For her athletic achievements, contributions to the sport of track and field, and her dedication to her community, Olympic Gold medalist and California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) alumna Carmelita Jeter was bestowed a California State University Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during CSUDH's Commencement on May 17 and 18. This year, the Class of 2019 enjoyed a more intimate graduation experience in the Dignity Health Sports Park’s Tennis Stadium with stands full of family and friends cheering on the graduates. The more than 3,600 graduates listened to words of well wishes, personal reflections, and insightful advice from six CSUDH alumni keynote speakers during six ... Read More
Features
Grit and Experience Drive Graduate Joe Taylor’s Success
Joe Taylor has an unusual plan for the next phase of his life, which starts this summer after he graduates with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). He plans to retire. Students Taylor’s age—he is 71 years old—typically have unique reasons for putting in the time and dealing with the inherent challenges of earning a college degree later in life, but career advancement isn’t often one of them. For Taylor, he had something to prove to himself, and a promise to fulfill to his twin 19-year-old granddaughters. “My granddaughters were applying at universities. One night when we were sitting at the table talking about their ... Read More
Graduate Illen Barrios Draws Strength from Unimaginable Loss
Illen Barrios may not hear her mother among the thousands of family and friends cheering on graduates at California State University, Dominguez Hills’ (CSUDH) 2019 Commencement Ceremony on May 18, but knowing her mother will be there, and that she is proud of her, is all Barrios really wants. Strength is a dominant trait among the women in Barrios’ family. For her mother, her children’s education was always a high priority, and one of the reasons she left her home and family in the Philippines for a job as a nanny in Saudi Arabia when Barrios was just 2 years old—to earn money for her children’s schooling. Tragically, the job was a lie, and Barrio’s mother was forced into domestic ... Read More
Alexis McCurn Explores the Survivial of Black Women in the City in New Book, The Grind
Alexis McCurn remembers the exchange she had one day with her neighbor, Ruth: She was sitting on the front steps of her former East Oakland apartment when the 19-year-old mother walked by pushing a stroller. McCurn asked, “Where you going, Ruth?” “You know where I’m going, taking him to the babysitter, then to King’s (the local fast-food restaurant where she worked),” said Ruth. “I’ve gotta stay on my grind because the bills don’t stop.” McCurn, an associate professor of sociology at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), met Ruth while conducting nearly two years of ethnographic research on the lived experiences of poor African American women and the creative approaches ... Read More
CSUDH Students Deep Dive into Research
Tackling a spectrum of investigative topics, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) students in the university’s federally funded scholarship programs—McNair Scholars, Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE), Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) and Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U*STAR)—explore, experiment, publish, and present their research in a variety of disciplines. Their rigorous investigations are part of an education preparing them for advanced degrees. Eight graduating seniors in these programs talk about their research and personal growth along with their plans for the future. McNair Scholars The Ronald E. McNair ... Read More
