CSULA PEEPs
CSULA EEP graduates - 2011
 |
| 2011 EEP grads |
- Faisal Abdullah, 17, political science major. A Dean's List student, Abdullah was recently accepted for an Arabic language intensive program hosted by CSU San Bernardino for the summer of 2011 and was awarded a scholarship from its World Languages and Literatures Department for this summer program. In the fall, he will begin studying both Arabic and Urdu at an institute in South Africa for one academic year. After that, he hopes to attend a doctoral program in Near Eastern and Islamic Studies, specifically the Hanafi School of Law, specializing in Islamic law and jurisprudence.
- Caroline Chen, 18, biochemistry major, cum laude. Chen has been accepted to the Florida International University to pursue a master's degree in chemistry. She will spend the summer working in the Agricultural Research Service lab of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An active member of the American Medical Student Association, she has studied the synthesis and characterization of the anti-cancer drug Melphalan-TEMPO under direction of Professor Yong Ba.
- Catrina Chitjian, 17, biochemistry major. At CSULA, Chitjian conducted research on mechanism of life span determination in Professor Robert Vellanoweth's chemistry lab. After graduation, Chitjian plans to work part-time as a tutor while applying to graduate school to pursue a career as a synthetic chemist. (CSULA article)
- Christine Chow, 18, TV, film and media studies major, summa cum laude. Christine Chow will head to Stanford University's School of Education's Learning, Design, and Technology program with a paid fellowship as well as internship opportunities. Chow is the first Merkin Honors Scholar at CSULA. Chow created a documentary about robotics and renewable energy vehicles in collaboration with CSULA instructor Zanj Avery. (CSULA article)
- Cristina Marie De Cesare, 19, computer science major and mathematics minor, cum laude. De Cesare, who began working full-time as a software engineer starting this month, hopes to apply to graduate school next year. A Dean's List student, she has been a recipient of the SEMPRA Corporate Scholarship, Al and Ann Jicha Endowed Scholarship, Intel/NIAF Scholarship, G.E. Honors Scholarship and the Undergraduate Alumni Scholarship Award. De Cesare developed software to advance a robotic cargo manipulator at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for one summer and collaborated with fellow CSULA students and faculty for a CSULA Scientific Visualization Laboratory software project another summer.
- Crystal Fang, 18, business arts/prelegal major and economics minor, summa cum laude. Fang will be heading to the University of Virginia this fall and plans to pursue a career as an entertainment and business attorney. Fang has interned at Anschutz Entertainment Group in Shanghai and was selected to speak at Peking University's 2010 Annual International Student Festival. She also published articles in the California Business Foundation's monthly magazines regarding politics and her experiences studying abroad last year at Peking University.
- Tori Irons, 18, finance major and economics minor. Irons, who plans to work full-time after graduation, will consider applying to an MBA program with an emphasis on investment banking in the future. At CSULA, she is an active member of Beta Alpha Psi, Accounting Society and G.E. Honors Club. She also served as vice president for the Financial Management Association.
- Troi Irons, 18, psychology major. Irons, who enjoys singing and playing piano and guitar, has been admitted to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. She hopes to pursue a career in music, while continuing to help the homeless. A Dean's List student, she was an active member of Humanitarians on Campus and Martial Arts Club at CSULA.
- Vincent Matthew Johnson, 18, business administration-finance major and economics minor, cum laude. Johnson will be applying to an MBA program with an emphasis in marketing. A two-time first-place winner of the West Coast Ragtime Piano Society Youth Competition, he also hopes to continue a career as a composer-pianist.
- Kostya Kavutskiy, 18, business administration-finance major and economics minor. Kavutskiy plans to become a professional chess player and teacher. He was a champion of the CSULA Chess Club for 2008 and 2009. He is also an active participant of the Forensics Team at CSULA.
- Jillian Kwong, 21, political science major, cum laude. Kwong is considering applying to a master's program in communication studies or to pursue a career as a human rights lawyer. Through the CSU International Programs, she studied in Florence, Italy, for one academic year. At CSULA, she is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Science Honor Society) and the Golden Key International Honor Society. In 2009, she was a member of the CSULA delegation that participated in the National Model United Nations Conference in New York. Her delegation, which represented Cuba, received Outstanding Delegation and Outstanding Position Papers awards.
- Frances Lee, 19, biology major, magna cum laude. Lee, who plans to apply to grad school or medical school, is currently working as a tutor and teaching assistant at School Connection, a center that offers tutoring services and after-school classes. A Dean's List student, she is a member of the Music Appreciation Club and the American Medical Student Association at CSULA. Under the direction of CSULA Professor Wayne Tikannen, she helped to develop a chiral, Lewis-acid catalyst of importance to the development of pharmaceuticals.
- Lawrence Mak, 20, history major. Mak will take a year off and volunteer at his local library before applying to grad school to pursue a career as a librarian. At CSULA, he has served as public relations chair for the EEP Club.
- Brian Mui, 20, philosophy major. Mui will be taking time off to explore before applying to grad school or for a full-time job. A Dean's List student, he is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key honor societies. He has served as social chair and assistant social chair of the EEP Club, G.E. Honors Club, and the Humanitarians on Campus.
- Raj Shah, 18, philosophy major and history minor, summa cum laude. Shah will be going to the UCLA School of Law in the fall. He has also been accepted to Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and the UC Hastings College of Law.
- Avijit Sharma, 18, biology major, magna cum laude. Sharma will be attending Ohio State Medical School in the fall to pursue a career as a surgeon. A Dean's List student, he has served as president of Amnesty International, social secretary of the G.E. Honors Club, and recording secretary of the Golden Key Honor Society. In addition to conducting research in developmental biology with Professor Robert Nissen, he has volunteered at the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.
- Eugene Shvarts, 20, math and physics double major. Shvarts, who plans to become a research professor in mathematical physics, will be pursuing his M.S. in mathematics at CSULA in the fall. A Dean's List student, he is a member of the Golden Key and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. In 2009, he received the CSULA Physics Department Grant Scholarship. At CSULA, he has served as class president of the EEP Club, treasure of Humanitarians on Campus, and treasurer of Humanists Association. A member of the Math and Physics Clubs at CSULA, he was also involved with the Sci-Vi Laboratory and the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect Lab on campus.
- Aviva Sterns, 18, psychology major. Sterns hopes to conduct neuroscience research with an M.D./Ph.D. in neuroscience, working as a certified psychiatrist, or to work at a research/teaching hospital, devising new treatments for those with depressive and anxiety disorders. She will apply to a pre-medical post-baccalaureate program after graduation. At CSULA, she conducted research with CSULA Professor Alicia Izquierdo regarding "effortful" decision-making and the various regions of the brain that are involved.
- Justina Tain, 19, microbiology major. Tain plans to take a year off to conduct research, volunteer abroad and intern as a clinical care extender at St. Mary Medical Center before applying to medical school to pursue a career in pediatric medicine. A member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, she has received a BioSecurity Scholarship offered by the Department of Homeland Security. Currently, a member of Professor Howard Xu's applied microbiology and biotechnology lab, she has conducted research in ovarian and breast cancer as a summer research assistant at UCLA and in bacterial pathogenesis as a summer intern at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada.
- Lea Urpa, 20, biology major and geology minor. Urpa will take a year off before applying to grad school to pursue a Ph.D. in biology. A Dean's List student, she has received an Undergraduate Mentors in Environmental Biology Program fellowship. She spent two summers conducting field work at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center in BC, Canada, under the direction of CSULA Professor Carlos Robles.
- Sasha Verma, 19, English major and history minor. Verma plans to work full-time in a public relations firm, focusing on entertainment public relations, before applying to an MBA program. At CSULA, she was a public relations representative for the CSULA Model United Nations club. She has garnered an Outstanding Position Paper award at the Huntington Beach Model U.N. Conference for solo performance. For two consecutive years, she also attended the National Model U.N. Conferences in New York with the CSULA Model U.N. team, which won Outstanding Position Papers and Distinguished Delegation honors both times
- Tin-Shuk (Timmy) Wong, 19, computer science and mathematics double major. Wong plans to acquire some work experience before pursuing a career conducting research in mathematics and theoretical computer science. He is currently working as a paid intern at Teradata in the city of Santa Clara.
- David T. Wang, 19, biochemistry major, summa cum laude. Wang is one of only 57 students nationwide to be selected for the prestigious $5,000 Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship for the 2011-12 academic year. Wang will pursue a Ph.D. through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program starting this fall. Wang is a recipient of the CSULA General Education Honors Progam's 2008 Student of the Year and its Honors Scholarship, and the CSULA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry's 2011 Katherine Carter Award in Scientific Writing. Wang works as a research assistant in Professor Ellis's geology lab at CSULA, leading a team in developing stable isotopes as tracers of chromium contamination in groundwater. He also conducted research on drug resistance in ovarian tumors with the Dorigo group at UCLA as a volunteer in the summers of 2008 and 2009, and as an Amgen Scholar in the summer of 2010. (CSULA article)
***Details on Sueyoun (Suki) Kim was unavailable at press time.
Also available: 2008-2010 graduate information -- click here
Also available: 2005-2007 graduate information -- click here
Contact PEEP by email or phone (323/906-0300)
or contact Rich Maddox at EEP by email or phone (323/343-2287)