Connections

For Alumni and Friends

November & December 2023

Featured

Women’s volleyball captures first NCAA National Championship

Cal State LA women's champions celebrate their championship win on Dec. 9, 2023.

Cal State LA’s women’s volleyball team reigns supreme after capturing the first NCAA Division II championship in program history. The Golden Eagles completed a near-flawless run to the national title with a four-set win over defending national champion West Texas A&M. The Golden Eagles’ first national title in volleyball is also the first for a women’s team sport at Cal State LA in the NCAA-era that started in 1982. Read more about their historic win.

Student-athlete featured in the Los Angeles Times

Bryan Ortega jumps dribbling the soccer ball.

With the support of Golden Eagles men’s soccer coach Michael Erush, Bryan Ortega went from being kicked out of high school, jailed for robbery, and living out of a car, to being a star soccer player—and most importantly—a stellar student at Cal State LA. Ortega shared his story of triumph and perseverance with the Los Angeles Times. Read the full story here.

Campus News

Incoming President Berenecea Johnson Eanes makes second visit to campus

President Eanes meets with Cal State LA community.

Incoming President Berenecea Johnson Eanes met with several groups across the University in November during her second visit to campus. The gatherings provided an opportunity for the University community and Eanes to share with each other. Eanes reiterated her goal of listening and learning from the Cal State LA community. “Part of what I know that I’ll be talking to you about is what do you think we can do to better take care of our students and take care of each other?” Eanes said during a reception. “The stronger we are as a team, the better off we will be in the future. That’s only going to come from us taking care of each other and trying to move the ball ahead on goals and getting things done.” In January, Eanes will begin her tenure as the ninth president of Cal State LA. “I’m so excited for the adventure ahead,” she said.

Cal State LA selected to compete in Battery Workforce Challenge

A group photo of the students participating in the Batt Challenge.

Cal State LA is one of only 12 North American colleges and universities selected to compete in the newly launched Battery Workforce Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Stellantis auto manufacturing company. Managed by Argonne National Laboratory, the three-year collegiate competition will provide an immersive, hands-on learning experience for students at Cal State LA to gain valuable engineering, manufacturing, and battery testing skills and to prepare them to succeed in the rapidly growing EV sector. Throughout a span of three years, students will design, build, test, and integrate a 100-kWh battery pack into a Stellantis vehicle. They will follow industry design and development processes focused on battery design, simulation, controls development, testing, vehicle integration, and demonstration. Visit the Battery Workforce Challenge website for more information.

Cal State LA featured in CSU’s Equity Spotlight

A professor lecturing to students sitting at a table.

Cal State LA’s innovative approach to fostering student success was recently featured in a CSU article. The University’s Career-Engaged Departments program, possibly the first of its kind in the country, helps students overcome academic challenges by shifting classroom culture, while the newly established First Year Connections program works with faculty to instill a sense of belonging in students from their first term at the University. Read the full article.

Students embrace the spirit of the United Nations in D.C.

A team of Cal State LA students participated in the 2023 Model United Nations Conference in Washington, D.C., where they joined more than a thousand students in creating innovative solutions to persistent international problems. Cal State LA students served on six different United Nations committees, and four students received Position Paper Awards for their outstanding pre-conference preparation. The team represented the nations of Albania and Guatemala. Both the Albanian and Guatemalan delegations received honorable mentions for their collaborative efforts, public speaking, and engagement in the diplomatic processes of the conference.

Cal State LA receives NASA grant to boost student interest in STEM research

Arezoo Khodayari, associate professor of civil engineering in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at Cal State LA.

Cal State LA has been awarded a $570,000 grant from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to inspire students to participate in NASA research and pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The grant project will be a collaboration with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Cal Poly Pomona. The two-year grant was awarded through NASA’s Bridge Program, which is designed to boost diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility within the NASA workforce and within the U.S. science and engineering community. The project is led by principal investigator Arezoo Khodayari, associate professor of civil engineering in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at Cal State LA. Read more about the NASA grant.

Cal State LA recognized as a Phi Kappa Phi Circle of Excellence Gold Chapter

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi recently recognized the Cal State LA chapter of Phi Kappa Phi as a Circle of Excellence Gold Chapter, the second-highest commendation a chapter can receive from the organization. Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The award is given to chapters that exceed expectations in chapter operations and demonstrate sustainability and vitality as a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. By receiving the gold distinction, the Cal State LA chapter is recognized as a thriving organization.

Cal State LA research team explores the microbiology of seamount ecosystems

Gustavo Ramírez, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Cal State LA, and graduate student Oscar Almacen have headed out to sea to explore the microbiology of seamounts—dark underwater mountains, deep beneath the waves of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. As part of the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s (SOI) Octopus Odyssey Expedition, Ramírez and Almacen joined an international multidisciplinary group of marine scientists on board the SOI vessel Falkor (too), which is carrying a remotely operated submarine vehicle known as Subastian. With the help of the vehicle, the faculty-student team will work to collect critical data on the ecology of seamount ecosystems. Seamounts serve as hot spots of biological activity in the otherwise barren desert-like sediment plains that dominate the deep ocean seafloor. The team will also look at which microbes inhabit seamounts and what roles they play in weathering rocks and, perhaps, influencing animal health and behaviors. The exploration began on Nov. 29 and will run through Dec. 17. Live updates on the research voyage may be found on the SOI’s YouTube account. Visit the Ramírez Lab website for more about their research.

Cal State LA geology professor receives award from the National Ground Water Association

Barry Hibbs, professor of geology in the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA.

Cal State LA Professor Barry Hibbs was recently honored with the National Ground Water Association’s Keith E. Anderson Award for 2023. The National Ground Water Association presented the award to Hibbs in recognition of his outstanding contributions made to the association. The association is a leader in advocating for the responsible development, management, and use of water. Hibbs received the award on Dec. 6 during the association’s Groundwater Week celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada. “It is a tremendous honor receiving this award. The National Ground Water Association is the premier organization serving the groundwater profession, and has been in existence since 1948,” said Hibbs, who is a professor in the Department of Geography, Geology, and Environment at Cal State LA. Read more about the award.

Community Focus

Cal State LA is once again named champion for success in supporting transfer students

An image that says "Champions of Higher Education - 2023 Excellence in Transfer"

The Campaign for College Opportunity has named Cal State LA a 2023 Champion of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer. The University was once again recognized for supporting transfer students in attaining their bachelor’s degrees at the 2023 Champions of Higher Education Celebration. Cal State LA received this designation in 2018, 2019 and 2022. “Cal State LA continues to be an outstanding university for transfer students,” said Cal State LA Interim President Leroy M. Morishita. “Our faculty and staff provide the support students need to thrive and achieve their goal of earning a degree.” During the Nov. 14 ceremony, the University was also honored as an Equity Champion of Higher Education for Black Students and an Equity Champion of Higher Education for Latinx Students for supporting students in earning their Associate Degree for Transfer. Read more about the honor.

Engagement, Service, and the Public Good

Engineering students build Toddler Mobility Trainers for Shriners Children’s

A large group of students posing for a photo in front toy dolls placed in child-sized seats.

Members of Cal State LA’s Golden Eagle Makers (GEM), a student-run engineering club, spent a recent Saturday building mobility trainers for children with physical challenges at Shriners Children’s in Pasadena. Wheelchairs are not often constructed with children and toddlers in mind, making them harder to access. The Toddler Mobility Trainer is designed for children ages six months to three years old who are living with physical challenges and have difficulty moving independently in their homes or schools. GEM partnered with the USC chapter of Tikkun Olam Makers to build eight mobility trainers, which will be used to assist children in Shriners’ surgery and rehabilitation units.

Athletics

Golden Eagles earn major regional honors

Cal State LA All-Western Region athletes.

Cal State LA student-athletes from men’s soccer, volleyball and women’s soccer have racked up numerous regional accolades. Midfielder Oliver Diaz and outside hitter Emily Elliott were each named All-West Region Player of the Year for their respective sports by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. Taesja Paopao, the CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year, headlined the All-Region team for women’s soccer.

Alumni Spotlight

Alumna wins Best Short Screenplay at CSU Media Arts Festival

Lada Egorova’s upbringing inspired her to create Blin, a comedy series centered around the Russian American community in Los Angeles. Written while completing her master’s degree at Cal State LA as a French exchange student, the show’s pilot episode “Circus” was named Best Short Screenplay at the 33rd annual CSU Media Arts Festival.

Blin follows the hilarious struggles of Katia, a young woman trying to navigate two cultures. Egorova received a master’s degree in video and photographic arts from the College of Arts and Letters in 2022. She also holds a license in cinematography and film/video production from the Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée in France and a filmmaking degree from the University of New Orleans in Louisiana. View Egorova’s winning project online.