Kathy Nguyen is a second-year graduate student in the College of Education’s Postsecondary Educational Leadership with a specialization in the student affairs program.
“I felt really honored and somewhat intimidated to receive the award,” said Nguyen, who mentors undergraduate students and encourages them to apply for this scholarship.
She said she was surprised to receive it because she knows past scholarship recipients who are “incredibly inspiring, intelligent, and deserving” and she felt she might not be able to live to the expectations.
“Though I do feel a bit nervous to live up to the expectations of the award, I also feel honored to be recognized for my work so far and I feel as though the Ph.D. route is much clearer for me,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen is one more than 70 highly-qualified California State University students selected for the prestigious fellowship. The Sally Casanova awards are designed to enable current students to explore and prepare to succeed in doctoral programs in their chosen field of study.
The award honors the late Dr. Sally Casanova, a member of the California State University (CSU) Office of the Chancellor’s staff during the 1960s. Dr. Casanova launched the fellowship program in 1989 and also was associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies at CSU Dominguez Hills. She died in 1994.
Nguyen, a second generation Vietnamese-American and the daughter of refugees, said she plans to visit a few Ph.D. programs—likely the University of Maryland-College Park, Indiana University, Colorado State University, University of California Los Angeles, among others—purchase memberships and attend national conferences for Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education.
The lead graduate assistant at the Division of Undergraduate Studies and intern at Counseling and Psychological Services said she is not sure what area of student affairs she would like to pursue.
“I'm still reflecting on it, but I'm interested in going back to work at a community college,” said Nguyen, who would like to do research with Dr. Nellie Tran in the Community Based Block master's program and is likely to pursue a doctoral degree.