latinx

Cultural Grad Events Celebrate the Journey

May 17, 2023 By Philip Bader

A smiling student is congratulated during the Latine Graduation Celebration.

Malcolm X called education “our passport to the future” in his speech at the founding forum for the Organization of Afro-American Unity in 1964. He linked it to the struggle for human rights, the discovery and celebration of cultural identity, and the development of greater self-respect. In his view, education provided an essential conduit for progress, a roadmap for continuous travel and not just a destination.

It was in this spirit that CSUDH’s cultural and affinity organizations gathered this month ahead of formal Commencement on May 19 and 20 for a series of smaller, culturally focused graduation celebrations.

“It’s important to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates in a way that is culturally responsive and affirming, said Rony E. Castellano, program director for La Casita, the university’s Latinx Cultural Resource Center. “Our hope is that in years to come, we can continue to (un)learn together and build spaces where our histories, identities, and experiences can be fully honored.”

Ana Miriam Barragan, program director for the Toro Dreamers Success Center, said commemorating the extraordinary achievements of the university’s undocumented students was part of a broader commitment to honor family and community. “It’s our way to let them know that we see them, that we’re always here for them, and that they didn’t get here on their own. They got here because of family, friends, and loved ones.”

All commencement events celebrate CSUDH’s deep commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and a culture where students and faculty can thrive together, says Trimaine Davis, director of the Black Resource Center. “I think the mainstream commencement does a phenomenal job of highlighting that this is a completion, whereas cultural commencements highlight the journey and what it took for our students to achieve this incredible accomplishment.”

“One of the best parts of a more intimate celebration like the Lavender Graduation event is that graduating students have an opportunity to speak and to express their appreciation for those who’ve supported them and share their feelings about the milestone,” says Megan Tagle Adams, director of the Women’s & Multicultural Resource Centers. “Many of our graduates spoke about the importance of queer visibility, finding strength in community, and their commitment to creating change.”

For Nathan Nguyen, program director for the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, the intimacy of the cultural and affinity events helps illustrate that graduates are not alone on their academic journeys. “In these smaller events, we are all reminded of the importance of community cultural wealth that helped carry our graduates to the finish line. During our API Graduation Celebration, graduates honored their families and supporters by having a loved one bestow the API sash on them.”

The Toro Guardian Scholars (TGS) program at CSUDH connects students transitioning from or currently in the foster care system with critical services and resources to help guide them throughout their educational journey. Those resources include a network of dedicated community partners, says Program Director Ludivina Vasquez Snow.

“The cultural and affinity graduation events are a beautiful way of showcasing what can happen if all campus partners work together to support students who are most in need,” says Snow. “It is important that we continue hosting these events so that students can have a place where they feel comfortable and safe enough to talk about what they’ve had to overcome and celebrate with their community.”

This year’s event included a special gift from TGS partner organization The Change Reaction, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that connects donors with individuals and communities in need of financial support to overcome barriers and take advantage of opportunities for success. The Change Reaction generously provided each TGS graduate with a check for $500 to help them on the next stage of their journey.

CSUDH is proud to have celebrated our diverse Toro community at the following cultural and affinity graduation celebrations this year:

The Queer Cultural Resource Center held its annual Lavender Graduation Celebration on May 4 in the LSU Ballroom to honor the university’s LGBTQIA+ community.
The Latinx Cultural Resource Center held its newly named Latine Graduation Celebration on May 5 in the Torodome Gym to honor the achievements of the university’s Latina/o/x/e student community.
The Asian Pacific Cultural Resource Center held its annual API Graduation Celebration on May 5 in the LSU Ballroom to honor the achievements of the university’s Asian and Pacific Islander as well as Southwest Asian North African student communities.
The Black Resource Center commemorated its 28th annual Frederick Douglass and Mary McLeod Bethune Africana Graduation Celebration on May 6 in the Torodome Gym to honor the achievements of the university’s African and African American student communities.
The Toro Dreamers Success Center held its annual UndocuGrad celebration on May 7 in the LSU Ballroom to honor the achievements of the university’s undocumented student community.
The Toro Guardian Scholars program held its annual graduation celebration on May 12 in the I&I building to honor students that have transitioned from the foster care system.
The Educational Opportunity Program held its annual graduation celebration on May 18 in the LSU Ballroom to honor the achievements of the university’s low-income, historically educationally disadvantaged, and first-generation student communities.
The Veterans Resource Center held its annual Student Veteran Graduation Celebration on May 18 in the LSU Ballroom to honor the achievements of the University’s student veteran community.

CSUDH Alumni Bring OT Skills to Their Texas Practice

April 19, 2022 By Kandis Newman

CSUDH Alumni Bring OT Skills to Their Own Texas Practice — CSUDH alumni Vanessa Yanez and Hiram Corona Martinez

CSUDH Occupational Therapy (OT) alumni Hiram Corona Martinez and Vanessa Yanez long dreamed of running their own practice – and in June 2021, their plans came to fruition with their Bravo Therapy & Independent Living Center in San Antonio, Tex. The married couple’s practice quickly become a success due to their patient-first focus on quality care.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple began to recognize certain patterns in health care that they wanted to change and do differently, explains Yanez. “We saw a real lack of diversity in health care administration and management. Many of them didn’t understand our culture, even though a lot of the patients and clients that we were seeing were Latinx or of Hispanic descent.”

“We wanted to build something that was culturally sensitive and focused just on quality care,” she adds. “Something that was really ingrained in me as an OT student from Dominguez Hills is quality. Focus on giving your best, on bringing in the latest research for your clients. That’s something we really wanted to create together.”

The couple’s practice has been building a network of therapists from various disciplines in the San Antonio metropolitan area. They work in a variety of spaces, from school clinics to in-home visits to remote telehealth. “That’s one of the pillars of our profession,” says Martinez. “We want to work in as natural an environment as possible. Whatever works best for our clients, wherever they are most comfortable, that’s where we provide the services.”

The couple, whose marriage predates their careers in OT, found their way to the discipline in their own unique ways. For Yanez, her interest in OT stems from being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19. The Southern California native worked with occupational therapists throughout her treatment and recovery, and was impressed enough by their dedication and skills to pursue her own OT career.

Texas-raised Martinez had been struggling to get a job in finance due to the 2008 financial crisis when his wife convinced him to give OT a try. “My journey began by volunteering at a local pediatric clinic in California. I saw how occupational therapists work with autistic children, and fell in love with it right away.”

Both Yanez and Martinez chose CSUDH’s OT program because of its sterling reputation among those in the field. “I was looking into different schools and the one that a lot of employers were really talking about, saying that the students come out really prepared, was Dominguez Hills,” recalls Yanez. “It was an easy decision for me to go to CSUDH, because I heard such amazing things about the professors and the quality of students.”

Martinez agrees. “In the occupational therapy field, there’s the knowledge that alumni from CSUDH are very strong candidates, much more so than graduates from other local universities. They’re usually very prepared.”

The couple gives credit for the program’s success to its professors and leadership. “They are very knowledgeable, and have many years in practice,” says Yanez. “You can tell their level of dedication to students. They take their time to meet with them and are really accessible. A lot of the instructors at CSUDH were really like mentors.

“They were really open to guide us, and there was a lot of hands-on learning. Other programs are more theoretical, which is also important, but it’s vital to also have a clinical aspect of it. That’s something that they’ve nailed in the CSUDH OT program.”

CSUDH’s program strives to stay at the cutting edge of the discipline, which Martinez says also contributes to alumni success. “The CSUDH OT program is very dynamic, it’s not static. Every year they ask for feedback from the students, and they modify the program based on that feedback – so it’s a program that stays up to date. It’s very much in contact with the pulse of the industry.”

After several years working in Southern California, the couple moved to Texas to enable Yanez to enroll in a PhD program, and to be closer to Martinez’s family. They got jobs working in the OT departments of different companies, but when COVID-19 hit, “It changed everything,” says Yanez.

In addition to a lack of diversity in the field, the couple was troubled by the “push towards productivity” they saw in their workplaces and across the health care industry. “A lot of clinics and hospitals are now being run by investors,” says Yanez. “For them, the end result is all about money, which means seeing more and more patients.”

“When more and more clients are being shoved onto your schedule, you can kind of lose the human aspect of what you’re doing,” says Martinez. “We wanted to step away from that approach and focus on the basics – 100 percent client care, making sure that they’re taken care of, making sure our therapists are not overworked and are able to maintain that balance.”

In their San Antonio practice, Yanez specializes in oncology (cancer care), which has been her OT focus throughout her education and career – thanks to the inspiration of the therapists who worked with her during her own cancer battle. Martinez, meanwhile, works in pediatric care with a focus on autistic children.

Their practice has been a success, providing access to treatment for a wide range of community members. “There’s a very big need for OT services in this area,” says Yanez. “Opening our private practice is a case of the right time and the right place. We’re glad we’re able to help meet the needs of the community.”

Martinez and Yanez credit CSUDH with giving their OT careers the best possible start. “I don’t think people realize the quality of the professors that we have at CSUDH,” says Martinez. “They’re world class, honestly. In our field, students coming out of Dominguez Hills are highly sought after – they have their clinical skills ready to go.”

Yanez agrees. “CSUDH professors are always so available and so willing to share their knowledge with their students, so we can learn from their experiences and move the profession forward. Dominguez Hills is just doing an incredible job of that.”

CSUDH Recognized as Equity Champion for Latinx Transfer Students

December 2, 2021 By Lilly McKibbin

CSUDH’s stalwart support for Latinx transfer students has earned the university recognition as a 2021 Equity Champion for Excellence in Transfer for Latinx Students.

Announced at the Champions of Higher Education and Equity Champions for Excellence in Transfer annual awards ceremony, CSUDH’s honor reflected the university’s success in leading the state in supporting Latinx students through the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) program.

ADT facilitates California Community Colleges (CCC) students in transferring to the CSU by guaranteeing a CSU campus admission to community college students who earn at least 60 units needed of a bachelor’s degree in a specific major. For many students who are first-generation or underrepresented minorities, ADT offers a clear pathway to a bachelor’s degree.

“Thanks to these institutions’ implementation of the Associate Degree for Transfer, thousands of students achieve their goal to cross the graduation stage every year,” said Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity. “This year’s Champions are shining examples of what happens when colleges and universities embrace policy that supports California students and work intentionally to close racial equity gaps.”

The Campaign for College Opportunity is a nonprofit organization devoted to ensuring that all Californians have an equal opportunity to attend and succeed in college.

New Latinx Center Up and Running–Virtually

March 9, 2021 By Kandis Newman

Responding to calls from students, California State University, Dominguez Hills officially opened the Latinx Cultural Resource Center (LCRC) in January, joining other campus affinity centers such as the Rose Black Resource Center and the Queer Culture & Resource Center.

“We’re here to build community, hear the needs of our students, and connect with them,” says the center’s interim director, Rony Castellanos Raymundo.

Chicano/a Studies major Janneth Najera was the driving force behind the push to establish a Latinx Center on campus. Janneth worked with faculty, staff, and community members to make sure the center came to life,” according to Castellanos Raymundo. “It’s thanks to her and her fellow students that we have a Latinx Center today.”

Najera, who has been hired as the center’s student assistant, is a returning student whose commute from the Burbank area made it hard for her to connect with other students. “It was difficult because there wasn’t a center point for us to meet,” she says. “DH is over 60% Latinx, so there’s a lot of us, but everybody’s going about their own business. Connecting with other students was hard.”

During a Chicano/a Studies class, Najera asked her professor where the CSUDH Latinx center was, only to discover that none existed. “I felt a little disconnected,” she says. “I started asking how could we go about getting a center?”

With a bit of guidance from Chicano/a Studies Department Chair Corina Benavides LÃ³pez, Najera “started doing a lot of research,” she says. “I started visiting the other centers on campus and having discussions with the students there, asking how their centers came about.”

The campus’ large population of first-generation college students is one of the main reasons Najera felt that a resource center was needed. “For first-gen students, this process is very new,” she says. “Our parents are working and they support our dreams and our aspirations, but they may not have all the tools, like understanding financial aid or academic services. We step into college with a lot of questions. DH has amazing resources for students, but you can’t use them if you can’t find them.”

“It’s also important to show students that there are faculty and staff who look like us, have similar backgrounds and experiences, that have been through the process and have successfully accomplished the goals that we’re striving for,” she continues. “The LCRC will be a space where we can do that, with resources and tools to help us overcome those challenges as first-generation students, or as minority students in an institution that can take a lot of maneuvering through.”

Armed with the background research they needed, Najera and several other students formed a group they called El ComitÃ© (The Committee). Meeting over coffee or snacks at various spots on campus, they drew up a proposal for an LCRC. El ComitÃ© officially presented their proposal to William Franklin, Vice President of Student Affairs, in February 2020.

“It’s so important to implement what we learn in our communities, but we need a place to connect us. A cultural resource center is a place to do that. A lot of our proposal was centered on that,” says Najera. “We want to be able to connect with community members. We want our parents to come to campus and understand the tools and resources they need in their language. To feel safe and to feel proud. To walk into a room and see their flag hanging, or to see a mural of their home country.”

Franklin was impressed by the passion he saw on display during their presentation. “While efforts were already underway to bring a Latinx Resource Center to campus, my resolve to make it happen much sooner was catalyzed by the meeting organized by Janneth and El ComitÃ©,” he says. “I was not only moved by the conversation we had that evening; the proposal that followed was most impressive.”

Once the proposal was approved, Najera and her fellow students started to work on plans for an on-campus space for the center. Unfortunately, their planning was soon cut short. “The week after the proposal was the last week we were allowed on campus. The next week we got the notice that we were going to go virtual, and then we’ve just never gotten back.”

Even without a physical space on campus to call their own, the LCRC has been pushing forward. Castellanos Raymundo was hired as interim director in November 2020, and the center’s first slate of virtual events started up in February. They have been very active online, hosting weekly community check-ins, workshops, webinars, movie screenings, and a weekly Virtual Lobby where students can drop by to chat or hang out.

“Right now, there’s no physical space due to COVID-19,” says Castellanos Raymundo. “We’re at home, but the events that come out of the center are geared to bringing people together. Hosting virtual events creates opportunities for anyone who wants to be connected and build community with the center.”

The center’s goal is to have a physical space on campus by the time students return full-time. “Hopefully by next fall, we’ll have an official space that we can inaugurate,” says Najera.

Castellanos Raymundo is excited to get the center up and running. “I think that identity work and cultural work is really important to our students’ college journey. A lot of it has to do with a sense of belonging. The DH campus is special because our students do their best to be connected to the university.

“Due to their work schedules or their commute, some students will just attend classes and then go home. But if they feel that they belong, that they’re not just attending university, they take more pride in what they’re doing. It’s so important for students to feel seen, to feel connected, and to feel that they’re part of something larger.”

For Najera, her work getting the LCRC approved has impressed her with the importance of student-led campus movements. “I think as students, we often forget how much power we have, because we’re busy trying to pass classes,” she laughs. “But we are the heart of the campus, we are the strength of the campus, and I think more and more students should feel empowered to come together and arm themselves with research, arm themselves with an understanding of what it is they really want.

“We wanted to have a better educational experience, not just for us, but for future generations. This was all student-led. We didn’t have a template, either! Our campus is where it’s at based on student activism, and taking that history and knowing that history is really important.”

The Latinx Cultural Resource Center hosts Virtual Lobby Hours on Wednesdays from noon until 1 PM and on Wednesday evenings from 6 PM until 7 PM. To drop in, visit Zoom ID: 654 571 7717, and enter the passcode csudhlcrc. For more information, contact Rony Castellanos Raymundo at (310) 243-2519, or via email at rcastellanos@csudh.edu or lcrc@csudh.edu. They are also on Instagram @csudhlatinx.

CSUDH Ranked in Top 50 Nationally for Hispanic Enrollment, Graduation

October 12, 2020 By Kandis Newman

(Carson, CA) California State University, Dominguez Hills ranks in the Top 50 of four-year universities nationwide for educating and graduating Hispanic students, according to The Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine’s annual “Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics” issue.

Every year, the publication surveys and charts the national progress of institutions of higher education that are committed to serving the educational needs of Hispanic students. The data is compiled from the Department of Education’s database of completed higher education surveys from all 50 states.

Based on data from the 2018-2019 graduating class, CSUDH made the Top 50 in the magazine’s rankings in two categories. CSUDH was ranked 25th for bachelor’s degrees conferred to Hispanic students, and 35th for highest enrollment of Hispanic students. Also of note, the ranking for graduate degrees granted to Hispanic students improved dramatically, climbing to 54th place from 67th.

CSUDH is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with a student population that is 64 percent Hispanic. In the 2018-19 academic year, the university conferred 1,638 or 59.8 percent of its bachelor’s degrees, and 238 or 35.7 percent of its master’s degrees to Hispanic students.