Master’s Student’s Graduation Photo Goes Viral, Reaches CNN

The photo of CSP master's student Erica Alfaro and her parents that went viral.

By Michael Klitzing

It was three days after the San Diego State University College of Education commencement ceremony and Erica Alfaro was going about her business as usual. More than a week had passed since she had posted her graduation photo on Instagram — a remarkable shot of her posing in cap and gown in a strawberry field alongside her farmworker parents. She’d seen the hundreds of likes, given a few subsequent media interviews and then moved on with her life.

It was at a meeting of the public speaking organization Toastmasters International on May 22 that Alfaro, who is finishing up her Hybrid Online MA in Education with a Concentration in Counseling program this summer, realized something was up.

Lamb Named 2019-20 Recipient of Alumni Faculty Award

By Michael Klitzing

Upon opening the notification e-mail, Lisa Lamb was sure someone, somewhere, had made a mistake. She even went back and re-read the message, just to be sure. But there’s no mistaking it: Lamb, Qualcomm Endowed Professor of Mathematics Education, has been named the College of Education’s 2019-2020 recipient of the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributions to the University.

VIDEO: Meet COE’s Outstanding Graduates for 2019

Each year at Commencement, the College of Education chooses Outstanding Graduates from each of its departments. Learn more about the accomplished students from our Class of 2019 who will be on stage with their most influential faculty members during the ceremony at Viejas Arena on May 19.

COE Grads 2019: A Doubly Powerful Example

Froylan (left) and Ernesto Villanueva. 

By Michael Klitzing

Dr. Froylán Villanueva just became the first person in his family to earn an Ed.D. Of course, that may be something of a technicality — he defended his dissertation just one hour before his younger brother Dr. Ernesto Villanueva.

“For purposes of accuracy, he was before me," says Ernesto with a smile.

That the brothers would take on this challenge — the Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership with a PK-12 concentration at San Diego State University — together shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

COE Grads 2019: Pain and Perseverance

By Michael Klitzing

Many people would have been broken by the past few years Marina Sanchez just endured. The unimaginable heartbreak, the hardship, the misfortune. But Sanchez wasn’t.

Instead, she will don a cap and gown on Sunday and receive her bachelor’s degree in child and family development from San Diego State.

COE Grads 2019: A New Beginning

By Michael Klitzing

Cecilia Chung is looking forward to her second commencement ceremony at San Diego State University’s Viejas Arena — and a second chance at fulfilling her dream to be a teacher.

Chung’s first graduation day, as she received her bachelor’s degree in music education in 2006, was a bit of a blur. At the time she had young children in tow and an uncertain professional career on the horizon. This time, she’ll celebrate receiving her bilingual multiple-subject credential with her husband and two grown children cheering her on — and exciting possibilities in her future.

COE Grads 2019: Building Trust

By Michael Klitzing

As she started her teaching career in 2007, Dr. Cassandra Drake thought herself well-prepared to teach in a multicultural classroom. After all, she’d taken a course in multicultural education while earning her multiple stubject credential. It wasn’t until she started her first full-time position at a Sikh charter school in West Sacramento that she realized how much she didn’t know.

“I didn't have it covered — not at all,” Drake recalls. “I started to realize you can't just have multiculturalism or understanding diversity as this checklist you go through. And I had to start realizing that it wasn't like, 'Oh, I'm here to give back to this community.' No, if you are not from that community then you can’t actually ‘give back.’

“So you have to really invest yourself 100 percent and build trust. If children don't trust you, it's going to be really hard to teach them."

New Clinic Fills Gaps for Early Childhood Mental Health

Dr. Lisa Linder and graduate student Briana Bashaw-Wood at the clinic.

By Michael Klitzing

In San Diego County’s most vulnerable communities, individuals seeking mental health services for their young children often deal with long waitlists caused by a lack of early childhood therapists. And because of this shortage, San Diego State University has often struggled to find quality early childhood mental health placements with supervisors trained in early childhood.

Into those voids stepped Dr. Lisa Linder, assistant professor in the Department of Child and Family Development (CFD). Supported by philanthropic funding, Linder was able to open an Early Childhood Mental Health Clinic last fall. Operating out of the Dede Alpert Center for Community Engagement in the City Heights neighborhood, the center has helped meet the community’s need for mental health services for families and children from pre-natal to 8-years-old.

Ask an Alum: Don Dumas ’10, ’16

By Michael Klitzing

Don Dumas ’10, ’16 holds a few different titles at Bonita Vista High School. The graduate of SDSU’s single-subject teacher credential program and Master’s in Teaching Online Program is a history teacher, a varsity boys’ basketball coach and — as of two months ago — Teacher of the Year in Sweetwater Union High School District. We recently sat down with Don to discuss his path from a disaffected high school student to a mentor who inspires young people every day.

Honors and Achievements, May 2019

The College of Education is delighted to congratulate the following members of the COE family for their recent achievements: