The CSUDH women's softball team advanced to the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship for the second consecutive year, defeating Chico State 4-1 in a dramatic, extra-innings final of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament. It was the Toros' first time winning the conference tournament and earned the team an automatic berth in the regionals. Junior infielder Nayah Pola slammed a 3-run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to secure the victory for the Toros. Her first home run of the season couldn't have come at a more important time. The Toros forced the decisive one-game final by beating Chico State 8-5 in an earlier game on Saturday. The loss was ... Read More
Alumni
Toro Esports Academy Opens with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
The new Toro Esports Academy officially opened with a flourish on Monday, April 24, with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by students, university officials, community partners, and a cohort of local gamers from Compton Unified School District. In front of a crowd of Toros and local media, President Thomas A. Parham, with assistance from Wenda Fong, chair of the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees, and Franky Saldana, president of the CSUDH Esports Association, cut the ribbon to signify the official opening of the venue. Located on the second floor of the Leo F. Cain University Library, the Toro Esports Academy features a competitive arena for students with 38 gaming ... Read More
CSUDH Alumna Kristin McGuire Honored as Guardian of Democracy
For CSUDH alumna Kristin McGuire, executive director/CEO of political advocacy group Young Invincibles, the desire to help change society for the better is more than a passing fancy. “It's in my family's DNA,” she says. McGuire's great-grandfather attempted to build the first Black-owned store in his Southern community–until the Ku Klux Klan burned it down. Her grandmother was the first Black radio DJ in their area, and her mother was one of the first Black students to integrate her Alabama school system, at the age of seven years old. “You hear the story of Ruby Bridges, but there were a lot of Ruby Bridges out there, and my mom was one of those,” says McGuire. “To this day in her ... Read More
Education is the Key for Black Resource Center Interim Director
For Trimaine Davis, the new interim director of the CSUDH Black Resource Center (BRC), education was his way out of a generational cycle of addiction and depression. Now, he dedicates himself to helping others find the same opportunities. “I really take this seriously and do what I can to make sure that the doors that were opened for me remain open for those who are falling behind,” he says. Davis has traveled a long, hard road to get to his current position at CSUDH. Born to a drug-addicted mother and absentee father, he was placed into foster care at birth. When he was five years old, Davis' paternal grandmother became his legal guardian, and he grew up with her in the hardscrabble East ... Read More
Asian & Pacific Cultural Center Opens Its Doors
After over a year of struggles and delays, the CSUDH Asian & Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) finally has a space to call its own. Located on the second floor of Welch Hall, in the offices formerly occupied by Financial Aid, the center is open to all Toro students, although its primary focus is on supporting the success of Asian and Pacific Islander students at the university. The APCC was established in Fall 2021, in response to student requests for an API-focused resource center. Inaugural program director Nathan Nguyen was hired in October 2021, and spent over a year working with administrators to secure a home for the center. “When I came on board, I assumed it would maybe take a ... Read More
