The CSUDH Male Success Alliance (MSA) held its annual Spring Summit on campus, returning to full strength for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event brought hundreds of middle- and high-school students of color to CSUDH on Friday, May 5, for a day of workshops and activities aimed at introducing them to higher education. The theme of the 2023 summit was “UNSHAKEN,” an acronym for “Understanding Need, Struggles, Hopes, and Kinfolk, Excluding No one,” a phrase created by MSA Program Coordinator Gerardo Cuevas. “The committee was moved by the theme's uniqueness and its relevancy to the male of color experience, not only in higher education, but in society as a whole,” said MSA ... Read More
Male Success Alliance
Male Success Alliance Induction Ceremony Returns to Campus
After a pandemic-enforced break, the CSUDH Male Success Alliance (MSA) held its first on-campus induction ceremony in four years this March. In all, 28 new MSA members were welcomed into the academic-focused support program for men of color. “The induction ceremony celebrates and honors these young men from different backgrounds, binding them together for a mission and cause that's bigger than themselves,” said MSA Director Hakeem Croom. “It charges our students to be conscious, competent, and committed, while striving for excellence in all their endeavors inside and outside of the classroom.” The MSA was founded in 2009 as a resource to improve access, retention, and graduation for ... Read More
New MSA Director Hakeem Croom Aims to Inspire
“I think my life's purpose is to inspire and influence people to be their best selves–lifting as I climb, and leaving a positive impact in people's lives,” says Hakeem Croom. As the new director of CSUDH's Male Success Alliance (MSA), he's in a position to do just that. Initially formed on the CSUDH campus in 2009, MSA is a support program and campus resource designed to improve access, retention, and graduation rates for undergraduate men of color. MSA aims to support the college and career success of its members by providing academic support, professional development, and mentoring. Croom says that his primary goal in his new position is to “help others recognize what they have ... Read More
Sony Music Group Grant Supports New Male Success Alliance Programs
(Carson, Ca.) California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH) Male Success Alliance (MSA) has received funding from the Sony Music Group to help support MSA members, and to develop new programs for male students of color at partner K-12 schools in South Los Angeles and the South Bay. With the Sony Music Group funding, 20 MSA members will receive a stipend through the MSA Scholarship Program, which requires scholars to actively participate and volunteer in its many programs and outreach efforts. The Sony donation will also allow the alliance to develop a semester-long introductory seminar focused on racial justice and equity, as well as college success and retention. “It is an ... Read More
Male Success Alliance Receives $100,000 Grant from Kaiser Permanente
(Carson, Ca.) The Male Success Alliance (MSA) at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has received $100,000 from Kaiser Permanente as part of $8.15 million in grants awarded to 40 nonprofit and community-based organizations across the nation for programing that addresses systemic racism. Kaiser announced the funding on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as part of a $25 million commitment the nonprofit health system made in June 2020 to promote health equity and address racism-driven stresses that lead to poor health outcomes. It includes $1 million for 10 organizations in Southern California, and CSUDH was the only institution of higher education among the grantees. “CSUDH is ... Read More
