Three outstanding undergraduates at California State University, Bakersfield will join the elite ranks of a program designed to diversify future faculty in the CSU system, the most inclusive network of higher education in the nation.
Layla Vasquez, Leticia Herrera, and Samantha DeLaCruz have been selected for the prestigious California Pre-Doctoral Program as Sally Casanova scholars, joining 72 other students from throughout the CSU system for the 2019-2020 academic year. Delila Solis, also a CSUB undergraduate student, received an honorable mention.
“This program offers an amazing opportunity for graduate-school recruiters to meet with some of the incredibly talented students at CSU Bakersfield,” said Dr. Debra Jackson, CSUB associate dean of graduate and undergraduate studies. “I am proud of their outstanding academic records, and I look forward to counting them among our faculty in the next few years.”
Sally Casanova scholars receive a $3,000 award, one-on-one guidance provided by faculty members within the CSU, and the opportunity to work with faculty from doctoral-granting institutions.
“Being selected as a Sally Casanova Scholar was a really proud moment for me,” said Leticia Herrera. “This has helped me when it came to applying for graduate school. Being a Sally Casanova scholar has given me the opportunities to visit schools I am interested in, attend seminars and participate in graduate school orientations.”
DeLaCruz, majoring in psychology and interdisciplinary studies, is mentored by Dr. Debra Jackson.
Vasquez and Herrera, both psychology majors, are mentored by CSUB psychology professor Dr. Isabel Sumaya, herself a CSUB Sally Casanova Scholar in 1994.
“To know that the CSU believed enough in my potential to enter a Ph.D. program, by providing financial support, was a turning point for me,” Dr. Sumaya said. “I owe a debt of gratitude to my faculty sponsor in the program, Dr. Ed Sasaki, for supporting me and guiding me through the process. Things have now come full circle. I now have the privilege of serving as faculty mentor to students who were just like me, first-generation, and having the dream of getting a
Ph.D. What an enormous privilege.”
Sally Casanova Scholars and students who received honorable mentions also will explore graduate opportunities and resources by participating in workshops offered by the California Forums for Diversity in Graduate Education. Planned by a consortium of public and private colleges and universities from throughout California, the Diversity Forums are designed to meet the needs of advanced undergraduates and master's candidates who belong to groups that are currently under-represented in doctoral-level programs.
“Being a Sally Casanova Scholar is an honor and recognition that has been extremely validating for me,” said Samantha DeLaCruz. “I am a queer, Latinx student with chronic mental health disorders. In order to get where I am today, I had to develop high levels of resiliency, which grew from not only a need to survive, but from the fact that I never wanted to stop working towards uplifting my community. My scholarship, academic service, and leadership at its core aims to serve, support, and liberate multi-marginalized communities. To have engaged in this type of work for the last four years at CSUB and be recognized for it on this scale is truly remarkable.”
The California Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase diversity within faculty ranks by supporting doctoral aspirations of students, particularly those who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. A total of 263 students applied for the award during the past cycle.
Sally Casanova Scholars receive funding for activities such as:
- participation in a summer research experience program at a doctoral-granting institution
- visits to doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study
- travel to a national symposium or professional meeting and related activities, such as
- membership in professional organizations and journal subscriptions
- graduate school application and test fees
“Being selected as a Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar Honorable Mention is something I would have never thought was possible a few years ago,” said Delia Solis. “When I first started at CSUB, I was convinced that school was not a place for me. I had a difficult time adjusting to the changes occurring in my life and was subsequently academically disqualified in 2014. In the spring of 2018 I returned to CSUB with a new hunger for knowledge and with the help of my campus community, I have experienced so much success.”
The award is named in memory of a former associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies at CSU Dominguez Hills who launched the pre-doctoral program in 1989. CSUB has had 52 Sally Casanova scholars over the 30 years of the program.
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