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CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

Alumni

New Platform Makes Alumni-Student Connections Easier

February 10, 2022 By Kandis Newman

New Platform Makes Alumni-Student Connections Easier

Whether you’re a CSUDH alum who wants to share your knowledge and advice with an up-and-coming protégé, or a Toro student looking for a mentor in your field, the new Toro Connect platform promises to make establishing those relationships easier than ever.

“As mentors, Toro alumni can continue to make an impact in the life of a student by providing guidance and helpful tips as students embark on their professional journey,” adds Felicia Hernandez, director of CSUDH Alumni Relations. “Toro Connect provides a unique opportunity for students to connect with alumni one on one to gain insight on points of interests, majors, and industries.”

Created in conjunction with the CSUDH Career Center and Educational Partnerships, the Toro Connect platform is a free networking tool that enables current CSUDH students to make connections with Toro alumni throughout the country and worldwide. The platform can be accessed by computer or smartphone, and once connected, students and alums can exchange messages on the platform at any time.

“Toro Connect has been a long time coming,” said Gilbert Hernandez, senior coordinator in the Office of Alumni Relations. “For years, we’ve realized the value of connecting students to successful alumni through our face-to-face programs. The idea for a mentoring platform was always in our back pocket, and the disruption of the pandemic gave us the green light to make Toro Connect a reality.”

Alumni who are interested in volunteering their time and talents for either short-term or long-term mentoring are strongly encouraged to sign up. A wide range of mentoring resources are also available on the platform, so you don’t have to be an expert in mentoring upon sign up, says Gilbert. While alumni-to-student mentoring is the primary focus, peer-to-peer or alumni-to-alumni mentoring is also achievable on this platform. The program has been well-received upon its launch, with over 200 alumni signing up. Almost 80 alumni-student connections have been made in the first four months of the project.

For students who sign up and use the platform to connect with an alumni mentor, Gilbert advises them to be thorough and thoughtful when creating their profiles. Based on the information they enter, students can be matched to alumni through matching degrees, industries, hobbies, or extracurricular interests. “The more details about themselves that they apply to their profile, the better the connections they will make over time,” he says. “I really encourage students to try out the 60-second intro video feature!”

Mentorships and similar alumni-student relationships have been shown time and again to improve students’ success, retention, and career prospects. “Alumni are seen as trailblazers who pave the path for students to be successful,” says Felicia. “Alumni who join the platform have the ability to empower students’ career exploration and increase access to opportunities that may have not been presented or even thought of before.”

For more information, or to sign up for Toro Connect, visit https://www.csudh.edu/alumni/toro-connect/.

CSUDH Alum Donates Historic Gift

November 16, 2021 By Kandis Newman

CSUDH Alum Donates Historic Gift
CSUDH alum Doug Le Bon, co-founder and senior managing director of Pathway Capital Management.

With a $700,000 donation to CSUDH, Doug Le Bon made university history for donating the largest gift to CSUDH from a living alum.

Le Bon, who earned two business degrees from CSUDH, a BS in Business Administration (1976) and an MBA (1979), is the co-founder and senior managing director of Pathway Capital Management, one of world’s most successful private markets investment firms, managing over $85 billion in assets.

Remembering his days as a student driving a soft drink delivery truck around the South Bay, he said he was motivated to give to the university to help reduce the financial barriers students today face in pursuit of their education.

“I think it can be really difficult now for young people to go to college,” says Le Bon. “It’s not only the actual cost of college, but students have to put food on their tables. My motivation was to try to make it easier for people to get their degrees and not leave college with so much debt.”

“That’s a really difficult thing now for students to do,” Le Bon adds. “Especially if you’re if you’re studying liberal arts, or studying to be a teacher or social worker. A businessperson or lawyer can expect to make money and pay off their debt, but for students in other disciplines it can be problematic.”

With his donation, Le Bon earmarked $500,000 to establish the Le Bon Family Scholarship at CSUDH. The gift will provide funding for the Presidential Scholars program, the new Pay It Forward initiative, and the CSUDH general scholarship fund. Another $200,000 for technology in the new Innovation & Instruction Building.

As a graduate of the business school, Le Bon was eager to help equip the new Innovation & Instruction Building, which now houses the College of Business Administration and Public Policy (CBAPP). His largess enabled the university to purchase several Bloomberg Terminals, software systems that enable users to monitor and analyze financial market data.

In addition, CBAPP students will get access to Bloomberg Market Concepts, a self-paced e-learning course that provides an interactive introduction to financial markets. CSUDH students who pass the course will be receive a free certification.

“Technology is key, and access to technology is key,” says Le Bon. “If students are going to go into money management or anything like that, they are going to have to be facile and adept at using technology like Bloomberg Terminals in order to keep up.”

“I would really like it if more Dominguez Hills business students ended up in asset management, because there are just not enough young people from diverse or underserved communities in the disciple. If having these terminals in place helps spur interest and gives those students a background that makes them more attractive to employers, that would be great.”

“Sometimes, the passions of our alums remain more latent than visible, but once revealed, they point a way to a brighter future. Mr. Le Bon’s extraordinary generosity represents everything that’s special about our Toro Nation,” said CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham. “His contributions will make a huge impact on the lives of scores of CSUDH students and faculty going forward. When our successful alumni extend a helping hand to those coming after them, it both establishes a legacy to build on, and illustrates exactly what we mean by ‘Go Far Together.’ We are all more than grateful for and appreciative of Mr. Le Bon’s stunning philanthropic support.”

CSUDH Alumni Scholarships Awarded to Largest Cohort

September 17, 2021 By Kandis Newman

CSUDH Awards Alumni Scholarships to Largest Cohort Ever

The California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Alumni Association awarded a record 16 students with scholarships for the 2021-22 school year, providing them with funds to help continue their education.

The recipients include 7 graduate and 9 undergraduate students—all carefully chosen for the scholarships, which are given annually to students with strong academic records and service to the university and their communities. This marks the most Alumni Scholarships that have ever been awarded in a single year, thanks to increased philanthropic donations to the Alumni Association.

The 2021-22 recipients of the CSUDH Alumni Scholarship are:

Daisy-aguilar

Daisy Aguilar
Grade level: Sophomore
Major: Child development
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

 

 

Daisy Aguirre

Daisy Aguirre
Grade level: Senior
Major: Education
Minor: Women’s studies
Hometown: Lawndale, Calif.
“As a Latinx woman, winning this scholarship means being able to expand my educational opportunities, such as applying to graduate school and achieving my dream of becoming a social justice educator within higher education. This scholarship has given me the chance to further my experience in working with first-generation college students and giving back to communities in need.”

Kerrington Boykin

Kerrington Boykin
Grade level: Senior
Major: English/Africana studies
Hometown: Bellflower, Calif.
“I am grateful to be a recipient of the Alumni Scholarship. I thank God for this wonderful blessing. This scholarship has allowed me to complete my undergraduate journey and achieve my degree without financial worries.”

Mariana Castro
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: Negotiation, Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding
Hometown: Compton, Calif.
“Being awarded this scholarship is important to me because it allows me to keep pursuing my education. After completing my master’s, I will continue my education by attending law school to become a cooperating attorney. It is truly an honor to represent CSUDH.”

Janelle CatbaganJanelle Catbagan
Grade level: Senior
Major: Music education
Hometown: Carson, Calif.
“This scholarship means so much to me, because it gives meaning to who I am as a student at CSUDH and as a future Toro alumna. Being awarded an Alumni Scholarship opens up more opportunities for me to inspire the Toros after me and continuously serve my community and everyone else I encounter. I am beyond grateful!”

Krista DangeloKrista D’Angelo
Grade level: Senior
Major: Business administration – human resources management
Hometown: Vallejo, Calif.
“I am proud to be a Toro! Winning an Alumni Scholarship means that the alumni community is confident that I will represent the school well and with pride. It also means that I can continue my education with less of a financial burden. I am very appreciative and thankful to have been chosen for this scholarship.”

Keonna SimpsonAna K. De La Torre
Grade level: Senior
Major: Clinical Science – Medical Technology Option
Minor: Spanish Grammar and Writing
Hometown: Lawndale, Calif.
“This scholarship will not only be a much-needed financial boost towards my educational expenses, but will provide invaluable moral support in my academic journey. As a single mother and first-generation college student, there has always been uncertainty regarding my ability to earn my degree successfully. Therefore, I am beyond grateful and honored for the support from the Alumni Association and everyone who helped make this happen!”

Ana De La TorreKeonna R. Simpson
Grade level: Senior
Major: Human services
Hometown: Gardena, Calif.
“Winning the Alumni Scholarship means determination and hard work. I transferred to CSUDH from Los Angeles Harbor College in the fall of 2020, and I am looking to graduate this December Magna Cum Laude! During my time here at CSUDH, I have been able to build myself personally and professionally. Working full-time while managing 16+ units a semester has been very challenging but rewarding. It feels like I am being rewarded for the dedication and time I put into my studies and into my future. Thank you!”

Christina JohnsonChristina Johnson
Grade level: Senior
Major: Healthcare management
Hometown: Redondo Beach, Calif.
“Winning the Alumni Scholarship means that I will be able to achieve my higher education goals. I will be able to continue my program full-time, graduate, and then give back to my community.”

Gustavo LimonGustavo Limo
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: School counseling
Hometown: South Whittier, Calif.
“Receiving the scholarship is a great honor. I have worked extremely hard to be where I am today. Receiving the scholarship shows that there are other people out there who support the goal I am looking forward to accomplishing.”

Fatima MohammadFatima Mohammad
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: Curriculum and instruction
Country of birth: Jordan
“I feel honored and thrilled to be selected for this scholarship. It is an appreciation for my efforts, and it motivates me for more achievements. It has also helped me build higher self-esteem.”

Christina NesbitChristina Nesbit
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: College counseling and school counseling credential
Hometown: Torrance, Calif.
“Receiving the 2021 Alumni Scholarship is an honor. I am so grateful to our alumni for supporting me through my educational journey here at CSUDH. I am proud to be a Toro!”

Angelica Tan

Angelica Tan 
Grade level: Senior
Major: Human services
Hometown: Carson, Calif.
“Winning an Alumni Scholarship means that I can help empower other students, especially my fellow immigrant youth and students, to use their voices to advocate for the resources that they need and encourage them to address student-related concerns on campus and in the community.”

Karla Torres
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)
Hometown: Buena Park, Calif.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity! Winning the CSUDH Alumni Scholarship will not only assist me with my graduate study expenses, but it also allows me to recognize how much hard work I have put into my education thus far. As a future higher education instructor, my main goal is to encourage future students to further their educational paths. I was unsure if I wanted to pursue my master’s degree, because I knew I would struggle to afford tuition and textbooks; however, my family and friends have constantly reminded me that no obstacle should stop me from attending graduate school, because there are scholarships like this one that will help support me. Thank you so much to this amazing committee for helping me reach my educational aspirations. I am proud to have CSUDH as my alma mater!”

Jazzmyne Urquiza
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: Public administration
Hometown: Glendale, Calif.
“This scholarship means everything to me. I have struggled financially to get my masters degree but remain motivated as my ultimate goal is to one day help my community. CSUDH has helped me grow as a person and I’m grateful for the opportunity to thrive and achieve my dreams.”

Cybil VidalCybil Vidal
Grade level: Graduate student
Major: College counseling
Hometown: Lakewood, Calif.
“At a time when the cost of higher education continues to climb and so many students are struggling to pay back their educational debts, this scholarship is a wonderful gift that will propel me forward and help me reach my educational goals. Receiving this scholarship means that I can take part in enriching experiences in professional development and confidently navigate the final stretch of my graduate program, working hard to finish strong. I am truly grateful for the CSUDH Alumni Scholarship and hope to pay it forward in the future to assist others who could benefit greatly from this help just as I did.”

CSUDH Alumna Gracie Ann Dinkins Impacts Lives at Home and Abroad

March 18, 2021 By Kandis Newman

Three images of CSUDH Alumna Gracie Ann Dinkins, in surgery, walking with students from Liberia, at the Olympics
CSUDH alumna Gracie Ann Dinkins at work as a trauma surgeon, accompanying girls on their walk to school in Monrovia, and representing Liberia at the Olympic Games.

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 riots that year, and I lost a number of friends to those events,” she recalls. “My family sent me to the United States to live in California with family members and resume my interrupted college education.”

She was taken with the CSUDH campus from the moment she set eyes on it. “As I walked down a street in Carson, not too far from my aunt’s home, I came across a beautiful and open campus, bordered by trees and with signs welcoming everyone. CSUDH made my transition from Liberia to Los Angeles very seamless. They accepted my credits, placed me into classes appropriate for pre-med students, and offered me a chance to engage in federally funded academic research. CSUDH was an incubator for so many of us!”

Dinkins graduated from CSUDH in 1987 with a degree in chemistry, then went on to attain her medical degree from UC Irvine. She began working as a trauma and acute care surgeon at Lynwood’s St. Francis Medical Center in 2004. Dinkins joined the staff at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital in South Los Angeles in 2018, and currently holds positions at both local hospitals.

When asked why she chose such a demanding field as trauma surgery, Dinkins answers, “I feel that trauma surgery chose me. It was the specialty that gave me the most work to do, the most challenging patients, the least amount of time to perform an intervention, and the highest levels of satisfaction—along with the most painful losses. It fulfilled my desire to use everything I had learned, lived through, and acquired to serve a population that demanded that amount of sacrifice.”

Sprinting to the Olympics

Even as she was pursuing her education and starting her career, Dinkins was enjoying a successful run as an Olympic athlete. “I discovered that I could ‘run fast’ around the age of nine. My classmates were all about two years older than me, and were not too pleased to see me ahead of them during gym class,” she says.

“It was not until I began college at the University of Liberia that I felt free to express myself through running. In the 1980s, very few women ran for sport in Liberia, so I trained mainly with male athletes. I became their ‘rabbit,’ and paid young street kids a quarter to climb up on my shoulders while I hill trained, rather than lugging bags of sand like my male counterparts,” she recalls.

Dinkins’ first trip to the Olympics was “rather impulsive,” she says. She found out that Liberia was forming a track and field team and was looking for interested athletes. Dinkins signed up, and within a few months found herself competing as a sprinter in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the first female athlete to represent Liberia at the games. “It was a long way from the dusty tracks of home to the immaculate UCLA track lanes.”

Her athletic career was sidelined for 12 years while Dinkins completed her education and began her career as a surgeon. In the mid-90’s, she accepted a research fellowship at UC San Francisco that allowed her enough free time to take up running again. “I revived my love of running, and found a great coach in the Oakland area,” says Dinkins. “I managed to qualify and compete in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the 400 meters. I set a national record at that time, which remains Liberia’s Olympic record to this day.”

Dinkins returned to her surgical residency shortly after the 1996 Olympics, but continued to train and represent Liberia in various track and field events, including the World Championships, African Championships, and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She retired from sprinting soon after the 2000 Olympics, at the age of 33.

Her track career remains one of Dinkin’s proudest accomplishments. “I always felt that it was important for me to be a female athlete representing Liberia on the world stage. Liberia can boast of electing the first female African president, but it has always been a patriarchal society. Women athletes were historically coached, managed, and often abused by men. I experienced a lot of opposition and ostracism by speaking out against unjust practices and aggression leveled at female athletes.

“Lacking any female role models, I decided to take on that role for the athletes coming after me, and started my own track club in Liberia. This led to more leadership roles, such as becoming the team physician and manager for two Liberian Olympic teams. I have now passed that baton to the next generation of Liberian athletes, and they are responding well to the call for leadership.”

Kutoa Afrika Foundation Alumna Gracie Ann Dinkins
The staff of the More Than Me Academy in Monrovia, Liberia.

Transitioning into Philanthropy

For the past several years, Dinkins has devoted much of her time to developing the educational infrastructure in Monrovia, the capital of her native Liberia. She founded the Kutoa Afrika Foundation, a non-profit devoted to creating safe spaces for students, especially girls, trying to pursue their education.

The project began when Dinkins found out about the controversy swirling around the More Than Me Academy in Liberia. A counselor was found to have been sexually abusing students at the small, charity-run school for girls, and the community was demanding that the school’s doors be shuttered.

“Public opinion demanded the immediate shut-down of the school,” says Dinkins. “Hundreds of girls were facing the prospect of going back to the streets instead of returning to their beloved campus. Parents were anxiously appealing to the government and hoping for a reprieve. The administration and staff were swamped with demands for reform, transparency, and a review of the school’s safety practices. What could I do to help?”

“I began with my own memories of being a child in Monrovia. As a child subjected to bullying and torment, I sought safe spaces to shelter from a seemingly uncaring world; the library offered wise insights from long-dead authors, while the outdoors accommodated my role-playing and dreams without judgement. I decided to create an amalgam of the two and named it the Safe Space Program.” The program aims to create ‘safe spaces’ on school campuses where students can read, study, or relax in a comforting, caring environment, with trained trauma counselors available if needed.

She formed the Kutoa Afrika Foundation in order to help manage and launch the Safe Space Program and Yasmine’s Closet, an initiative aimed at creating a repository of personal care items that students on campus would have free access to. Dinkins eventually was asked to join the board of Hilltop Schools, the organization tasked with taking over the school from the charity that had been running it.

Since joining the board, Dinkins has been intimately involved with getting the school back on an even footing. In addition to setting up the campus Safe Space Program in a trailer on the campus, she has created a new campus safety program and is setting up a digital learning center for the students.

“One of the most telling impediments to transforming a community is lack of accessibility to computers and digital learning,” she explains. “We purchased a shipping container, transported it to the campus, and are in the process of turning it into a classroom, with up to 15 learning modules and a smart TV that will enable the students, teachers, and community to interact and learn with instructors around the world.”

In the coming years, she hopes to expand the curriculum through 12th grade, acquire land for a new campus, and eventually open the school’s doors to boys, as well.

“These are big dreams,” she admits. “They will require committed effort over the coming years. But there is no turning back. We can only move forward. We have the vision, the talent, and the tenacity. I have personally committed myself and the Kutoa Afrika Foundation to the completion of the work. Helping save the More Than Me Academy has been an illuminating and humbling experience for me, and it has been an honor to work with my exceptional colleagues in Liberia.”

Alumna Julie DeVaney Helps Lead Frontline Fight Against COVID-19

March 9, 2021 By Kandis Newman

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 physicians.

“Recently, all our work has been very COVID-related,” says DeVaney, who also works full-time as a clinical nurse specialist at a Southern California hospital, and part-time as a clinical instructor for the CSUDH Clinical Nurse Specialist Program. “I’ve been to two very small hospitals in rural areas. They received a huge influx of COVID patients, but didn’t have the staffing or resources to care for them. The hospitals applied for federal assistance, and our team was flown in.”

DeVaney’s DMAT team consists of about 60 physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, paramedics, EMTs, and other health care personnel. When deployed, about 30 members of the team are chosen to travel together to the site for a two-week stint. “If things haven’t calmed down in two weeks, they’ll replace us with another team,” she says.

The NDMS is a federal program run through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “When there’s a disaster or a natural event or a mass gathering of some sort, we are often called upon to provide medical aid,” says DeVaney. “We usually respond to hurricanes, fires, and things like that.”

The COVID-19 pandemic threw the nation’s health care system into upheaval, overwhelming hospitals and clinics—especially smaller ones in rural areas. During 2020, DeVaney’s team was called up to help out at two hospitals whose staffs weren’t large enough to handle the influx of patients.

In July, DeVaney’s team traveled to a small Arizona community about three hours from Phoenix. Sandwiched between two Native American reservations, the hospital didn’t have enough available staff to treat the COVID-19 patients they were getting. DeVaney and her team helped stabilize the situation before returning home.

In November, her NDMS team was called to Central Wisconsin, in another small community whose local hospital staff had begun to suffer under the strain of the pandemic, with many staff members ill from the Coronavirus. “The health care workers there were happy for the additional support,” says DeVaney. “We were one of several teams who came to support the hospital, each staying for 14 days at a time.”

The team aims to assist workers on the ground, and not to disrupt their on-going operations. Their Wis-consin deployment was so smoothly well-executed that DeVaney adds, “I’m not sure anyone outside of the hospital knew we were there!”

DeVaney has also been doing her part in the fight against COVID-19 through her regular full-time job and her part-time job at CSUDH, helping to teach and train nurses who work on the front lines. She continues to serve on the DMAT and is ready to roll if another situation arises that requires her team to deploy.

“It’s important to me to be able to offer professional medical support to those involved in community emergencies and disasters. I find purpose in the midst of chaos by supporting and providing health care when these types of situations arise.”

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