Photos: Cal State Fullerton students make a titanic difference in 2023

Athletics: The men’s track and field 4x400m relay team in May defeated Long Beach State to clinch its third straight Big West Championship, its fifth in program history, with all five since the 2017 season. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Business and Economics: Single mom Sebrina Valdez returned to school at 53 to earn her bachelor’s degree in business administration. Through the support of the Transfer Adult Re-entry Parenting and Pregnant Student Center, Valdez found a home away from home, often attending TAPP events with her children. She served as treasurer for the student organization Adults Who Are Returning to Education. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Education: As a middle schooler, Class of 2023 graduate Ainaria Johnson set her sights on becoming an educator. She earned a master’s degree in education-special education and now works as a special education teacher at Richard Henry Dana Exceptional Needs Facility in Dana Point, where last year she received the school’s Teacher of the Year Award. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Communications: Class of 2023 graduate Jenna Maree Wong served as president of Student Speech Therapists and Audiologists Nurturing Culture Enrichment. Her drive to pave an equitable educational path for underrepresented communicative disorders students earned her the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders’ Edith Li Communicative Disorders Service Award. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of the Arts: While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music-voice concentration, 2023 graduate Emilio Lopez Felix, left, shared the stage with singer Andrea Bocelli, The Eagles, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and composer John Williams. “Cal State Fullerton’s reputation in the music industry lands us these opportunities … to work with these artists while I’m still in school,” the first-generation student said. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Engineering and Computer Science: First-generation student Jose “Pepe” Tapia was introduced to artificial intelligence and machine learning research through ASSURE-US, a $1.5 million grant program through the National Science Foundation. The 2023 graduate received the AWS Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Scholarship from Amazon and a California State University Edison STEM-NET Student Research Fellowship. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Health and Human Development: Class of 2023 graduate Sienna Baldwin earned her master’s degree in athletic training before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks as an athletic training intern. Her internship was the first step toward achieving her goal of becoming a full-time athletic trainer for an MLB organization. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Aryan Afshar earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology and plans to become a licensed marriage and family therapist. For her outstanding research focused on the experiences and trauma of Afghans who settled in America, the 2023 graduate received CSUF’s 2023 Giles T. Brown Thesis Excellence Award. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Ramadhan Ahmed, a Class of 2023 biological science major who scored in the 97th percentile on his medical school admission test, was accepted to 17 top-ranked medical schools. The first in his family to earn both high school and college degrees, Ahmed participated in the Bridges to Stem Cell Research program and mentored students in Project RAISE. He was named the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Senior. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

Student Affairs: Business administration student Elizabeth Rocha served four years in the Marine Corps before coming to CSUF. She has served as president of CSUF’s chapter of Student Veterans of America and volunteers with the Veterans Resource Center on campus, where she helps manage the VetForward program. After graduation in 2024, she plans to pursue a master’s in social work or attend law school. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)