Summer vacations are a far-flung memory for senior Joy Masha, who took the helm as president of Associated Students, Inc. at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Instead, she spent June, July and August preparing for a one-year term that includes improving student life in a climate of deep budget cuts to the CSU system and influencing her fellow students to give to those less fortunate.

As the debate over health care access continues to rage on the national front, Dr. Patricia Hinchberger’s students in the master’s entry-level professional nursing program at California State University, Dominguez Hills decided to act locally. As volunteers for the nonprofit Remote Area Medical they had the opportunity to admit and screen patients, maintain supplies and equipment, and assist dentists and doctors during RAM’s eight-day free clinic that took place Aug. 11-18 at the Los Angeles Forum.