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17-year-old biochemistry major to
Chitjian, one of 20+ Early Entrance Program grads in the
Class of 2011
While many of her contemporaries are attending the prom or finishing
high school this weekend, 17-year-old Catrina Chitjian—the
youngest graduating senior at Cal State L.A.—will be receiving her
bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with honors.
Chitjian was admitted to Cal State L.A. at the age of 12 through the
University’s Early Entrance Program (EEP). She will be marching at
CSULA’s Commencement on Saturday, June 11, at 8 a.m.
A Dean’s List student, she is a member of the G.E. Honors Club and
CSULA’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter, the oldest, largest and most selective
collegiate honor society in the U.S.
Despite her demanding academic load, which included conducting research
on mechanism of life span determination in Professor Robert
Vellanoweth’s chemistry lab, Chitjian is very active on campus, having
served as secretary of Humanitarians on Campus, vice president of People
for Animal Care and Kindness, and social chair of the Early Entrance
Program Club.
“Some people are concerned when they realize that I missed the ‘high
school experience,’ but I wouldn’t trade my experience at CSULA for
anything,” said Chitjian.
Chitjian explained that she enjoyed being able to make her own class
schedule and having guidance when needed. She said, “I love having peers
closer in age and with the same interests as me. I am particularly
grateful to have stopped being subjected to school-cafeteria food.”
A Monterey Park resident, she has also volunteered at the Alhambra
Retirement Community and for the annual Sally Ride Festival to interest
5th-8th grade girls in the science fields.
After graduation, Chitjian plans to work part-time as a tutor while
applying to graduate school to pursue a career as a synthetic chemist.
For her interest in tutoring, she explained, “I’ve found that helping
people learn is incredibly rewarding.”
Chitjian added, “When I consider all of the science classes I’ve taken,
organic chemistry was my favorite. …I’ve always liked creating
concoctions, so I am interested in becoming [what’s most similar to] a
cosmetic formulator. I want to be the person behind the scenes, pulling
things from the garden, going through trial and error, with hope that
people will say, ‘That’s what I used! It really helped me and I’m so
glad I tried it.’”
CSULA’s EEP admits extraordinarily gifted youngsters—some as young as
11—directly into college, providing the early entrants with monitored
evaluation, regular counseling sessions, and the opportunity to study
with like-minded peers. Chitjian is among more than 20 other EEP
graduates receiving their baccalaureate degrees this year.
# # #
Working for Californiaia 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 215,000 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
the Honors College for high-achieving students, opening in fall 2011.
Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-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
graduate from Cal
State L.A. this weekend
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