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The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

LGBTQ

Cultural Grad Events Celebrate the Journey

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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.

University Archivist Named Mellon Cultural Heritage Fellow

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Amalia Medina CastañedaAmalia Medina Castañeda, university archivist at the California State University, Dominguez Hills Gerth Archives and Special Collections, has been selected as one of 15 Rare Book School-Mellon Cultural Heritage Fellows for 2022-2024. The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage is a six-year program that aims to advance multicultural collections through innovative and inclusive curatorial practice and leadership.

Castañeda, who is passionate about the recruitment and retention of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in special collections librarianship, had applied to the fellowship because she was drawn to its inclusive mission.

“Unfortunately, the cultural heritage, museum, and archives field is not racially and culturally diverse, and has only made mild progress over the past 25 years-fewer than 10 percent of curators, archivists, or special collections librarians are BIPOC,” Castañeda said.

“I knew that this fellowship would afford me access to an intellectual community of BIPOC archival scholars whose interests lie at the intersection of librarianship, community, and archives.” ­

As a prospective fellow, Castañeda is looking forward to learning from a community that is committed to making an impact on real people, rather than just the archival collections themselves. She is especially attracted to the outreach and community symposia components of the fellowship, and is working with CSUDH campus affinity centers to host an LGBTQ History Month event in Fall 2022.

Castañeda also plans to provide hands-on “Introduction to the Archives” workshops for CSUDH students, where they will have the opportunity to engage with the Gerth Archives’ LGBTQ history collections.

“We are only truly fulfilling our mission when we continuously create opportunities for our students to discover and interact with the materials at the Gerth Archives,” she said.

In addition to her role at CSUDH, Castañeda also serves as board chair at the Museum of Social Justice, an institution that chronicles the history of Los Angeles’s marginalized communities through exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives. ­­She says that ultimately, her archival and public history work is rooted in people and ensuring communities of color see themselves in the cultural record.

“Serving a grassroots museum like the Museum of Social Justice and at one of the California State University campuses with the highest percentage of Black and Latinx students has shaped my understanding of how archivists and cultural heritage practitioners can reach the people they intend to serve,” Castañeda said.

“As a Cultural Heritage fellow, I look forward to working with colleagues to lead both large and small-scale events that are authentically community-centered.”

Chemistry Lecturer Barbara Belmont Named LGBTQ+ Trailblazer

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Barbara Belmont
Credit: Tara Pixley

Chemistry Lecturer Barbara Belmont has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Trailblazer in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

Belmont, an analytical chemist from Pasadena, is “thrilled and humbled” by the accolade, which recognizes her excellence in teaching, as well as activism with Out to Innovate, a professional society dedicated to LGBTQ+ visibility in the sciences, mentoring, and scholarships for students.

Having taught at CSUDH since 2002, Belmont is passionate about sparking students’ curiosity in the sciences and adopting pedagogical best practices in her lectures and laboratories. She is also a firm believer in the value of hands-on research for students–no matter what their career aspirations are–and is dedicated to connecting students with research opportunities.

“I really want to make our chemistry department the best in the world, and to leave a legacy of quality education,” Belmont said.

A self-described proud, active member of the LGBTQ+ community, Belmont also wants her students to be able to see themselves in her and picture their own futures in STEM professions.

“In my own experience, I didn’t see anyone who was gay. I seriously considered giving up science,” she said. “Then I found people like me, and realized we’re an invisible marginalized community.”

“It’s very difficult to be out in science,” she continued. “I want LGBT students to know they’re not alone, that there are other people like them in science, and this STEM path is possible.”

Belmont is one of 17 Trailblazers selected for 2022. Ten historical LGBTQ+ Trailblazers are also featured in the issue. LGBTQ+ writers created all original content in the 2022 Trailblazers issue of C&EN, and many of the commissioned photos of the Trailblazers were taken by LGBTQ+ photographers. The article is in the C&EN April 11 issue and the accompanying website is available now.

Skye Harris Honored with 2020 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement

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Skye Harris
CSU Trustee Award winner Skye Harris attributes her success to hard work and perseverance.

CSUDH undergraduate Skye Harris’ educational pathway has not been a traditional one, but she has overcome every obstacle placed in her path and is set to graduate with a degree in sociology in spring 2021.

For her hard work and persistence, Harris has been named the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) recipient of the 2020 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award is the California State University’s highest recognition of student achievement, providing annual scholarships to one student on each CSU campus who demonstrates superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service, and financial need.

“It’s really an honor to be getting the award and to be acknowledged for my hard work,” says Harris. “It was quite humbling, and let me know ‘Hey you’re on the right track. Don’t get dissuaded, keep pushing forward,’ so it meant a lot to me. I’m grateful.”

Harris applied and was accepted to CSUDH in 2018 following a 15-year gap in her college education. She had attained her A.A. degree from Citrus College in 2005, but circumstances prevented her from continuing her studies. Harris went through a lot during those 15 years, from raising her seven children as a single mother and housing insecurity to enduring the trials of affirming her identity as a queer person of color.

“I’ve been through some things, and I’ve struggled,” says Harris. “I’ve come from places of grief and loss, family struggles, and identity struggles. I’ve definitely had to navigate those things, and it hasn’t always been easy.”

Harris’ experiences and hardships have been the driving force behind her desire to help others in need. She currently works as a training specialist at Five Acres, a non-profit mental health advocacy group for foster children located in her hometown of Pasadena. Harris leads their RISE Committee, which partners with the Los Angeles LGBT Center to help create safe, affirming spaces for LGBTQ youth.

“It’s my job to work with new hires as they are brought into the agency,” says Harris. “I let them know about foster care reform, how to navigate behavioral issues with kids who have experienced trauma, how to create safe spaces for LGBTQ youth. I also help provide interventions to deal with some of the kids we have who can have some very extreme behaviors as a result of their trauma – self-harming, physical aggression, things of that nature. I teach them how to remain safe and create safety for the kids, too.”

Harris has found that her personal struggles often put her on the same page as the people she works with. “It helps me connect with them,” she says. “Often, people need to see themselves reflected in somebody else. After talking with me, they might think ‘If this person can do it, why can’t I?’ It allows for a real personal connection.”

As a single mother, the award’s financial assistance means a lot to Harris. “This means I don’t have to take anything from my kids in order to further my education, which is very important to me. I don’t want to take anything off their plate by going back to school so late in life.”

Upon graduating, Harris plans to continue her education, with an eye on becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist. Ultimately, she hopes to open a resource center for LGBTQ youth in her Pasadena community.

“I’d like to create safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ youth, maybe a resource center or something with a counseling or peer group aspect to it, as well,” Harris shared. “I just want to continue contributing to my community with my education. I want to give back by creating safer places, more informed people, and by bringing resources to areas where it’s necessary and needed in order for people to feel safe and feel seen. Lots of our youth really need that extra support.”