When Layla Sewell is out in the community and she hears someone say, “Look! It's Ms. Sewell!” it warms her heart –as it should having worked to warm the hearts of entire families for over 20 years. Sewell is executive director of the Awaken the Greatness Foundation (ATG), which she founded in late 2011. The Los Angeles-based non-profit facilitates, organizes and moderates workshops, classes and events that “enrich and improve the lives of African-American parents and youth.” “Working with young people just seems to come naturally to me. It's truly a joy,” said Sewell. “It's been a major part of my life for so long.” Along with her work for ATG, Sewell has been balancing her role as ... Read More
Commencement
David Garza Battles Back from Car Accident to Become Army Officer, Olympian
David Garza has a lot of fight in him. He fought his way out of a coma in 2012 after a devastating car accident left the then 19-year-old California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) freshman with a traumatic brain injury. “I was in a coma for about five weeks in the hospital after the car accident. I broke my jaw–I have a metal plate in there–and my left knee was cut wide open [by a metal fuse box under his steering wheel],” said Garza, who also had his left eyebrow completely torn off, and had to breathe and eat through a tube in his neck while in the hospital. After six operations and ongoing rehabilitation, Garza was back at CSUDH fighting through his injuries for four ... Read More
Kenji Jones overcomes setback and loss to earn her master’s degree with honors
After more than 20 years of putting the needs of her family before her college aspirations, Kenji Jones has earned her Master of Science in Marital and Family Therapy with honors from California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), despite the sorrow of losing four close family members just prior to beginning graduate school in 2012. Jones, who graduated summa cum laude, experienced her first educational setback after graduating from high school in 1993. She had begun attending college and pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse, but a year into her studies her aunt gave birth to a baby boy whom she couldn't care for. “My grandmother asked me to help raise my baby cousin, so I ... Read More
Class of 2015: a sampling of top graduates share goals, plans for the future
California State University, Dominguez Hills' graduating Class of 2015 has a lot to offer. This is just a sample of the close to 4,000 graduates who will become the next generation of scientists, researchers, artists, experts and leaders in the workforce. Cassandra Maddux, B.S., biochemistry, magna cum laude Scholarships, accolades and associations: Minority Biomedical Research Support program (MBRS-RISE); Phi Kappa Phi honors society; Undergraduate Toxicology Education Travel Award at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology; and took a second place prize during the 2015 CSUDH Student Research Day. Maddux has been offered fully funded five-year scholarships in several ... Read More
Commencement 2015: big on pomp, deep in circumstance
Eagerly emerging from deep within the StubHub Center Tennis Stadium tunnel like teams about to compete in a sporting event, California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH) Class of 2015 waved to throngs of family, friends, faculty and staff as they walked toward their seats amid rumbling cheers during five college-based commencement ceremonies. The difference: victory was already theirs. After taking their seats, students listened to words of well wishes, personal reflections from their own college years, and offerings of insightful advice that trumpeted from the platform party, Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, and local and national civic and business leaders. For two ... Read More
