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Father, daughter to share commencement stage

Destiny and Diego Armendariz both graduating with CSUB degrees this fall

By California State University, Bakersfield

December 11^th, 2025

Parents often attend commencement to cheer their children on from the stands, but one father and daughter will be sharing the stage as they graduate together from California State University, Bakersfield on Saturday.

Destiny Armendariz is graduating with her master’s degree in educational counseling while her father, 50-year-old Diego Armendariz, has earned his bachelor’s in psychology and aims to become a therapist. Both will be participating in the same commencement ceremony.

“I tease him that he stole my spotlight,” Destiny said. “When we both found out we were going to graduate at the same time, we thought it was so funny. We didn’t know at first that we were actually going to be in the same ceremony. It’s exciting that our family will be able to see the both of us take the stage at the same time and place.”

Diego said it was happenstance that they both finished their degree programs at the same time. He enrolled at CSUB in 2021 and Destiny joined in 2023 after she was accepted into the educational counseling program.

“It was exciting to know that we were going to graduate at the same time. It’s surreal that it’s all coming together,” Diego said. “I’m excited for Destiny. I’m very proud of her. I picked up her gown, and I was thinking ‘I know what she went through to get this.’

Destiny said she is equally proud that her dad decided to pursue a college degree.

“I look up to my dad a lot,” she said. “Knowing that he is getting his education is amazing. I get to brag about it.”

They often didn’t have the opportunity to see each other on campus, as Diego’s classes took place during the day while Destiny’s were mostly held in the evening. Last semester, however, they both had a class at the same time in rooms that were across from each other.

“I would run into him and say ‘hi.’ He popped in to say ‘hi’ to my teacher and classmates,” Destiny said. “That was one of the few times we would see each other. When I joined CSUB, we were like ‘maybe we’ll see each other on campus,’ but that didn’t happen much.”

When they weren’t focused on their studies, Destiny and Diego were both busy with other responsibilities. Diego was running his electrical business — Quality Electric — while Destiny was juggling a counseling internship with the Edison Elementary School District, substitute teaching for the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District and being a first-time mother to her daughter Rosalina, now six months old.

Destiny had considered quitting the educational counseling program due to her pregnancy but ultimately decided against it.

“I was six months pregnant and knew I would still need to intern. I was stressed out,” she said. “I wanted to quit, but I had my family to support me.”

Despite time management challenges, both Destiny and Diego were able to meet all of the requirements for their respective programs and are excited about finally being able to graduate.

“I’m pretty stoked that I made it,” Diego said. “It’s starting to hit me that I’m leaving. I love that I’m going to be able to call myself an alumnus of CSUB.”

Destiny said she feels like she experienced a lot of growth, both academically and personally, during the master’s program.

“I was finally able to see what it feels like to manage so many things at the same time, whether it was working every day, interning every day, being a mother and a student,” she said. “Knowing that I’m capable of such a big handful of things at the same time makes me feel like I’m so much stronger. No matter how hard it was, I didn’t give up.”

Diego on his first day of classes at CSUB in 2021.

'The experience I needed'

Diego was living in McFarland when he decided to leave high school early at age 17. He persuaded his parents to sign off for him to join the military and embark on what he said was a much-needed life change.

“I didn’t really feel like I didn’t have any other good options,” he said. “I was going down the wrong path, getting involved with gangs. I thought about college, but I didn’t have the discipline at the time to go to school and not keep getting involved with what was happening on the streets.”

Diego left during the midterm of his senior year at McFarland High School and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. After completing boot camp, Diego returned to the school to walk the commencement stage in 1993, having already completed his graduation requirements before joining the Marines.

Diego spent a total of eight years in the military, most of it spent as a platoon sergeant and squad leader.

“It was the experience I needed that still lives with me,” he said. “The discipline was helpful, the initiative to do things, but it was difficult being away from family while on deployment. I wasn’t there when my daughters were born.”

After deciding to end his military service in 2001, Diego moved with his now ex-wife and their children to Bakersfield, where he started his electrical business. He didn’t develop an interest in higher education until his own children started attending college.

Destiny attended Fresno State and graduated in 2017 with her bachelor’s in recreation administration. She had originally intended to become a recreation therapist before she made the pivot to pursuing a career as a school counselor.

“Destiny was part of my inspiration to go to college,” Diego said. “I was a big critic of college at first, but then I got curious about what they were doing in school.”

Looking to set a good example for his children and young nieces and nephews, Diego decided to apply to CSUB after learning that he was eligible to have his school expenses paid for by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

He started off as a business major and then switched to environmental resource management before realizing that wasn’t what he was looking for either.

Diego had the additional barrier of getting used to being in a classroom for the first time in decades and learning the basics of being a college student, such as how to put a research paper together and utilize technology in the classroom.

“It was a little intimidating, even for being a Marine. You have to be very resilient here to get through it,” he said.

During his first year, Diego felt frustrated with his lack of progress and began having second thoughts about continuing his education. Like with Destiny, however, his family helped him persevere.

“I wanted to give up after the first semester, but they helped me and pushed me. We were cheering each other on,” he said. “Knowing that everybody was watching me kept me going. My children were my motivation. If they pushed through this, I could push through this also.”

Diego first considered majoring in psychology and becoming a therapist after one of his own therapy sessions. His therapist suggested that it would be a good path for him given his ability to easily converse and empathize with others. Diego decided to switch his major at CSUB one last time.

“After taking the first couple of classes, I stuck with it. It was intriguing,” he said. “It’s just interesting how the brain works, all the components that make up psychology. There are so many aspects to it.”

Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Heidi McLaughlin has had Diego in several of her classes and found that he brought a unique perspective to them.

“Diego is interesting because he didn't just get an education to pursue a specific career, since he already owned a successful company, but he really wanted to stretch his mind and experiences through a college degree,” she said.

Dr. McLaughlin said Diego was very active in her classes and was willing to share some of his own experiences with students.

“I've always found that non-traditional students enrich class time, and Diego has definitely been one of those,” she said. “He's not afraid to ask questions, participate in discussions or call me out when I miss something! I love that kind of engagement.”

Dr. McLaughlin was excited to learn that both Diego and his daughter would be graduating at the same time.

“As parents, we always want our children to achieve their best, and you can see how glad he is that his daughter has pursued education this far,” she said. “Getting to join her in accomplishing a degree has to be a fulfilling experience!”

Father, daughter to share commencement stage

Finding belonging

Destiny also had a winding journey before landing on her current career goals. She moved back home to Bakersfield in 2018 after graduating from Fresno State. After struggling to get the kinds of jobs she was looking for where she could utilize her degree, she decided to give substitute teaching a try, which ultimately put her on the path to become a counselor.

“I love subbing because I work with kids but it’s also flexible. Every day is not the same,” she said. “I can go sub a kindergarten class and the next day sub a sixth-grade class. One day, I’m helping students understand their sight words or ABCs and the next day I’m trying to help them solve fractions and decimals.”

Destiny thought about going back to school to become a teacher, but after a counselor at one of the schools she was subbing at told her that she should consider becoming a school counselor, she realized that was what she wanted to do.

“I realized that whenever I’m at school, I’m connecting with the kids and being able to talk to them about their futures. I love being able to figure out the students while they’re figuring out themselves,” she said.

Destiny began looking at educational counseling programs and applied to CSUB. While she wasn’t accepted the first time, due to the competitiveness of the program, she was accepted when she applied the second time around.

Educational Counseling Lecturer Dr. Lakesha Ray said Destiny has been an exceptional student in her classes.

“She is very thoughtful and considerate of diverse student needs as an upcoming educational counselor,” she said. “She is going to be a remarkable asset to the educational counseling community, and I am excited to see how she fearlessly contributes to this field.”

Destiny was able to get a sense of how deep some of those needs are through the 800-hour internship she completed as part of the master’s program.

“The challenge is having to see the dark side of counseling, when students come into the office with serious behavioral issues and suicidal ideation,” she said. “Having to call parents to tell them how their child’s been is one of the hardest parts.”

While the internship has proved to be a significant challenge for Destiny, she said it has been equally rewarding and that it affirmed her desire to become a school counselor.

“I did a semester-long case study on a student who was struggling with a lot of anger issues, so we did a lot of anger management lessons and talked about coping strategies,” she said. “When she graduated, she told me that I helped her so much. That meant so much to me. It made me feel like this is where I belong.”

Destiny said she is leaving CSUB confident in her ability to be a counselor. She hopes to get a position for the next school year at one of the middle schools in Bakersfield.

“Middle school is when they’re trying to figure themselves out and their personalities come out. That’s where you can have the biggest impact,” she said. “These kids need someone to advocate for them, to be there for them. I can be one of those people who can step in.”

As for Diego, he plans to hand over the reins of his company to others and get a job working as a therapist for a nonprofit organization. He specifically wants to work with at-risk populations.

“I want to be an advocate for people who are struggling, for the homeless, veterans or those just out of prison,” he said. “Many of these people suffer from depression and anxiety. That’s a human being. That’s somebody’s son. They should have someone who’s looking out for them.”

Both Destiny and Diego said they’re grateful to CSUB for putting them on the path to achieve their goals.

“I think CSUB is a great school. I’m proud to be able to call myself a Roadrunner,” Diego said.

“Having a master’s is something I can be proud of,” Destiny said. “I’m only the second in my family to get one, so it’s a really big accomplishment. It’s very rewarding.”

Destiny, lower left, with her fellow graduating cohorts in the counseling psychology program.

Destiny with her partner, father and stepmother.

Diego with his granddaughter Rosalina on the day she was born in July.

Destiny, her partner and their daughter Rosalina.

Destiny's father, stepmother and their family.

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Footnotes

Story by Joseph Luiz, writer/marketing and communications specialist; feature photo by EJ Medellin, videographer/photographer; all other photos contributed by Destiny Armendariz

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FootNotes

Story by Joseph Luiz, writer/marketing and communications specialist; feature photo by EJ Medellin, videographer/photographer; all other photos contributed by Destiny Armendariz