WASC Testimonials
David Gamboa
CSUDH Graduate, Mass Communications; Minor in Theatre Arts
Director, Government and Community Relations, CSUDH
I'm the first one in my family to attend college instead of going straight into the workforce. I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and did not want to go to a college near home. CSUDH was a university that I really did not know much about, but liked the fact that it was such a small campus, not a big campus like other CSU’s or UC’s, it had the small classroom atmosphere like he came from being from a small private high school. Dominguez Hills was what I thought and hoped it was going to be. I always thought I was going to be a communications major because I enjoy writing and reading. I was studying to be a broadcaster and had an internship through CSUDH with CBS. Working 5 days a week at CBS I realized that I did not want to be a broadcaster any longer because of the time that I needed to devote to the position and the amount of traveling that I would have needed to do. Instead I focused on my hobby which is government. At Dominguez Hills I was the ASI President which I accidentally fell into that role. Enticed by a free lunch, I attended my first ASI meeting. At the meeting there was arguing going on about a photocopy machine and at that time fees were going to go up and I thought it was odd that this was all they were discussing. I looked at the agenda and it wasn’t what I thought government should be though I did not know much about government in general. In the open forum portion of the meeting I asked a question of why they were only discussing about the copier machine? Student fees in general, textbook costs, implementation of new academic programs. Someone posed the question in a sarcastic way, “If you have all these good ideas, why don’t you join?” Being a little temperamental that I am, I said, “Fine, I will join!” Not know what I was joining! From there I started researching ASI a little more and said, “Hey, I think I can do this!” I took it from there and have been involved in government ever since.
Do you have an inspiration Quote for someone else that they want to go to school and student government?
What I tell students all the time is find something that you are passionate about and following what your heart desires. School is what you make it out to be, especially college. You can be a student that just comes to your classes and leaves right after when you are dismissed or you can be a student that really gets involved within your campus and really understands the culture of your campus.
Dominguez Hills is unlike any other campus in the CSU. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to go to all the CSU’s and I always get amazed knowing that Dominguez Hills is unlike other schools that have their similarities. We really have something special on this campus and I look forward to the day to when we are no longer the best kept secret in the CSU because I think that day is coming sooner than later. Dominguez Hills has given me so much opportunity and has given me the ability to really understand the diversity that we see throughout this nation.
In the current position I hold right know I meet with people all the time from different backgrounds, different religions, beliefs, different ethnicities. Dominguez Hills gave me the opportunity to really understand people in general. I came from a surrounding that was mostly Hispanic. Attending Dominguez Hills was just a big culture shock, not really realizing what was out there in the world. Now since I socialize and I meet people from different backgrounds, I know that if I didn’t attend Dominguez Hills it would have taken me a lot longer for me to transition into the working environment when it comes to working with different types of people in society.
How did your education at CSUDH prepare you for your work?
Being a communications major, I did a lot of writing and research and that is what I currently do right now. I write fairly a lot when it comes to different legislative bills and I research a lot when it comes to different ballot initiatives or various types of propositions or anything when it comes to government I research a lot. Grants, you name it and I probably research it and write on it. The good thing about Dominguez Hills is that small classroom environment to where I was able to meet with a professor one-on-one and whatever he or she felt I needed to work on they were able to tell me that directly. Unlike other schools to where you are not really speaking with the professor directly, you are probably speaking with the teacher’s aid. I think I needed that. I needed that direct learning from a professor, not from a student aid because everything that I have learned I have learned from me understanding what I couldn’t do correctly and me being able to correct that flaw that I had either in writing or that I had when I went out to go out for research.
I have the fortune to go to all the CSU’s campuses and I’ve never seen the student faculty relationship that I see at Dominguez Hills and other campuses. I’ve seen faculty associate with students at other campuses and none where near the caring and the compassion that our faculty have for our students. The nice thing I see throughout the day, now that I work here, is that it's just amazing that our faculty really do go above and beyond for a student.
Are there any specific experiences at CSUDH that you believe had a significant impact on your learning?
When I got involved with student government I think from there it really transition me to really understand what I wanted to do for my career. I came in wanting to become a broadcaster and I left working for a government official. Without me not being involved not only by visiting classes, but just by the overall experience of student life, it wouldn’t have given me the opportunity to where I am at right now. I think students need to take advantage of what is here on this campus. I look forward to the day to where we are no longer the best kept secret because this campus has a lot to offer to the community.
- Donna Cruz