As many a student can attest, sometimes life gets in the way of school, thwarting goals and altering paths. This was certainly the case for Cesar Deleon. He faced circumstances that could have jeopardized his education altogether, but instead he met those challenges head on, and with the help of the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (USTAR) program the senior chemistry major at California State University, Dominguez Hills is preparing for graduate school, where he plans to specialize in organic chemistry with the goal of developing new medicine. Although a bright kid, Deleon was not all that dedicated to his school work. An ... Read More
Features
English Lecturer Eric Brach Teams Up with Basketball Legend to Author Memoir
Billy McGill may well be “the greatest NBA (National Basketball Association) player you've never heard of.” But with the help of Eric Brach, a lecturer of English at California State University, Dominguez Hills, his story is being brought to light. The two have paired to co-author “Billy 'the Hill' and the Jump Hook: The Autobiography of a Forgotten Basketball Legend” (University of Nebraska Press, November 2013), which recounts the against-the-odds rise and precipitous fall of McGill, who is the only No. 1 NBA draft pick ever to come out of Los Angeles and the inventor of one of basketball's staple moves–the jump hook shot. The University Library will present a book signing and ... Read More
University’s STEM Scholars Garner Interdisciplinary Experience at National Conference
Thirteen years ago, a lone student from California State University, Dominguez Hills attended the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science's (SACNAS) National Conference at the urging of biology professor, Laura Robles, now acting vice president of Research and Funded Projects and emeritus professor of biology. This year, 24 research students from the university participated. With more than 275 exhibits, nationally renowned keynote speakers, myriad research presentation opportunities, and conference programming “specifically tailored to support undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and career professionals at each transition stage of ... Read More
Campus Joins CSU Effort to Educate Students, Families about Affordable Care Act
According to student population data for the California State University system, more than 70 percent of CSU students and their families would be eligible for Medi-Cal or government subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the federal healthcare reform law commonly referred to as ObamaCare that requires that all legal U.S. residents have health insurance by Jan. 1, 2014 or pay a penalty. To reach the students who may be impacted by the new law and help explain the new benefits and mandates to health insurance, California State University, Dominguez Hills is among a group of campuses selected to participate in an education and outreach project coordinated between California State ... Read More
Exemplary Achievement Awardee Salvador Valdez Finds his Calling in Advisement
Like so many children, as a boy Salvador Valdez (Class of '09, B.S., health science, community health; '12 M.A., education, counseling) wanted to become a doctor when he grew up. Intending to go to medical school, he began his freshman year at California State University, Dominguez Hills, majoring in biology. He also volunteered at UCLA-Harbor Medical Center and at a community medical clinic in Bell Gardens. He was on the right path to achieving his goal, but then he caught a bug. The teaching bug. “Teaching or education itself kind of always called my name,” Valdez said. As a university student, he was beginning to seriously evaluate his life's priorities, and after ... Read More