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
Features
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
Legacy Marks the Male Success Alliance’s 10th Anniversary
Thomas Richardson was a shy and unassuming teenager in South Los Angeles who didn’t express his feelings too often, even with his family, until one day when he decided to tell his siblings “I love you.” The show of affection was just one of several ways Richardson started connecting on a more personal level with family and his peers at John C. Fremont High School, as suggested by his mentors from California State University, Dominguez Hills’ (CSUDH) Male Success Alliance (MSA) program. “It was strange, but cool, too. My sister would laugh and my brother would call me a name, or say ‘I love you, too, but I don’t need to tell you that. You know I do.’ But I thought, ‘Do I?’” said ... Read More
