For Dhanushka Kumarasinghe, winning 1st place at the 31st Annual CSU Student Research Competition at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO) in late April 2017 was “surreal,” in part because he almost didn't present at California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH) 12th Annual Student Research Day in February, where he needed to win to compete at SLO. Two days before Kumarasinghe was to give his talk, “Come Catch Pokémon at the Celadon City Department Store!: Player Perceptions Toward Businesses Within Pokémon Go Hotspots,” at the university's research day, his father had a stroke and he rushed him to the hospital. “There was a lot on my mind. I thought, 'I have no time for this. There ... Read More
Communications
Homeless Student Turned Graduate Gets By with a Little Help from Her Friends
Exhausted and fast asleep in the backseat of her car following a long day of classes, Esther Cruz springs up after University Police Officer Juan Perez lights up her vehicle with his cruiser's spotlight. “He started asking questions–wanting to know why I was there and what I was doing,” she recalls. That was in fall 2015, Cruz's first semester on campus. Driving up from her home in San Diego to begin classes and hoping to secure campus housing, Cruz was instead placed on the waiting list and couldn't afford the off-campus housing options offered to her. She decided to try living out of her car. She first parked on surface streets, but after an attempted break-in of her car, she felt ... Read More
CSU Dominguez Hills Alumna Arleene Valdez Takes on Big Events for the LA Times
“Baptism by rain” is what Cal State Dominguez Hills alumna Arleene Valdez ('11, B.A., communications, minor in marketing) calls her first assignment as a planner of consumer events at the Los Angeles Times after it rained on the newspaper's annual Festival of Books for the first time in its 20-year history. Fortunately, the festival is so popular that it still had its largest turnout to date in April 2016 as its long-time fans and newcomers–more than 100,000s attendees–broke out umbrellas or just got wet as they strolled the entire USC campus to find books, and enjoy literary speakers, performers, and food. All the while, Valdez and her colleagues in the Times' events department were ... Read More
Alumna Markette Smith Sheppard Hosts ‘Great Day Washington’ in Nation’s Capital
“If you are willing to show up for the world, it will show up for you.” With that awareness as her guide, alumna Markette Smith Sheppard ('02, B.A., mass communications/French minor) more than “shows up” each day as host of the Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate morning show “Great Day Washington,” or for her organic cosmetics e-boutique Messenger Beauty. She also inspires others to use their talents to impact the world in their own way. “I haven't always had a job where I was so excited to come to work, but I truly am now and I feel like this is what I'm supposed to be doing,” said Sheppard. “I happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right skills to be able to do this ... Read More
Hollywood by the Horns Provides a ‘Voice’ for Student Storytellers
Fearlessly stepping up to the microphone without notes and in front of a live audience, 15 California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) students and two alumni shared dramatic, funny, and tear-jerking personal stories from their lives during the Hollywood by the Horns 2nd Annual “Story Slam” on May 7 in the Loker Student Union ballroom. To prepare for the Story Slam, the student participated in two workshops, “Finding Your Voice and Telling Your Story,” created to develop their verbal communication and storytelling skills through an examination and sharing of personal experiences, and “Deconstructing the Entertainment industry.” Each week throughout the spring 2016 semester, ... Read More
