BA, Chemistry) was taught the value of giving back to the community. “My mother instilled the importance of service and sacrifice very early in all of her children,” she says. These days, Dinkins is living out those lessons, working as a trauma and acute care surgeon at a pair of Southern California hospitals while also helping rescue an elementary school in Liberia. Dinkins, who grew up in Liberia, was attending the University of Liberia in 1984 when political and social upheaval that would devolve into a 14-year civil war in the country disrupted her educational journey “The country experienced serious civil unrest and student-led ... Read More
Alumna Julie DeVaney Helps Lead Frontline Fight Against COVID-19
As a member of the San Diego-based Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), California State University, Dominguez Hills alumna Julie DeVaney ('05, MS, Nursing) has traveled across the country, assisting local health care workers in emergency situations. She has helped deal with the aftermath of everything from hurricanes to terrorism (her first deployment was in 2001, after the World Trade Center attacks). So it is no surprise to see DeVaney on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19. In 2020, DeVaney spent time at rural hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients, working with or replacing overwhelmed staff and ... Read More
New Latinx Center Up and Running–Virtually
Responding to calls from students, California State University, Dominguez Hills officially opened the Latinx Cultural Resource Center (LCRC) in January, joining other campus affinity centers such as the Rose Black Resource Center and the Queer Culture & Resource Center. “We're here to build community, hear the needs of our students, and connect with them,” says the center's interim director, Rony Castellanos Raymundo. Chicano/a Studies major Janneth Najera was the driving force behind the push to establish a Latinx Center on campus. Janneth worked with faculty, staff, and community members to make sure the center came to life,” according to Castellanos Raymundo. “It's thanks to her ... Read More