| Outreach: Tomorrow’s
Toros
Kim Larson (Class
of ’98, B.A.,
History; ’04, M.P.A.) chose her alma mater on
the recommendation of a friend.
“[They] said it was the friendliest school,” she
recalls. “I never even visited Dominguez Hills
before I came here, but I lucked out.”
As an outreach officer in
the Office of Outreach and Information Services (OIS),
Larson gets to give prospective CSUDH students the
preview of campus life that she didn’t have. In addition to “A
Day at Dominguez,” the semiannual showcase that
welcomes high school, transfer, international and graduate
students, their parents and adult re-entry students,
OIS is bringing Dominguez Hills to local community
colleges with “An Evening with Dominguez Hills,” which
was first held in Spring 2005.
“We went out to the community and did receptions,
inviting students who had applied,” she says. “We
did on-site admissions and if we could accept them
on the spot, we gave them a certificate. We wanted
to celebrate the fact that the students had applied
and to make that last contact with them so that they
could feel that, ‘Hey, [Dominguez Hills] is a
warm place to be.’”
Eighty-three percent of the 185 students who attended
ultimately enrolled at CSUDH this past fall, drawing
largely from its service area of Compton College, Los
Angeles Harbor College, El Camino College, and Cerritos
College. Larson underscores the importance of partnerships
with these institutions to recruit students.
“We’re trying to get
the word out about Dominguez Hills,” she says. “Along
with academics, there’s a lot more to us that
makes CSUDH the entire college experience, which makes
students more marketable as far as getting their next
degree. [Institutions] don’t always just look
at how good a student you are, but if you did other
things: Were you in groups and organizations? Did you
work while you were in school? These are things that
make you a well-rounded individual.”
Larson commends the participation
of campus entities in Outreach efforts, stating that, “It’s
not just outreach, it’s a campuswide effort,
with Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Associated
Students, Inc., and Advancement. This year, we had
more programs participating than before.
“We encouraged the clubs and organizations to do a table decorating contest
and we had the kids, the visiting participants, vote on them, so they had to
engage them. That’s the hardest thing to get people to do, when you sit
behind a desk and say, ‘Come talk to me.’ Our students got out
there and said, ‘This is what we’re about.’ The group that
won, Espiritu de Nuestro Futuro (The Spirit of Our New Future), were
awesome. They had a great display that took up the whole table, so you couldn’t
sit behind it. All of them stood up and were constantly talking to students.”
In marketing CSUDH to working
students, she notes that, “In that aspect,
Dominguez sells itself. The word is out there that
we offer a lot of evening classes, that this is a
friendly atmosphere for the student who is working
full-time.”
The next "Day at Dominguez" is
scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 22, to
coincide with Unity Fest.
“The idea is that we want potential students
to see campus life,” Larson says. “Saturday
is not always the best day for that, so when we can
partner up with another event, that makes everything
look alive.”
According to Larson, high school
and transfer students who may not have considered CSUDH
in favor of a larger school, often have their doubts
dispelled after being presented with information about
programs, degrees, campus safety, housing and student
life. Programs that currently arouse the most curiosity
are radiologic technology, nursing, business, and liberal
studies.
“I tell students that we are
different than a place like CSU Long Beach, not better
not worse,” she
says. “A degree from CSUDH will afford you a
different experience.
“It helps when we invite them to see us personally,
they seem to get a better picture of our campus,” she
notes. “It surprises them that we are such a
friendly campus, that when you walk into places like
Financial Aid, Admissions or the Advisement Center,
you get the chance to talk with someone almost immediately.
My whole reason for coming here was it was a smaller
experience. You have more opportunities to get to know
other students, staff and faculty.
“College is about more than just the academics,
it’s about fitting in.”
For more information, visit http://www.csudh.edu/outreach/.
- Joanie Harmon
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