Long before most Toros are even awake, CSUDH grounds worker Fernando Goncalves is hard at work making the campus look great. For 11 years, he has arrived on campus at 5:30 a.m. every weekday to maintain and improve the landscape. “I really enjoy beautifying the campus for everyone to enjoy,” he says. Goncalves is responsible for maintenance of the grounds around Welch Hall, Extended Education, and the North Lawn. His regular “beat” includes one of the most engaging landscape features on campus: the Little Village located in between the Student Health Center and University Theatre. In fact, Goncalves helped design and create the tiny village in 2014, which he says is his proudest ... Read More
Staff
Jessica Ramirez Named Jumpstart Site Manager of the Year
CSUDH Jumpstart Site Manager Jessica Ramirez has been named the inaugural winner of their national Site Manager of the Year Award. The award recognizes Ramirez' work in guiding the office at CSUDH in their partnerships with local schools, providing language, literacy, and social-emotional programming for preschool children in the local community. Jumpstart is a national early education organization with branches in 15 states and Washington, DC. The CSUDH office partners with Compton Headstart, offering assistance and programming in eight classrooms in three local preschools. “We bring in language and literacy development tools, curriculum, and activities that we work with or provide to ... Read More
Jonathon Grasse’s New Book Explores Brazilian Music History
When ethnomusicologist, composer, and CSUDH Professor of Music Jonathon Grasse first started traveling to Brazil 30 years ago, he had no intention of becoming a historian of the country's music–he was simply exploring the country with his Brazilian wife. Before long, though, he became fascinated by the nation's diverse regional musical heritages, adapting his research and writing to teach a course on Brazilian music at UCLA, where he earned his doctorate. Eventually, his focus narrowed to the region that his wife hails from: Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil that is deeply connected to the nation's slave past and home to many traditions related to the African diaspora. Grasse's ... Read More
Staff Spotlight: Morgan Kirk
For Morgan Kirk, serving as coordinator of the CSUDH Basic Needs Program is the best job on campus. “I love what I do!” she declares. “It gives me joy that our services are helping students in need. I enjoy knowing that I am making a difference in their lives.” Kirk's position at CSUDH involves supporting students who face food and/or housing insecurities on campus. She provides case management for housing insecure students, and supports students with temporary emergency housing. Kirk also manages and facilitates monthly food distribution events, partnering with EveryTable and the CSUDH farmers' market to provide fresh, nutritious meals for Toro students in need. “I am really proud of ... Read More
Anthropology Graduate Brings Personal Perspective to Research
The CSUDH Class of 2022 has had many obstacles to overcome to reach graduation–and graduating senior Lukas Daniels (BA, Anthropology) is no different. He transferred from El Camino College to CSUDH in the spring of 2020, just in time for the campus to “go virtual” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As he and his fellow students were navigating the transition to online learning, Daniels was dealing with his own unique challenges. He lives with Hyper Mobile Joint Disorder, which causes chronic pain in his joints, fingers, and limbs. “My joints kind of move in place when they're not supposed to,” he explains. His hypermobility issues can make typing painful and difficult–an obvious problem ... Read More