Jennifer Bleidistel works at the Infant Toddler Center at California State University, Dominguez Hills as a teacher assistant. Like the other staff members, she takes care of the children there, many of whom have disabilities like autism or Down syndrome. For the last ten years, she has read to them, fed them breakfast and lunch, and tended to their basic needs during the day. But unlike most the other teachers and assistants, she shares something in common with many of her young charges - she too has a disability. Bleidistel, who was born with Down syndrome, found the job at the Infant Toddler Center through Easter Seals Southern California’s Supported Employment Program. On Oct. 9, ... Read More
Human Services
Pete Van Hamersveld: Fight Against Cancer Won at Marathon Finish Line
In December, 2007, Pete Van Hamersveld (Class of ’92, M.A., sociology) was told on his 50th birthday that he had colon cancer. It had been discovered during a routine colonoscopy, and the resulting surgery revealed that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. Van Hamersveld had Stage 3C colon cancer, which is one level before a terminal diagnosis. That was in January 2008, and throughout more than a year’s worth of chemotherapy, radiation, and a second surgery, he decided to take on a regimen of physical conditioning that included running—thus entering a race to save his life literally and figuratively. “When I was going through chemo, I was given a lot of material by the American ... Read More
Jumpstart: CSU Dominguez Hills Launches Partnership with National Mentoring Program for Preschoolers
In the early weeks of the fall semester at California State University, Dominguez Hills students are not just buying textbooks and reading syllabuses for their new classes. Students from a wide variety of majors are preparing to serve 300 hours over the course of the 2010-11 academic year as Jumpstart Corps members. The students will be working to ensure that preschoolers in Carson and Compton receive mentoring and encouragement that will propel them to do well in school and to begin to think of themselves as college-bound. Jumpstart, a nonprofit focused on early childhood education, addresses school readiness among preschool children in low-income communities. The 30 members of the ... Read More
