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Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler
"Getting a university education is not easy, even in the best of circumstances," said CSUN President Jolene Koester. "Many of our students are the first in their families to go to college. Some have juggled two jobs and a full course load. Others have dealt with family obligations -- often as single parents -- cultural barriers or physical challenges such as battling cancer. Some of our students have had to interrupt their studies to serve their country.
"But regardless of what has happened, these students have been determined to complete their education. They are truly what Cal State Northridge is all about -- providing an opportunity for individuals, even under the most adverse circumstances, to achieve their dreams. We are proud to celebrate all they've accomplished."
Here is a short list of some of these extraordinary graduates:
"All I remember is crying and wanting my mother," said Altounian, now 41 and living in Sunland. "I did not speak a word of English and I had never even heard the language. I was unceremoniously dumped in the back of the class and left to cope. I think I wet myself from fright and everyone laughed at me. I was immediately ostracized. School was a very cruel place."
Altounian said she realized that the only way to get out of such a miserable place was to do her best and get ahead. She studied every chance she got and graduated from high school at age 12. When her parents moved to Southern California in 1983, she immediately enrolled at Cal State Northridge, and made the university a second home.
Altounian has earned bachelor's degrees in biology and psychology as well as a master's in experimental psychology, a teaching credential in biological sciences and a supplemental credential in mathematics from Northridge.
Two years ago, Altounian, a teacher at Garvey Intermediate School in Rosemead, decided to get her master's in mathematics education. About that same time, doctors discovered she had breast cancer. Despite having to lose a semester at CSUN because of chemotherapy, Altounian kept teaching.
"I had my good days and my bad days, but the kids in my classes kept me going. When I lost my hair, they brought me hats and scarves, and would visit me when I was in the hospital. If I felt down, they'd bring me up," she said. Altounian's cancer has metastasized. A year ago, her doctor's gave her six months to live. They now say she's got two years.
Altounian thinks they are wrong. She's making plans for getting a doctorate and is fighting a decision by a new principal at her school to dock her pay, retroactively, for missing after-school meetings because she had to get to class at CSUN. Regardless, she plans to keep teaching.
Altounian will receive her degree during the Michael D. Eisner College of Education's ceremony at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 4, at the University Club.
Despite the pressures of war all around him, Barnes wanted to be sure that he kept his mind sharp. He read books, many sent by CSUN professors. And when he got a chance, Barnes used his time on a computer, provided for soldiers to keep in touch with loved ones while away from home, to register for classes.
"I was already missing the spring semester and I wanted to make sure that I was registered for the fall semester," he said.
Barnes said he treasures his education. He admitted he was not a good student while growing up in Miami, Fla. He had a severe stutter then, and did not find school easy. When he graduated from high school, he immediately joined the Marines. He served with the Marines for six years and was part of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Barnes moved to Southern California in 1996, got a job with Sports Chalet in loss prevention, joined the naval reserves, and enrolled in classes at Pierce College. While taking a general sociology class at Pierce, Barnes said a light went off in his head.
"I just found the subject so interesting I knew it's what I wanted to do," he said.
Barnes transferred to CSUN in spring 2002. He was supposed to graduate last spring, but his time in the Persian Gulf postponed his commencement date.
"I really missed CSUN while I was over there, and I was determined not to miss any more classes," he said. "I got back from the Gulf on Aug. 25 and went right back to school on Sept. 6. A lot of people told me to take some time off because I had just gone through this traumatic experience. But I couldn't do that. At first it was hard, but I adjusted and it was worth it."
Barnes is considering a career in law enforcement, but is also thinking about getting a master's degree and teaching.
He will receive his degree at the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences' ceremony at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2, on the Oviatt Library Lawn.
Getting a college education has not been easy for Cedillo.
One year after obtaining associate of arts degrees in history and botany from the College of the Canyons, Cedillo enrolled at CSUN in 1995. But he soon lost interest in his studies and was placed on academic probation for two semesters. Ultimately, he was academically disqualified in 1998.
Cedillo re-enroll at CSUN in 1999 as an English major. "I had always wanted to be a writer," Cedillo said, "but I never tried it."
Over the next couple of years he developed a passion for theater. He performed in and produced several university productions.
But last fall, Cedillo's health began to deteriorate; he was coughing up blood and was misdiagnosed with walking pneumonia. During a performance, he lost the ability to speak.
As his health continued to decline, Cedillo's body started shutting down. "I was literally in the phases of dying," he said.
He was eventually diagnosed with testicular cancer, which can be fatal.
Cedillo underwent surgery and chemotherapy from November 2003 to April 2004. He lost 50 pounds and had to relearn how to walk. He still cannot run. He takes blood thinners and undergoes regular testing.
"I am living on borrowed time," he said.
As Cedillo recuperated, he wrote "Three Bulls," based on his experiences, which will be performed in June at Tia Chucha's CafŽ Cultural in Sylmar.
Depending on his health, Cedillo would like to get a master's in English at CSUN.
"If I want stuff to happen, I have to do it now. I don't know if I have another five years," he said. "If you're not busy you're dead."
Cedillo will receive his bachelor's degree at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 3, during the College of Humanities' ceremony on the Oviatt Library lawn.
"My dad told me several times that they had tested me as a little girl and that I had a high I.Q. But at school, I was constantly struggling and often answered the wrong questions," she said. "It was very hard."
Things turned around when her parents divorced and she moved with her mother to Tucson, Ariz., just before her 14th birthday. The teachers and the school counselors there understood her problem and helped her to catch up. She had entered high school reading at a fourth-grade level, and by the time she graduated she was reading at a college level. She was even encouraged to try out for drama so she could learn to express herself better and be more assertive.
Copps graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2002. She said she chose to get her master's at Northridge because of the university's reputation for serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
The past two years have not been easy. She's been going to school full time while working three jobs--counselor at Granada Hills High and CHIME Charter Elementary schools and tutor for a deaf student--and battling several illnesses that often sent her to the emergency room.
"I missed a lot of days of school, but I knew I could make it up and I didn't want to give up," she said. Copps hopes to get a job as a school counselor.
She will receive her degree during the Michael D. Eisner College of Education's ceremony at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 4 at the University Club.
"Some mornings it was hard to get up and keep going," said the Van Nuys resident. "Your eyes, your whole body gets tired."
But McKenney has never been one to back down from a challenge. She dropped out of college in 1960 to take a secretarial position in Edwards Air Force Base's space program. There, she dealt with sensitive correspondence between rocket scientist Werner Von Braun and her bosses.
After her retirement, she took her son's advice to go back to school. As Valley College's oldest graduate in 2001, McKenney earned her liberal studies degree and a congratulatory letter from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.
Student life at Cal State Northridge was challenging but rewarding. "All the teachers were very polite to me, and respected me. When I asked, ÔAm I really supposed to be here?' they said ÔAbsolutely.'"
McKenney's memory, she said, was "not what it was when I had to memorize everything working on the moon project at Edwards." Her heavy CSUN class and study schedule required every ounce of her concentration, she added. "I worked myself around the clock doing theses."
But for McKenney, it was worth it. "The learning process itself is what I love most," she said.
McKenney will graduate at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 3, during the College of Humanities' ceremony on the Oviatt Library lawn.
Rosales is remembered by her family and friends as a single mother determined to make a difference in the lives of women in circumstances similar to her own.
Rosales, who was raised by a single mother, worked full-time as a social worker with victims of domestic violence and part-time at a YMCA shelter. She also volunteered at Casa Esparzena, where she helped troubled teen-aged girls get back on track.
"She would do anything to make the kids laugh," said Norma Martinez, Rosales' sister. "She would dress up like a clown if it would help them have a better life."
Despite financial hardship, balancing two jobs and volunteering, Rosales attended Cal State Northridge full time to set an example and to provide a better life for her 8-year-old son Emmanuel.
"She had it hard," said Celina Sanchez, Rosales' friend and co-worker, "but she managed to go to school, rain or shine. It was a matter of getting her education."
Rosales wanted to open a shelter for victims of domestic violence.
"For my sister to almost make it to graduation is a great achievement," Martinez said.
"As a child I would daydream about being an adult and making a difference in people's lives," she said.
After a failed marriage, Trigg, then a single mother of three, had to work three jobs at times to support her children and to pay for their education.
"I wanted the best for them," Trigg said. "I wouldn't let my kids end up in the street."
One of those jobs was at Cal State Northridge, where she has worked for 29 years, the past 13 years she has worked in the Department of Marketing as an administrative support coordinator.
Trigg initially enrolled as a student at CSUN in 1993 to set an example for her children. Her 19-year-old daughter is now a freshman at CSUN while her two older sons are in the military.
After more than 11 years of steadily attending school part-time while working full time, Trigg will be graduating magna cum laude. She hopes to teach third and fourth grade at a private school.
"I wasn't going to let the people who hurt me ruin my life," she said. "I ultimately won."
She will receive her degree at 8:00 am on Thursday, June 3, on the Oviatt Library Lawn at the College of Humanities' commencement ceremony.
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