Source: KTLA
A California State University, Dominguez Hills graduate student who once battled homelessness and addiction celebrated a major milestone this weekend with family, friends and supporters at his Long Beach home after earning his master’s degree.
J.D. Elson, who was recently honored with the 2025 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, shared his story with KTLA after walking across the stage at CSUDH.
Elson, who previously struggled with alcoholism, drug addiction and homelessness, said he never imagined he would one day become an award-winning scholar.
“If you had asked me that eight years ago, I would have laughed in your face,” Elson said in a CSUDH profile published earlier in the school year. “I used to think I was capable of getting C’s and barely getting by.”
According to the university, Elson spent years drifting from state to state while battling addiction before ending up homeless in Long Beach at age 36.
After entering treatment and getting sober, Elson enrolled at Long Beach City College before transferring to CSUDH, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2022 and later entered the university’s Marital and Family Therapy graduate program.
Now, after earning his graduate degree, Elson says he hopes to help others through recovery work and plans to continue his education toward becoming a licensed clinical psychologist.
The CSU Trustees’ Award recognizes one student from each CSU campus for academic achievement, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need.
“This award is acknowledgment that I and others like me are capable of overcoming incredible adversity and achieving great success,” Elson said.
