Note to editors and news directors:
Wherever news breaks in the world, there’s
almost always a local angle in Los Angeles; conversely, in Cal State
L.A.’s Class of 2009 are many “local” stories from around the world, as
demonstrated in this media advisory. Presented below the release, some
sidebar statistics offer additional context.
Grads
from across the globe
Roots
range from L.A. to Afghanistan, from China to Croatia, and beyond
LOS
ANGELES –
Their stories began far away, and for some long ago. Their next chapters
begin this weekend with Commencement ceremonies at California State
University, Los Angeles.
Cal
State L.A.’s Class of 2009—with more than 5,000 graduates receiving
bachelor’s or and master’s degrees—represents the University’s
growing legacy of diversity with excellence. Among those earning
bachelor’s degrees will be a man born in China 87 years ago and a girl
born in Croatia 17 years ago. Their brief profiles—along with those of
other graduates from Kazakhstan, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and
Afghanistan—are provided below.
Cal State L.A.’s
2009 Commencement
will be a two-day festivity—Friday, June 12, and Saturday,
June 13. The Friday 5 p.m. ceremony will honor graduates in the
Charter College of Education; College of Engineering, Computer Science,
and Technology; and College of Health and Human Services. The Saturday 8
a.m. ceremony will honor the graduates in the College of Arts and
Letters; College of Business and Economics; and College of Natural and
Social Sciences.
A global sampling of Cal State L.A.’s Class of 2009:
Kasakhstan
Elmira Baisetova,
who will be receiving her MBA with an option in management at the
Saturday Commencement, comes from Kazakhstan. A Dean’s List student, she
also works part-time on campus as a graduate assistant in the College of
Business and Economic Dean’s office. Finance Professor Taewon Kim said,
“For a woman from central Asia, she had a rare, successful career in the
hospitality industry in Kazakhstan and was recognized by her government
with an award before deciding to come here to study. …She shows
wonderful leadership in and out of classroom.”
Richard YaoTang Chen—at
87 the eldest graduating senior at this year’s Commencement—will be
receiving his bachelor’s degree in Chinese this spring and completing
his bachelor’s degee in criminal justice this summer. He emigrated to
the U.S. in 1991 from Shanghai, China, where he was a lawyer. Not one to
slow down, Chen volunteers in the Chinatown community of Los Angeles. He
recently returned from Seoul, Korea, where he served as a judge for the
International Martial Arts Federation’s World Championship. At Cal State
L.A., he received the Kylie Hsu Endowed Scholarship and first prize in
the advanced level of the University’s annual Chinese Poetry Contest. He
will march at the Friday Commencement.
Guatemala
Adolfo Escobedo
and his wife, Amber, will both celebrate their six-month wedding
anniversary at the Saturday Commencement by receiving his and hers
degrees. Adolfo’s will be in mathematics, while Amber’s will be in
liberal studies. Each entered the University as a President’s Scholar, a
distinction given to a select group of roughly eight incoming freshmen
who, based on exemplary high school academic performance, each year
receive $5,000 annual scholarships renewable for up to four years while
they attend Cal State L.A. Adolfo, who was born in Guatemala, came to
the U.S. with his family in 1995. After graduation, he will be
completing an accounting certificate and applying for law or graduate
school to pursue his goal of becoming a legal accountant. Adolfo
graduated from San Pedro High School.
Ataklti Hagege Hailu,
a diplomat of his country, will be receiving a master’s degree in public
administration (MSPA) at the Saturday Commencement. He currently serves
as consul of the Consulate General of Ethiopia in Los Angeles. Despite
his diplomatic workload, Hailu completed the MSPA comprehensive exam and
finished top of his class of about 20 MSPA students. He also received a
Special Recognition in Graduate Studies award at this year’s Honors
Convocation. Political Science Professor Siegrun Fox Freyss said,
“Faculty members like to have smart, quick-minded, and thoughtful
students with well-honed critical thinking skills in their classes. Mr.
Hailu excelled in all these areas. He also showed a quick wit and
great-self-deprecating humor. It was a pleasure to have him in class.”
Bangladesh
Suzana Karim,
who will receive her bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in
mathematics at the Saturday Commencement, comes to Cal State L.A. from
Bangladesh. Overcoming her family’s resistance and cultural traditions,
she came to the U.S. and achieved academic distinction. Her
participation in Cal State L.A.’s economics projects have contributed to
the Los Angeles and campus community. For example, she collected
economic data for Professor Dang Tran’s forecasting project, entitled
“Preliminary Los Angeles County Regional Econometric Model.” She also
helped with another model, forecasting the trend of U.S. economic
growth. A Dean’s List student, she received the Korean Real Estate
Brokers Association of Southern California scholarship.
Croatia
Andrea Kulier—at
17 the youngest graduating senior at Cal State L.A.—will be receiving
her bachelor’s degrees in physics and math at the Saturday Commencement.
She will be heading to Princeton University this fall to focus on
theoretical cosmology research. Admitted to the Princeton astrophysical
sciences department with paid tuition and $33,000 fellowship, she was
also accepted to Ph.D. programs at UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Harvard, UC
Santa Cruz, Caltech, and the University of Chicago. With the advantage
of starting college early, Kulier was admitted to Cal State L.A. at the
age of 12 through the University’s Early Entrance Program. Currently a
resident in the city of Placentia, Kulier and her family immigrated to
the U.S. from Croatia 13 years ago.
Overcoming culture shock, language barriers, and loss of two
parents, Soliman Wahab will earn a bachelor's degree in computer
information systems with an option in information technology this
spring. He and his family emigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan 10
years ago to pursue their American dream. He lost his father to a heart
attack soon after arriving to Los Angeles, and his mother died of cancer
three days later. Focusing on a better future, he worked to help support
his sister through college, and now he will be realizing his own college
aspirations. A Dean’s List student, Wahab will honor his parents as he
marches at the Saturday Commencement. This fall, Wahab will attend Cal
State L.A.’s MBA Program. With big hopes and plans, he said he is
determined to “solve the problems of ineffective and underperforming
states.” Describing his experience at Cal State L.A. as “nothing short
of extraordinary,” he also indicated, “I am a firm believer that Cal
State L.A. is where the leaders of tomorrow are made.” Wahab has served
as president of the Association of Information Management, an on-campus
organization empowering members to solve real-world problems for local
businesses and gain real-world experience. He currently resides in
Laguna Niguel with his sister, Yasmine.
A quick glimpse at Cal State L.A.’s global context:
# # #
Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12.
Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu
to gain CSULA degrees
Back to: News site | Services for Journalists | Public Affairs | Cal State L.A.