Meet the 2023 HHD Dean's College Scholars
Each spring, our department faculty nominate graduating seniors for the CSUN Wolfson Scholar Award. These nominees are also recognized by the Dean and are named HHD Dean's College Scholars. The Dean's College Scholars for 2023 are HHD's Wolfson Nominee, Kiona Williams (Health Sciences/Public Health); and runners up, Kenneth Oz (Family and Consumer Sciences/Interior Design), and Madison Schneider (Kinesiology/Dance). We are proud of all of our Dean's College Scholars and the ways they represent their academic disciplines and the College overall.
The Wolfson Scholar Award is presented in memory of CSUN’s first vice president, Leo Wolfson, and it recognizes exceptional academic record and significant contributions to CSUN or to the community through co- and extra- curricular activities.
Kiona Williams
HHD's Wolfson Scholar Nominee
The Wolfson Scholar Award is presented in memory of CSUN’s first vice president, Leo Wolfson, and it recognizes exceptional academic record and significant contributions to CSUN or to the community through co- and extra- curricular activities. Kiona Williams was the CSUN Wolfson Scholar Nominee from the College of Health and Human Development. She was also named a HHD Dean’s College Scholar for 2023.
Kiona graduated on May 21 with her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the Department of Health Sciences and a GPA of 3.94. She achieved this while also holding an off-campus internship and working with faculty on campus in the Department of Health Sciences and helping to support other students working on their degrees.
Kiona has two areas of specialization: Maternal and infant health among the African American Community, and addressing homelessness. During her undergraduate degree program, she researched maternal and infant health, and most recently, she has performed at an internship as a Case Manager with GLO Preemies, a nonprofit organization that helps to raise the voices of Black families in the NICU and post-NICU.
During the internship, Kiona began to develop a peri-natal workshop that specifically focuses on breastfeeding, which she anticipates launching this year. She also enrolled families in a program for mothers who have high-risk pregnancies. Along with providing resources such as breast pumps, workshops, and care packages, she also came to discover that some of the mothers she worked with were experiencing homelessness.
And this is where her second interest came in: For a time, when she was a child, Kiona and her mother experienced homelessness. Though they did not live on the streets, thanks to the support they got from family members, the gratitude she felt because of their kindness instilled in her a desire to one day help others in similar situations.
And so today she refers to herself as a scholar-activist who creates bridges between higher education and communities with social injustice issues. She told us she is harnessing the knowledge that she received from her academic coursework and is applying it to the real world. Having seized the opportunity to obtain a degree that is grounded in proactive community work, Kiona says she feels confident knowing that she is making an impact by providing important assets to marginalized communities.
Kiona is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success which helped her build leadership skills, and she said that through her experience as a CSUN student; NSLS member; and GLO Preemies intern, she has learned to be resilient; patient; compassionate; committed; and dedicated. She looks forward to continuing to reinforce her knowledge and skills and remain a pillar for social change and justice.
Kenneth Oz
Known in the Family and Consumer Sciences/Interior Design program for developing outstanding, top-ranking interior design projects, Kenneth was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated in May with a 3.98 GPA.
Kenneth participated in the 2023 International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Los Angeles Local student Design Charette where he worked with other interior design students from different schools on a special interior design project over a short time. The team won second place.
He was president of the CSUN IIDA club where he gained leadership skills and became involved in campus activities by way of growing and making the club more well-known on campus. He also served at CSUN as a New Student Orientation Leader assisting new Freshmen and transfer students, making sure they felt welcomed as they familiarized themselves with the CSUN campus and its resources.
He also had the opportunity to promote good mental health and wellbeing for CSUN students through monthly art and music therapy workshops thanks to his role as a student assistant on the Tea Haven project with the Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Madison Schneider
Madison Schneider, “Maddie” graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in May. She told us she created an immersive experience for herself as a dancer and Kinesiology student, and said she was eager to bridge the gap between dance science and movement as an art form.
She added that with the help of her dance professors, she was able to take the knowledge she learned and dive deep into her dance training. She said she looks forward to applying it to her own career as an artist, as well as her approach to movement classes and in pursuit of obtaining her Master’s in Exercise Science.
In her final semester in the Kinesiology/Dance program, she assisted with various dance classes as well as working in the Kinesiology Department as a Peer Learning Facilitator to help students further their understanding of Exercise Physiology.
Maddie said she hopes to use her B.S degree as a launching pad for uncovering more knowledge about the mind, body, spirit connection and how dancers can practice a holistic and preventive approach to produce healthier training and lifestyle habits at high performance levels.
Su 2023
Jean O'Sullivan, HHD
Madison Schneider, CSUN Kinesiology 2023 Graduate