The COVID-19 pandemic may have postponed commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2020, but California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) still found a way to celebrate its graduates with a week-long Virtual Graduation Celebration. Given the task of quickly creating a series of online and virtual events to celebrate Toro grads, several departments teamed up and got to work. The effort was led by the CSUDH Office of Ceremonies and Events, with staff from the Office of Student Life (OSL), communications, alumni, the Academic Affairs Division, and DHTV all pitching in. “None of us had ever done anything like this before,” says Marilyn McPoland, director of Ceremonies and ... Read More
College of Extended and International Education
Class of 2020 Shares Fond Memories, Aspirations, and Collective Apprehension
California State University, Dominguez Hills’ Class of 2020 has a lot to offer. The students featured below are a small sample of the 4,633 graduates who will become the next generation of nurses, business professionals, researchers, artists, and leaders. Each graduate shared one of their favorite faculty mentors, a few memorable experiences since joining the Toro Nation, and some trepidation about an uncertain future. Sahara Vilchis, B.S., Anthropology/Biological Concentration, Minor in Geography Sahara Vilchis is a McNair Scholar who serves as president of the Anthropology Club, works on campus as a writing/content tutor in the Toro Learning and Testing Center, and is a volunteer in ... Read More
International Students Help Build Sweat Equity in Watts
A group of international students studying at CSUDH literally helped build walls and figuratively built connections at a Habitat for Humanity build day recently in Watts. Not even the unseasonably warm weather could dampen the students’ enthusiasm for their charitable work, as they worked together to make a house a home for a family in need. As Siba Kattan, a student from Saudi Arabia, put it, “I feel good about helping people who need it. I've never experienced something like that. It's like doing yoga ten times! You feel so good on the inside after you help someone. (Everyone) should do it!” The international group comprised Toro exchange students, as well as students in the ... Read More
Brian Jarrett draws from wealth of experience to help strengthen NCRP program
Whether in the wilds of Alaska, or his new home in urban southern California, becoming part of the local community is crucial to Brian Jarrett’s process for serving others, as well as building comprehensive dispute resolution curricula and programs. Jarrett, professor of negotiation, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding (NCRP) – and the program’s new director – arrived at CSUDH in August 2015 after serving for five years in a similar capacity at the University of Alaska (UOA). There he worked closely with indigenous Alaskan leader Polly Hyslop to generate discourse between villages, the justice system, and the university, and incorporated those real-world techniques into the dispute ... Read More
First-Year Seminar introduces freshmen to rigors of upper-division course work
Yesenia Cardenas, a freshman at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) who plans to be fully entrenched in the study of criminal justice in a couple years, is already gaining the experience and exposure to the rigors of upper-division curricula in the university’s new First-Year Seminar program. Launched in fall 2015, the program is a “re-imagining of the university 101 course” for students to experience discipline-specific lecture that encourages debate and student engagement during class and activities. Taught by full-time faculty with doctorate degrees who are active in their fields, the program provides freshmen a learning experience similar to upper-division study in ... Read More
