Every year, California State University, Northridge selects four Outstanding Graduating Seniors for recognition at Honors Convocation. One of this year’s four was from the College of Health and Human Development: Tania K. Parker graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Adolescent Development (CADV) on May 21st with a GPA of 3.84. She also received CADV’s Exceptional Senior Award and was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
The Outstanding Graduating Senior award is granted, “in recognition of academic excellence, contributions to campus and community, and exceptional achievements or personal life circumstances that have been overcome,” according to CSUN Student Affairs which oversees the awards.
Though she was accepted to the University of Southern California (USC) for their Master of Social Work (MSW) program, she has chosen to decline the offer for now to stay at CSUN for the Early Childhood Educational Psychology Master’s program (Michael D. Eisner College of Education) which she plans start in the fall.
Tania has created opportunities in the face of obstacles in her life, which include severe poverty. In the past she has worked through physically and mentally disabling conditions. She has a visual impairment which she says, "comes with many unique challenges and obstacles where it takes five to ten times longer than an average person to get my work done." She has overcome addiction, incarceration, and abuse. While still a child, cared for family members with mental illness and addiction. However challenged by life, Tania’s consistent response has been to find ways to become more empathetic, more compassionate, more kind, and increasingly motivating to others.
Tania told us that she has dedicated her life to her education because she knows it is the key to freedom and that it is the answer to breaking the cycle of poverty within her family and in our communities.
“I am the first former foster youth from the Resilient Scholars Program and the first student from Project Rebound for formerly incarcerated students to be one of the recipients of the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award,” Tania said. "I am the first and now hopefully many more to come!” For the past two and a half years, Tania has dedicated herself solely to academics and, as a single mother to her four and eleven year old sons, foregoing outside employment so that she could complete her degree program over the past five years.
Opportunities Over Obstacles
Tania Parker's voice of experience offers motivation for others.
Tania wrote:
I screamed at the top of my lungs and cried when I found out I was receiving this award and felt a sense of hope, pride, appreciation, belonging, and like I actually could succeed, and that people like me--from foster care, homelessness, addiction, incarceration, poverty, single parent, permanently disabled with many disabilities--that we can succeed.
Receiving the Outstanding Graduating Senior award is not only an honor and a privilege, but life changing, inspirational, motivating, and makes me feel like all my hard work, dedication, perseverance, determination, and sacrifices are finally being recognized. I never thought a person like me, coming from the adversities, economic hardships, and other life circumstances, would or could win such an honor as this. Thank you so much again for taking the time to let others from my communities that we too belong, that we too can succeed, and that we too can have great things happen to us when we work hard, persevere, have resilience, are of service to others.
In the self-nomination statement Tania wrote to the awarding committee, she tells her story.
My name is Tania Parker, and I am a 32-year-old single mother of two beautiful boys, 11 and four, who both have special needs (Autism and ADHD). Currently, my job is being a full-time single mother, a full-time advocate for my boys, and being a full-time college student at CSUN. I am graduating Magna Cum Laude (possibly Summa Cum Laude) with a cumulative GPA of 3.82.
Ever since the age of four, I tragically lost my childhood and had to take on several roles that the average child never has to experience. Some of these roles include being a caretaker, supporter, leader, and advocate for my dad, sister, and various others. Growing up I endured many adversities and traumas that most do not experience in a lifetime. However, due to these experiences I have always known that I wanted to work with children and our most vulnerable populations, to protect and prevent them from having to experience trauma, adversities, and hardships, as I once did. Also, I want to help educate children and their families, and to be the advocate that I never had.
I came from a single-parent household where my father was addicted to drugs/alcohol. I suffered from bipolar-1 manic disorder, grew up in severe poverty, and lost my father to incarceration. I was robbed of my childhood. My older sister, who suffers from drug induced schizophrenia and has been homeless for 20 years, was my biggest abuser in every form (physical, verbal, sexual, mental). Nonetheless, I was aware of the horrific traumas that my sister had endured, and I did not hold her accountable for her actions because she did not know what she was doing. I took on the role of being her caretaker, became her power of attorney, and have been advocating for her mental health and housing insecurities.
My sister would have violent outbursts where no one could calm her down, but due to my countless experiences dealing with crisis, I have always had a way to connect with people and help bring them back to reality. The most important thing for my sister, my first sons’ father, and those alike, is to be seen and treated as a human being with dignity, respect, humanity, empathy, compassion, equity, equality, and inclusion.
I am extremely passionate about advocating for the homeless community, children with special needs, individuals with disabilities, the foster youth community, incarcerated folks, and other underrepresented, marginalized communities that society disregards and doesn’t give the respect they deserve.
My past experiences and my present challenges have influenced my decision to pursue a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Educational Psychology through the Educational Psychology and Counseling Department. The EPC-ECE program will arm me with the skill sets needed to fulfill my career goals and allow me to utilize my lived experiential knowledge in a positive way to help others, especially our younger and more vulnerable populations. Early intervention is critical to the success of all children and even more so, for those with special needs.
I have firsthand seen the benefits of utilizing early intervention services and the amelioration it provided my children. Unfortunately, too many children fall through the cracks due to lack of parental education, stigmas behind mental health, disabilities, and the lack of funding to enact policies to bridge the gap in early intervention.
As a mother, witnessing the benefit of services and observing gaps in the system, I want to pursue a career to help bridge that gap and make obtaining resources, services, and support more accessible to all.
I wanted to be a trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapist, but I am interested in advocacy and service work to help children of all abilities reach their full potential, reach their best quality of life, and to maximize success. It is also imperative that I work with foster youth, as well as incarcerated and homeless populations because I was a part of all these communities, and it is crucial that I give back and partake in policy changes that will put an end to homelessness and mass incarceration. Eventually, I would like to become a licensed clinical social worker.
I am applying to the Educational Psychology and Counseling department’s Early Childhood Education program because the program states it puts an “emphasis on valuing diversity, leadership, advocacy, equity, inclusion, and social justice,” (EPC-ECE). These are the values and characteristics I uphold and utilize daily and want to take into my career. I know this program will help me build upon these skills and gain further knowledge, so I can be successful in the field and change lives.
The curriculum takes a holistic approach, covering child development, leadership, advocacy, policy and legislative work, administration, collaboration, and research, which will provide me with the skill set needed to succeed. The professors in this program are passionate, knowledgeable, and compassionate about this subject, which will ensure my success in this program.
Coming from severe poverty and still being in poverty, I have dedicated my life to my education because I know education is the key to freedom and the answer to breaking the cycle of poverty within my family and our communities. This is why I am applying to EPC-ECE to gain skills, knowledge, and resources that I can share with children and their families to help bridge the gap in the educational system and ensure everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life has equal opportunities to succeed, reach their full potential, and to reach their best quality of life.
I have not worked in the field of child and adolescent development professionally, but I have gained countless experiences being a single-mother and through volunteer work. I am certified in youth mental health and first aid, Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR for all ages, and Healthcare Provider CPR. I have volunteered my time to cleaning at an elementary school and volunteered at Woodland Hills Public Library. Also, I volunteered at Northridge Care Center for a year as their activity director.
Recently, I volunteered at CSUN with the Resilient Scholars Program which I am a part of, to speak on a student panel for the San Fernando Valley Scholars Network Wellness Event and Bakersfield Community College Next Up event. We spoke to other former foster youth who are attending community college and shared our experience to encourage them to transfer to a four-year university, such as CSUN. I volunteered with Rise Free through a two-month stipend program as a Foster Youth Advocacy Fellow where I interviewed foster youth and submitted their stories to the senate and legislature to advocate for free tuition, low-cost/free textbooks, basic needs essentials, such as food and housing insecurities.
During my time at CSUN, I have been on the Dean’s list each semester, received the DRES Yoni Oren Low-vision scholarship, Soroptimist “Live Your Dreams Award,” VCCCD Women’s United Award in 2021/2022, was just invited into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and just became a member in March. I have worked extremely hard to give my children and myself a better life than what I had, I know this program will be the final piece to help me get to where I need to go and achieve success.
My personal experiences and advocacy work have allowed me to work with many diverse and minority populations, such as homeless populations, marginalized communities, people of color, incarcerated people, those of varying abilities (ex. visually impaired, hard of hearing, ASD, ID), foster youth, and those coming from severe poverty. My experiences enable me to relate and bond with all communities, cultures, and ethnicities, which allows for a trusting, unbiased, non-judgmental relationship with future clients, children, and families.
I come from a diverse family and background that opened my heart to all communities regardless of ethnicity, color, ability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or race. I am determined to learn and excel in this program and in my career so I can fulfil my life’s mission to positively impact the lives of underrepresented communities and open the eyes of society to the beauty in people from these communities and bring back people’s humanity. I know that investing in me equates to investing in our future and the future of our next generations.
Each year four of CSUN's graduating seniors are presented with the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in recognition of academic excellence, contributions to campus and community, and exceptional achievements or personal life circumstances that have been overcome. These $2,000 awards are funded by the Alumni Association; the University Foundation; and the Karen, Leon & Reta Goldstein-Saulter Memorial Fund. Each recipient is presented at the annual Honors Convocation ceremony.
Jean O'Sullivan, HHD
Tania Parker, CSUN 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior