Scholars Give Thanks to CSUDH Community for Academic Support

The 2007 President’s Dinner to Benefit Scholarships will take place on Friday, April 28, to celebrate CSU Dominguez Hills students and the support they have received from all branches of the campus community, especially their scholarship donors. The evening’s theme, “Opening Doors,” reflects the opportunities given to scholarship recipients, many of whom must work around financial needs and familial responsibility to excel in their studies. This week, Dateline features four current scholarship recipients, whose Dominguez Hills experiences will be highlighted throughout the evening’s festivities in order to thank their benefactors and to encourage potential donors to give to the university’s numerous scholarships.

Sharon Bordeaux
Graduate Student, Teacher Education
Dominguez Brand Scholarship

What has been your most enriching experience at Dominguez Hills?
I really appreciate Dominguez Hills because it’s a community of diverse learners. I’ve had a lot of really amazing professors who have influenced me and inspired me to be a teacher. In the teacher education department, I’ve been able to collaborate with other teachers who work in the area, and I’ve really enjoyed working with the staff and the other students.

How has your scholarship encouraged you in your studies, apart from financially?
The Carson Company has shown that they put their faith in me, saying that they think I can do it. It’s nice to know that the community will support me so that I can continue to give back.

I’ve been teaching a program called Hands-On Art for disadvantaged students, giving them the opportunity to create art that they wouldn’t normally get in school. I also am a Girl Scout leader, and I volunteer at the school every chance I get. Now that I’m a teacher, I’m helping to raise the children of the community and the future.

How would your experience inspire more people to contribute to scholarships at Dominguez Hills?
I needed my scholarship because I’m a single mom. When I got a divorce, it was really hard for me to go to school and raise my four children at the same time. If I didn’t get the scholarship, I wouldn’t have my education, so I’m really grateful. Giving to Dominguez Hills lets you help people who don’t have the money to go to school, but have the passion and drive to succeed. It means the difference between not being able to go to school and having an education.

Jeffrey Govan
Senior, English Literature
Honors Scholarship

Academic Goals: To research the dichotomy of ‘double minorities.’ This is reflective of my experience having grown up in a Latino neighborhood, being African American, and also living under the larger umbrella of the dominant society. I will focus on what people in my situation do to assimilate, and the barriers they encounter.

Major Influences: The most influential person on my academic career has been my wife. She’s always believed in me and encouraged me all throughout this process. On the Dominguez Hills campus, many of my teachers have been on my ‘team,’ as I like to call them. Dr. Lois Feuer, Dr. Rod Hernandez, Dr. Timothy Chen, and Dr. Joyce Johnson have all supported me throughout my education here.

Why did you choose Dominguez Hills?
I was attracted to the philosophy of diversity that is here at Dominguez Hills. Also, the smaller size of the campus helps to create a more focused learning experience.

How has your scholarship encouraged you in your studies, apart from financially?
My scholarship has benefited me in ways that are very hard to explain in words. It’s a feeling of being empowered to do something, because the entire university believes in you, and gives you the thumbs-up, as if to say, ‘Go ahead and do it.’ By being an Honors Scholarship recipient, the level of confidence that I have to pursue other awards is tremendous. A tree starts from a seed. Having this Honors Scholarship has been the seed that will allow me to grow into the tree I want to be.

How would your experience inspire more people to contribute to scholarships at Dominguez Hills?
I’m an example of what happens when hope is given to a student. Having more scholarships like this will give people like me an opportunity to grow beyond even their expectations. By contributing to scholarships at Dominguez Hills, you’re really contributing to the larger realm of society, and to the richness of the world beyond the campus.

Pernell Jones
Senior, Health Sciences
McNair Scholars Program

Why did you choose Dominguez Hills?
My mother and father took a couple of classes here. This is my home environment. The campus serves my hometown of Compton, and the surrounding community. There are a lot of bright minds attending this campus and in the surrounding communities. We have to reach out to them and cultivate those minds. These cities need an institution like Dominguez Hills to ensure a positive future.

What has been your most enriching experience at Dominguez Hills?
Being a McNair scholar prepares you to earn the highest degree possible, the Ph.D. With the help of the program, and my personal and faculty mentors, I was able to work in South Africa last summer on a research project through Penn State exploring gender attitudes toward condom use among South African eighth graders, which is very important in working with the AIDS pandemic. Living out there for three months was an excellent opportunity.

Major Influences: Everyone I’ve come in contact with has helped to mold me into a positive person who always strives for excellence. With my family and friends, I have been truly blessed with good, positive people in my life.

I’ve had mentors in Dr. (Walter) Jones, Dr. Jennifer Vega LaSerna, Dr. Sofia Pappatheodoru and Dr. Munashe Furusa. Dr. Vanessa Parker have been instrumental to my development as a researcher. The support of the McNair Scholars Program and the Educational Opportunity Program, and the staff of those offices, have all been very helpful to my academic achievement.

How has your scholarship encouraged you in your studies, apart from financially?
When you are encouraged in this way, it’s an incentive to keep going, to improve your life and the lives around you. The confidence that has been placed in me by this university keeps me motivated.

How would your experience inspire more people to contribute to scholarships at Dominguez Hills?
It’s important to support the future. Everything is a cycle, there has to be a new beginning, and there has to be change. You can help mold someone into a better person by giving them a scholarship. And someday, they’ll do it for another student. When I become successful, I will be in a position to start my own scholarship fund to give back to students in my community, which I know they will need.

Valarie Tucker
Senior, Liberal Studies/Kinesiology
Athletic Scholarship

Professional Goals: I want to write a physical education program geared toward special education students. When I took Kinesiology 425 as part of my minor, one of my teachers pulled me aside and told me that I had what it takes to be a P.E. teacher. That really touched me, because I haven’t had teachers telling me things like that before, and it means a lot coming from someone who’s been in that field for years.

Major Influences: My mother has been the biggest influence on my education. She went back to college after we were born, and has overcome breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and never given up. I would go with her to her radiation treatments, and she would be right back at school the next day. She didn’t let anything faze her while putting three girls through school. She always told me that I need to be educated and that I’m going to be a good teacher.

Why did you choose Dominguez Hills?
I chose Dominguez Hills because it’s close to home, but also because of the athletics program. They have a really good coaching staff, a wonderful athletic faculty, and they offered me a scholarship. I also chose Dominguez Hills because of the level of support that I got from everyone here. Lisa Mabry was very helpful, and was always on top of things, like helping me figure out what classes I could get into.

How has your scholarship encouraged you in your studies, apart from financially?
Being able to not have to work a full-time job allows me to go out and give back to my community. My scholarship has allowed me to go out into the community and do volunteer work with elementary and middle school students in Downey and Bell Gardens. It’s rewarding to watch the students understand difficult concepts, like in the sciences, enjoy P.E. activities, and pass their exams.

How would your experience inspire more people to contribute to scholarships at Dominguez Hills?
Giving to scholarships at Dominguez Hills allows students to stay here and concentrate on their studies, and not have to worry from paycheck to paycheck. Unfortunately, there are people here like that. Sometimes, they have to wait for their financial aid check or their paycheck to be able to buy their books, which means they can’t read their texts for the first few weeks of school, and they’re lost. It’s helped me a lot. My tuition is paid; I’m able to buy my books and a parking pass. When I start the semester, I’m able to function completely and properly as a student.

- Reported by Joanie Harmon-Whetmore