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SFSU students, alumni contribute to animated opera

Pocket Opera collaboration brings Animation students into new film adaptation of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ 

The COVID-19 quarantines of 2020 forced educators and artists alike to work in new and creative ways. One such collaboration involving San Francisco State University’s School of Cinema just recently enjoyed its debut. “A Pocket Magic Flute” is an animated film adaptation of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” produced by the Pocket Opera company of San Francisco. It is a finalist for the Digital Excellence in Opera Award from Opera America. 

Nicolas A. Garcia, artistic director of the San Francisco Pocket Opera, conceived the film project and garnered funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Opera America. He contacted SFSU Cinema Professor Martha Gorzycki to get students involved. Gorzycki (MFA, ’02), the director of the University’s Animation Program, mentored five student interns who worked on pre-production and production: Estrella Torres, Jacqueline “Rosie” Nares, Alex Wood, Madeline Ko and Jessie Plascencia. 

“It really helped me understand how the pipeline of production works in animation,” said Nares (B.A., ’22), now a library media assistant at an elementary school in Stockton. “I already had a bit of an idea just because I’m a huge animation fan. But being firsthand, I got to try a little bit of everything. Working in background, character and prop design, I was able to figure out where I fit in the pipeline, too, because it is my dream is to work in the industry.” 

Torres (B.A., ’21) helped create storyboards and design characters and props. She says working on “A Pocket Magic Flute” was a pivotal moment for her. 

“It gave me my first real opportunity to step into the animation world and feel confident in my skills,” Torres said. “When Martha reached out to me specifically because of my talents, it was such an honor. It gave me the encouragement I needed to believe in myself and my abilities as an artist. The class she created was small, with only five students, and I felt so fortunate to be one of them. 

“The experience not only helped me grow as an artist, but also reinforced my love for animation as a medium for storytelling,” added Torres, now an instructional aide for middle-school students with disabilities in Brentwood. “I’m truly excited to see how it resonates with audiences and how it might inspire others.” 

Shawneé Gibbs (B.A., ’02) and Shawnelle Gibbs (B.A., ’02) are the lead producers, screenwriters and animation directors on “A Pocket Magic Flute.” The siblings comprise a powerhouse team, writing scripts for cartoons for many of the major studios and networks. Miriam Lewis (MFA, ’12) is the lead costumer. They all attended the world-premiere screening, held in the August Coppola Theatre at SFSU on Sept. 25. 

“A Pocket Magic Flute” has brought together numerous arts organizations, including the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Oakland Youth Symphony, Sacramento Youth Symphony and Sirnare Animation Studio in Kenya. 

“A Pocket Magic Flute” is now traveling to classrooms of fourth to eighth graders, accompanied by a curriculum and appearances by the artists in person. 

“This was a local and international collaboration of diverse teams of scholars and artists coming together remotely to produce a 20-minute animated film,” Gorzycki said. “One of the primary goals of this project is to educate youth and especially BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and People of Color] youth on collaborative and creative career possibilities in the performing arts, fine arts and media arts.”  

Learn more about the SFSU School of Cinema. 

SFSU students gain unlimited free rides on Bay Area public transportation

Gator Pass serves as a passport for students to travel within San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area 

With just a tap of their student ID card, San Francisco State University students now have the keys for traveling throughout the Bay Area for free. 

San Francisco State students now enjoy free unlimited rides on public transit throughout the Bay Area during the fall and spring semesters. All they have to do is tap their SF State One Card when boarding. 

As of Aug. 26, the expanded Gator Pass covers 22 transit agencies spanning all nine Bay Area counties. Attention, all Gators from the East Bay: Yes, it includes free Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), AC Transit and even the San Francisco Bay Ferry. And to the South Bay Gators: Yes, you can ride CalTrain for free, as well as Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Previously, the Gator Pass only included unlimited rides on San Francisco Muni and SamTrans, plus a discount on BART. 

Even with all of the new benefits, the Gator Pass student fee is now cheaper: $130 per semester, which is $50 less than previously. 

“Having majority commuter students, we see how beneficial it is already having the previous benefits,” Associated Students President Brandon Foley said. “We have a lot of students coming from all around the Bay Area and beyond, so we wanted to make sure that everyone is getting affordable transportation.”  

Students enjoy significant savings from the Gator Pass, as an adult pass for unlimited rides on Muni costs $81 per month. According to data from SF State’s Office of Sustainability, commuting 10 miles to campus four times a week by car costs $250 – $325 per month. 

Foley commutes to SF State from San Bruno, taking BART and Muni. He does not own a car. 

“I always love exploring around San Francisco. I love West Portal and Embarcadero, just going and finding new spots to eat around there,” he said. “I really love public transportation and I’m a super big advocate for high-speed rail. I’d love to see that in California.”  

The free rides are a result of student feedback and advocacy from SF State’s Associated Students, which surveyed students about expanding the Gator Pass in lieu of introducing a voter referendum. Associated Students was the original driving force behind establishing the Gator Pass, passing a transit pass resolution in 2015. The Gator Pass went into effect in fall 2017.

Visit the SFSU One-Card website to activate your Gator Pass and learn more.   

SF State welcomes students to campus residence halls

New six-story West Grove Commons adds 751 beds to University Housing 

Warm weather is far from the only thing that students brought to San Francisco State University on Aug. 21 when moving into campus residence halls. Under sunny skies at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, thousands of students pushed boxes on wheels full of their belongings, hauled from their hometowns into their new homes for the next nine months. 

Clothing, sheets, hampers, toiletries and school supplies are a must of course. But so are stuffed animals, plants and posters of their favorite bands. 

“I brought my footballs because I like to stay active. I have a fan because it helps me sleep, for the white noise,” said Patrick Mendoza, a Photojournalism major entering his fourth year in the residence halls at San Francisco State.  

Estefania Solis, moving into the Village at Centennial Square, made sure to pack photographs of her friends because she plans to decorate her wall with them. She also brought her new Dumbo stuffed animal to keep in her bed. 

“I wanted to move into a city — not super far, but not super close either,” said Solis, who is transferring to SF State from Folsom Lake College to study Accounting. “I’m excited to explore the city. I’ve never been on my own before. I look forward to meeting new people and finding new interests.” 

This year marks the opening of the West Grove Commons, a 751-bed building rising six stories high. It introduces a “pod-style” living environment to SF State’s residential community. There are an average of 12 rooms per pod and four pods per floor. Each floor includes a shared all-gender bathroom, and study and lounge spaces. An adjacent new building for the Gator Health Center and dining commons will open in early 2025. The project is supported by $116 million from California’s Affordable Student Housing Grant Program.    

A new reduced-rate student housing program also launched this fall. The first program of its kind in the California State University system, it offers housing at approximately 25% less than the traditional rate to students who meet the qualifications to receive a Cal Grant A or B financial aid award. 

SF State President Lynn Mahoney walked her way through the campus residential communities to greet families and University Housing staff. “The weather is always this nice,” she joked to a family from San Diego. This family was dropping off two of their triplets rooming together in the Towers at Centennial Square. “San Francisco was our only choice,” said Claire Gaines, a Kinesiology major. “In San Francisco, there are a lot of opportunities to grow your career.” 

Her sister Gianna Gaines, a Child and Adolescent Development major, added: “There is so much to do. It’s different than back home. There’s so much good food. I love Chinatown.”  

Learn more about on-campus housing and apply online. 

Coffee, pho, syllabus: Students offer peers advice on living the Gator life

Through two peer mentor programs, students help students connect, learn and thrive

Whether you’re new or returning to San Francisco State University, you have access to a variety of resources, the most valuable being your peers. Students in San Francisco State’s Peer2Peer Mentor Collective and First-Year Experience (FYE) Peer Mentor program have a wealth of advice to offer on the key to balancing a college career and city living.

The mentors are continuing students who meet regularly with new students, most often virtually. In the Peer2Peer Mentor Collective, students text each other most frequently, while the FYE students most frequently meet in person. 

Kenya Bravo, an SF State student and FYE peer mentor, emphasizes the importance of keeping your life organized. She says students should use a planner (or a calendar or reminder app on their smartphone) to keep track of tasks, events and activities. Bravo also recommends reading the class syllabus as early as possible. 

“Not every professor is going to go over the syllabus,” she said. “It’ll tell you a lot of things you’d want to know, like dates for assignments and your grade breakdown.” To save money, she adds, students may be able to find free digital versions of textbooks. 

On the first day of classes, student mentor Rishika Patel likes to arrive to the classroom 10 minutes early. “You can pick out your seating, you can meet other students in the class and prepare yourself before the professor starts lecturing or explaining the syllabus,” she said. 

Even if you already know your way around the 144-acre campus, new discoveries await around the corner. SF State is home to more than 60 student resources and more than 200 student organizations. Student mentor Alpana Kallianpur suggests getting acquainted with where resources are located. “It’s important to know what you have available around you,” Kallianpur said.  

Student mentor Dylan Gillespie notes that the Student Services building is a central location for in-person assistance from Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar’s and Bursar’s offices, One Card, Student Engagement and Transition, Student Support Services, Disability Programs and Resource Center, and Veterans Services. The building is also home to the Dream Resource Center, Educational Opportunity Program, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Diversity, Student Equity and Interfaith Programs. The centers for Undergraduate Advising and Career and Leadership Development are in the Administration building. 

“They’re all extra support — here to support you,” Gillespie said. 

Sometimes, finding a coffee on campus or the best pho in the Bay Area might be your priority. When student mentor Isabella Sofia Ceja arrives on campus, she grabs a boba drink from Quickly outside of the Cesar Chavez Student Center. When she needs a recharge, she goes to Cafe Rosso for a cup of coffee and a bagel stuffed with bacon, eggs and cheese. When she is ready to leave campus, she takes the bus to Kevin’s Noodle House in Daly City. It’s only a 10-minute ride from the SFSU campus. 

“The Bay Area weather always puts me in the mood for pho,” Ceja said.  

Patel’s final piece of advice is something that students have been doing since kindergarten: “Make friends in every class that you have.” 

Students can sign up online to find a Peer2Peer mentor or become one themselves. Visit the Peer2Peer Mentor Collective web page to learn more and get involved. 

Learn more about the FYE Peer Mentor Program. 

Members of the Peer2Peer Mentorship Collective, with one of them holding a dog, pose for a picture while tabling on the Quad on a partly cloudy day

SF State pilot program trains students to handle art — and they’re already landing jobs

Funded by a California State University grant, the 12-unit pilot program is designed to diversify the field of art handling 

For the past year, Art students at San Francisco State University set aside their easels and learned the trade-skills aspects of the art world. A pilot program in Art Handling teaches students the proper ways to handle art and prepare them for careers in museums, galleries, auction houses and beyond. The 12-unit program is among the first of its kind at a public university, training students in a field where no academic degree program exists, anywhere. 

Students have found themselves driving a forklift, riding a scissor shift, drilling wooden cleats into walls of the Fine Arts Gallery on campus and more. The experience they’ve gained since beginning the program last fall has already landed them work at venues such as the de Young Museum, Contemporary Jewish Museum and California Institute of Integral Studies. Many of the 15 students in the pilot program had never even heard of art handling. 

“This program has been transformational,” said Adrian Morelock-Revon, a sculptor who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Art History this year. “I was goal-less coming back to university. Now I have more direction.” 

For Public Health major Megan Rogers (B.S., ’24), the Art Handling program has introduced her to new community. 

“I took a ceramics class and fell in love (before enrolling in Art Handling),” Rogers said. “This has been a really big confidence boost. It has been wonderful to connect with like-minded students.” 

Other students in the cohort have made discoveries both practical and symbiotic. 

“I’m much nicer to my own artwork now, especially storing it,” said Emma Purves, a multidisciplinary artist, as she and two classmates wrapped sculptures from the most recent Fine Arts Gallery exhibition. “I used to keep it in a pile without thinking about long-term damage.” 

Valerie Mata, who completed a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art this year, has found that there is much more to art handling than hanging, packing and shipping. 

“I’ve gained a strong idea of my environment and community, delving into this portion of the art world with people closer to my age and getting into the museum world and curatorial projects,” she said. “We see a different side. It gives me continuous learning.” 

Art handling is a mid-level position secured through on-the-job training, word of mouth and unpaid internships, which is not economically feasible for most San Francisco State students, as stated in the grant proposal that was funded by the California State University Creating Responsive, Equitable, Active Teaching and Engagement (CREATE) Awards Program. It was the only arts-based program to win a CREATE award for 2023 – 2024. The program also aims to diversify the field of art handling. The overall workforce is more than three-fourths white and male, according to data compiled by the Broad Museum. 

“A program like this really does open the diversity in this industry. By happenstance or not, the industry is really white and male dominated,” said Kurt Otis (B.A., ’18), one of two alumni tapped by the School of Art to mentor students. He is the lead art handler for the Minnesota Street Project’s Art Services department in San Francisco. “The semester is a short time, but my mentorship with the students truly lasts longer. I told them, ‘You have my phone number. You have my email. ... Let me help you transition into the professional world and even beyond.’” 

The other mentor, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Preparator Ximaps Dong (B.A., ’19), has shown students how they install artwork in their job as well as for friends at neighborhood galleries. 

“I’m able to use the resources and my community to help students out,” Dong said. “And also, just like, make it approachable because I feel like the art world can be a little scary and foreign.” 

“We want to create those network connections now,” said Art Lecturer Kevin B. Chen, who directs the program with SF State Fine Arts Gallery Director Sharon E. Bliss. “If we can help restructure the network, we can help diversify it.” 

“We’ve also gotten incredible feedback from institutions. They’re saying that they’ve been waiting for something like this,” Bliss said. “The word is getting out and folks are just like, ‘How do we support you? How do we get these trained students into our workforce?” 

The students will finish their program with a culminating exhibition that they will install themselves. “Waters Run Deep” will be on display Saturday, Aug. 10 – Saturday, Sept. 7, in the Fine Arts Gallery in the Fine Arts building. Admission is free. 

Learn more about the SF State School of Art. 

Two students drill into a 5-foot-tall wooden box while standing in the Fine Arts Gallery

Photo Credit: Adrian Morelock-Revon

 

Adrian Morelock-Revon cuts into wooden blocks while standing and wearing a yellow short-sleeved collared shirt. A pink reusable water bottle decorated with stickers and a whiteboard are visible behind Morelock-Revon

Photo Credit: Ivan Jaimes-Carrillo

Student’s documentary helps her family heal from intergenerational trauma

Cecilia Mellieon and her daughter sit outdoors at Fortaleza Indian Ruins, homeland of their ancestors, near the Tohono O’odham Nation’s San Lucy Village outside of Gila Bend, Arizona. Photo from 2001.

Grad student Cecilia Mellieon utilizes visual anthropology, a field of study founded at SF State, to tell stories of urban Native American life 

With a video camera in her hands and empathy in her heart, one San Francisco State University student is focusing her capstone project on a subject many families prefer to avoid: their intergenerational trauma.  

Cecilia Mellieon, a graduate student in Anthropology at San Francisco State, is the director of a documentary titled “He told us the sky is blue.” It traces her family’s trauma to Native American oppression, focusing on the Indian boarding school her father attended in Fort Apache, Arizona.  

“If it hadn’t been for his experience there, he would have never left his family or his village,” said Mellieon, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation. “He would have never moved to the Bay Area, and so I would not even be here if it wasn’t for him making those decisions to get away from them.” 

The U.S. government established the boarding schools to teach English and trade skills to Native American children. Violent corporal punishment occurred often.  

“The ultimate goal was to have fully assimilated second-generation children — children who were removed from their lands, children who didn’t grow up with their culture or their language or their family members,” Mellieon said. 

In her 55-minute film, Mellieon’s family recalls surviving an abusive household. They share feelings of sadness and regret as they also work to resolve their anger. 

“These are stories that I know too well, because I was there,” Mellieon said. “There are scenes where my brother and my mom are breaking down crying. I was crying with them.” 

Cecilia Mellieon headshot

Born and raised in San Francisco, Mellieon is passionate about telling stories of urban Native American life with nuance and sensitivity. She uses a supportive, collaborative approach that aims to not only create an ethnography, but also a work that will benefit the subjects. 

Her approach is an application of visual anthropology, a field of study that was founded by late SF State faculty members John Adair and John Collier. SF State Anthropology Professor Peter Biella (B.A., ’72; M.A., ’75) was one of Collier’s students, and today he is Mellieon’s adviser. 

Mellieon entered SF State as an undergraduate in 2018 at age 42. She had just completed her associate’s degree from Los Medanos College while her third child had yet to start kindergarten.  

A new Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) extension to near her home in Antioch made the 50-mile commute to SF State feasible, with family help on child care. Now, one of her children, Tatihn Mellieon, also attends SF State, as a Creative Writing major and a student assistant in The Poetry Center. 

“It was the perfect grouping of coincidences that led to me to be able to go to State,” Cecilia Mellieon said. “If I had tried this at any other point in my life, I don’t think I would have had the life experiences. I don’t think I would have had the growth that I needed to be a confident student and be able to feel like I could tackle this.” 

Mellieon premiered “He told us the sky is blue” in November at Los Medanos College. She plans to take it to film festivals and make more anthropological films about big-city Indigenous life. 

Learn more about the Anthropology Department. 

SF State students write Wikipedia bios for unsung heroes of STEM

Humanities class helps fill in equity gaps among STEM professionals from underrepresented groups 

Wikipedia is among the most visited websites in the world, with information on over 6 million topics. But much is missing, particularly in diversity. Through a partnership with the user-moderated online encyclopedia, students at San Francisco State University recently wrote original biographies for notable professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from underrepresented groups. 

Scientists from traditionally underrepresented groups comprise a small minority on Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, only about 8% of the site’s 275,000 biographies of scientists are women, with similar gaps across race and ethnicity. 

With support from the Broadcom Foundation, the Wikipedia Education group selected the San Francisco State Humanities class “History of Science from the Scientific Revolution,” taught by Associate Professor David M. Peña-Guzmán from the Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature, as one of its partners this past summer. Wikipedia Education is a nonprofit organization that serves as the bridge between academia and Wikipedia throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

Nine of the biographies compiled by SF State students are live on Wikipedia. The students’ writing brings visibility to living professionals whose legacies have yet to be completed. They include chemical engineer Miguel Modestino, sustainable industrial engineer Enrique Lomnitz and Procter & Gamble executive and microbiologist Adrian Land. 

Maxwell Stephen Williams, a History graduate student who took the class, helped contribute the bio on Aaron Streets, a UC Berkeley bioengineering professor. Williams says the class taught him different ways to utilize Wikipedia in academic research. 

“It’s somewhat frowned upon to use Wikipedia as a source. But what’s not frowned upon, I found, was the sources that the people used for the Wikipedia article,” Williams said. “I don’t know if you should cite Wikipedia for a research paper, but it offers a general baseline. It gives you scholarly sources to further your own research.” 

Peña-Guzmán applied for the class to participate in the Wikipedia Student Program because it aligned with the themes he wanted to impart to students about the complex relationship between science and the histories of patriarchy, colonialism, classism and social bias. Writing the biographies of scientists of color who have made an impact in a scientific or technological domain was the class’ culminating project.  

“From the very beginning of the class, I built in questions about the politics of science,” he said. “Filling Wikipedia’s race gap through these biographies gave my students a very real, if minor, way of making a difference.” 

Peña-Guzmán will discuss his students’ projects on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at “Closing the gap for Black and Hispanic STEM professionals on Wikipedia,” a free virtual seminar presented by Wikipedia Education. 

The Wikipedia Student Program aims to make the broadly referenced site more inclusive and diverse. Since 2010, students from over 800 universities in the U.S. and Canada have worked on over 135,000 articles.  

“Evidence suggests that Wikipedia can influence trials in courts of law and significantly shape the world of science,” says Wikipedia Education Equity Outreach Coordinator Andrés Vera, citing two research papers led by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty member. “Teaching with Wikipedia can help spread awareness about any topic to a wide audience.” 

Learn more about the Department of Humanities and Comparative World Literature. 

 

A dozen outstanding graduates to be honored at 2024 Commencement

The student hood recipients will represent their academic colleges at the University’s 123rd graduation ceremony May 24

A dozen outstanding graduates will be honored during San Francisco State University’s 123rd Commencement ceremony, to be held at Oracle Park Friday, May 24. They will represent their more than 7,300 graduating peers in the Class of 2024.

As part of a longstanding tradition, each of the University’s six academic colleges selects an undergraduate and a graduate student to represent their classmates and wear their college’s academic hood during the ceremony. Additionally, two of the hood recipients, one undergraduate and one graduate student, will each deliver a Commencement address.

More details about the ceremony are available on the Commencement website. 

Graduate Speaker

Genesis Sorrick

Genesis Sorrick

M.A., Philosophy
College of Liberal & Creative Arts

In September 2020, amidst the chaos of COVID-19, the eerie orange sky from raging wildfires and the protests against police brutality, Genesis Sorrick gave birth to her first child. Bringing a human into the world during this time was incredibly daunting. Sorrick responded with her characteristic strength, integrity and clear-sighted optimism. Inspired to understand the world better and envision a brighter future for her daughter, she decided to return to college and complete her B.A. in Philosophy at SF State.

Later, during Sorrick’s first semester as a Philosophy grad student at SF State, she began to experience excruciating pain and debilitating neurological symptoms. Nevertheless, she refused to let desperation consume her. She channeled her energy into understanding her experience and found solace in her academic studies.

She excelled in her courses, writing brilliant research papers, contributing insightfully to discussions and the life of the department, working conscientiously as a teaching assistant and maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average (GPA). Living with chronic pain led Sorrick to her M.A. thesis: a remarkably original, meticulously researched and highly persuasive account of medical gaslighting.

“Philosophy allowed me to ground myself in something other than my pain and focus on envisioning a better world for my daughters,” she said.

Sorrick’s journey has been shaped by additional obstacles. She is a Mexican-born woman and the first in her family to complete a college degree. Also, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she came out to friends and family in high school in a primarily right-wing, conservative town. Rather than dissuade her from pursuing her dreams, these experiences helped Sorrick develop the strength and tenacity she has needed to thrive at SF State, raise her children and live with chronic pain. She is a remarkable person, with a strong commitment to enacting positive change, both as a philosopher and a mother.
 

Undergraduate Speaker

Eddison Jintalan Contreras

Eddison Jintalan Contreras

B.A., Social Work
College of Health & Social Sciences

Eddison Jintalan Contreras’ social work journey was shaped by his own personal experiences of adversities and witnessing systemic inequities in different systems that he worked in. He is an Air Force veteran from a Filipino immigrant household and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. As a young airman, he worked under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He felt the tension between embracing his true self and serving the country. While working at a large health care provider, Contreras saw all forms of oppression embedded within the health care system. All these fueled Contreras’ passion for social justice and inspired his educational goals.

During his tenure at SF State, Contreras contributed to both the campus and broader community. He assumed leadership roles within Social Work Advocates for Visions of Empowerment (SWAVE), was the SF State representative to the 23Strong Council — comprising 23 accredited social work programs across California — and was a founding member of the University chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success. Notably engaged in policy advocacy, Contreras led legislative teams during the annual National Association of Social Workers’ legislative lobby days in Sacramento. He also supported policy initiatives addressing police brutality in the Antioch community.

He is doing a capstone project exploring the correlation between recidivism rates and the mental health diversion program at the Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office, where he serves as an intern.

Contreras is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work magna cum laude. After graduation, Contreras aspires to pursue a Master of Social Work. His goal is to become a licensed social worker specializing in holistic methodologies for mental health care within marginalized communities. Additionally, he’ll continue engaging in macro-level and political social work initiatives contributing to systemic change and advocacy.
 

Undergraduate Hood Recipients

Headshot of Jazz Hudson

Jazz Monique Hudson

B.A., Africana Studies
College of Ethnic Studies

Jazz Monique Hudson, an Oakland native with over 15 years of expertise in youth development, educational arts, social justice and organizational change, epitomizes resilience and commitment to societal transformation. Despite the challenges she faced early in her life as a former foster youth and teenage mother, Hudson has overcome them and is now dedicating her life to being an advocate, artist and educator.

For example, Hudson was involved with organizations like the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, Black Youth Project 100 (where she was a founding member) and the Guardian Scholars Program. She was also a program director and founding member of the EMERGE Reentry Program, which focuses on supporting young women of color reintegrating into society after incarceration and academic pushout. Additionally, Hudson was a victim advocate for the San Francisco District Attorney and has had residencies, workshops and performances at universities like UC Berkeley and Princeton.

Serendipitously, her son’s 17th birthday coincides with the SF State 2024 Commencement, which Hudson says is a reminder of the strength and resilience found in the journey of motherhood. After graduation, she plans to pursue SF State’s Pre-Health Professions Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program, which will help her take the next step toward pursuing a career in health care as an osteopathic doctor specializing in allergy and immunology.
 

Devora Jimenez Domingo

Devora Jimenez Domingo

B.S., Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Graduate College of Education

Devora Jimenez Domingo, originally from Guatemala, moved to the United States at a young age. Witnessing her Latinx community’s struggles due to language barriers, Jimenez Domingo has dedicated her work to assisting those with limited English proficiency, especially after recognizing the privilege she had being trilingual in English, Spanish and Mayan.

To support her community, Jimenez Domingo enrolled at SF State to pursue a degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences with minors in Education and Special Education. During her time at SF State, she has actively contributed to the Gray Matter Lab, facilitating language therapy for Spanish speakers and promoting inclusivity in educational settings.

Jimenez Domingo also held leadership roles in various student clubs, advocating for cultural and linguistic diversity within the field of speech pathology.

Now preparing for graduate school to become a licensed speech pathologist, she aims to serve marginalized communities, particularly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, by ensuring their identities and linguistic backgrounds are acknowledged and respected in standardized testing and therapeutic practices.
 

Zen Lewis

Zen Lewis

B.A., International Relations/Political Science
College of Liberal & Creative Arts

In 2019, Zen Lewis’ journey to SF State began with her emigration from Serbia with the vision of achieving the American dream. As an 18-year-old in a new country with no financial support, she faced daunting challenges with housing and food insecurity, while attempting to find full-time employment with limited English fluency and work experience.

Today, Lewis is graduating with a double major in International Relations and Political Science with the highest honors, accompanied by Sigma Iota Rho and Pi Sigma Alpha societal honors. She represents the will and determination of young immigrant women who hail from war-torn nations to forge a new path, both for themselves and their home countries, so that those wars never occur again.

Lewis is a force of nature who speaks three languages, works full time in the wedding industry and serves as managing editor of the International Relations Journal. While earning the Migration and Refugee Studies certificate, she has demonstrated an exemplary work ethic, enthusiasm for global politics and resilience in the face of obstacles.

As president of the International Relations Student Association, Lewis has been a driving force, encouraging her fellow students and others in her community to get involved in domestic and international politics. She has represented SF State at Model United Nations and Model European Union conferences, where she received the Outstanding Head of Government Award. 

Lewis won the David Jenkins Scholarship for Political Activism for her impactful advocacy of student rights in a political uprising. She used her senior thesis to expand the discussion and analysis of new regime changes, using Serbia as a case study. Off campus, she has organized pop-up events for local artists and fundraisers for nonprofits.

After graduation, Lewis plans to seek a full-time position in San Francisco municipal government and pursue a law degree.
 

Meliza Matute

Meliza Matute

B.S., Business Administration (Decision Sciences/Finance)
Lam Family College of Business

Meliza Matute is a first-generation Salvadoran American student. Her parents came to the U.S. with very little money but impressed on her the importance of hard work and education. Those would be the keys to a successful life, they told her. Growing up in East Palo Alto, she became acutely aware of the differences in the level of safety, quality of education and scarcity of resources between her town and its affluent neighbors Menlo Park and Palo Alto. Thanks to a school transfer program, Matute experienced firsthand just how stark the differences were, filling her with a desire for a more equitable world.

Later, Matute moved to Tracy and was committed to attending SF State despite the distance. She traveled six hours a day on public transportation to complete her degree. She started out as a Finance major to increase her financial literacy. By her second year, she decided to also major in Decision Sciences. She graduates with a 3.94 GPA.

Outside of the SF State classroom, Matute spent her time educating young people about decision sciences. She volunteered with incoming high school freshmen, showing them the real-world application of math in business and how companies use math to make business decisions. She also worked as a student instructor/facilitator for the “Operations Management Supplemental Instruction” course, to deepen student understanding of difficult concepts.

Matute’s education and experience at SF State inspired her to choose a career that will benefit the common good. Knowing that one’s strength reflects that of their community, she aspires to use her financial and data analysis skills to better her community.
 

Loan My Tran

Loan My Tran

B.A., Mathematics (Mathematics for Teaching)
College of Science & Engineering

Childhood experiences with mathematics, particularly those with her grandfather, made a lasting impact on Loan Tran. Her family emigrated from Vietnam. Growing up, she’d stay with her grandparents while her parents worked. Her grandfather taught her math and made worksheets for her. She’d happily memorize multiplication tables and enjoyed playing strategy games like Connect Four. Surrounded by so much math, she naturally gravitated towards STEM and Mathematics at SF State. In addition to majoring in Mathematics, she completed a minor in Computer Science. She is the first in her family to graduate from college.

Tran conducted original research as an undergraduate even though she initially didn’t know anything about math research. In 2022, she participated in the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Undergraduate Program. She set out to answer neuroscience-motivated math questions related to discrete math, geometry and computational algebra. For her academic achievements, Tran won the C.Y. Chow Memorial Scholarship, the Pamela Fong Scholarship in Mathematics, the David Meredith and Friends Scholarship and the Halmos Scholarship.

Interested in education, Tran volunteered as a tutor at Mastery Learning Hour and helped students with elementary school to high school-level math. She was also proudly a student assistant in the Department of Mathematics office. In her first “real” job, she enjoyed building relationships with professors and using her problem-solving skills in a new setting. Working there for two years, she even wrote the operations guide for other student assistants.

Next, Tran will pursue a Ph.D. in Mathematics to further explore her field and conduct more research. However, she still has an interest in a possible career as a high school math teacher.
 

Graduate Hood Recipients

Sabreen Imtair

Sabreen Imtair

M.A., Ethnic Studies
College of Ethnic Studies

Sabreen Imtair is a seasoned organizer and a prominent figure in the activist community. Throughout her time at SF State, she has also demonstrated being a dedicated scholar in the College of Ethnic Studies.

For example, Imtair serves as a youth organizer with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, actively participating in movements such as the K – 12 ethnic studies campaign. Over the past six months, she has also played a pivotal role in organizing, mobilizing and fostering community engagement in support of ceasefire in Palestine.

Hailing from a Palestinian family with Bay Area roots, Imtair is a proud product of the region’s public school system and holds the distinction of being the first in her family to attain a college degree.

Her graduate thesis delves into the intricacies of community mobilization and organization within the Arab and Muslim communities in the Bay Area.
 

Joanna Liyi Huang

Joanna (Liyi) Huang

M.A., Education (Secondary Education)
Graduate College of Education

Joanna Huang has had a full circle moment: She’s now teaching at the same school district she graduated from.

At age 13, Huang moved from China to San Francisco, graduating from Francisco Middle School and Washington High School, part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). That’s where she participated in English Learner programs, finding solidarity and community among immigrants from around the world.

After earning a degree in Managerial Economics with a minor in Education from UC Davis, Huang received her single-subject credential in Math from SF State in 2022.

Huang is now back at SFUSD for a different reason: She’s in her second year of teaching seventh grade at James Denman Middle School. This school has served as the site for her field research study, which looked at math participation among seventh graders. The study was partly inspired by her experience getting her credential at SF State, which allowed her to see that students who do not yet feel confident in mathematics can experience greater engagement, confidence, fun and learning through groupwork.
 

Son Hai Nguyen

Son Hai Nguyen

MBA
Lam Family College of Business

Son Hai Nguyen earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from the National Economic University in Vietnam and gained extensive experience working in the banking industry as a financial analyst and corporate credit manager. In 2017, she relocated to the Bay Area from Vietnam with her spouse and their two young children. Wanting to continue her education, she enrolled in City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and completed an associate’s degree in Finance while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She served as a member of CCSF’s Associated Students. Later, she decided to pursue an MBA at SF State.

She is “the top-performing student,” according to one of her professors at SF State. Another said she was “extremely prepared, positive and a cheerleader for her classmates.” Her classmates commented on her dedication to her studies, often studying without pause. Nguyen would often take on more than her share of responsibilities during group projects. She provided feedback to teammates to help ensure that their work was of the highest quality.

Throughout her MBA studies, Nguyen actively participated in various activities. In 2023, she joined the Lam Family College of Business Student Ambassador Program. Almost immediately she became a leader among the other ambassadors. She organized and co-hosted events specifically tailored to graduate students, creating an inclusive community with plenty of opportunities for networking.

Nguyen participated in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program at SF State, where she served as an IRS-certified volunteer tax preparer and quality reviewer, assisting individuals with low incomes on their tax returns. Additionally, she was a research/teaching assistant for Management Professor Smita Trivedi and volunteered at the college’s Women’s Emerging Leadership Forum. She has actively supported and engaged in activities of the San Francisco chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), fostering connections, collaboration and investment between Vietnamese and American businesses.
 

Su Ilayada Ozcan

Su Ilayada Ozcan

M.S., Chemistry (Biochemistry)
College of Science & Engineering

Su Ozcan wants to develop new treatments without side effects. It’s a passion that stems from her early exposure to her grandfather’s battle with cancer. As an undergraduate in Turkey, she explored innovative therapies and gained two years of professional experience working with pharmaceutical companies. With women being relegated to the background and the value placed on science decreasing in her country, Ozcan decided to leave Turkey and pursue her academic goals in the United States.

As an international student at SF State, Ozcan focused on groundbreaking research in enzymology and medicinal chemistry to develop a novel side effect-free treatment for tuberculosis. She published these discoveries in scientific journals. She demonstrated her commitment to making a positive impact beyond the lab by serving as a teaching associate for two years. Accolades for her academic performance and commitment to science include the Henry Bertin Jr. Scholarship, the Agents of Change Build Merck Scholarship, the Bill Plachy TA (teaching assistant) Award and the CSU Trustees Award.

After SF State, Ozcan’s next step is to begin a Chemistry Ph.D. program at the University of Southern California, where she’s already been offered a graduate fellowship. Looking ahead, Ozcan is excited to continue her quest to develop new therapeutics and treatment strategies that will make an impact. She is eager to translate her academic research into practical applications and hopes to eventually establish a pharmaceutical company. Beyond medicine, she aspires to continue being a teacher and create educational opportunities for underprivileged children. She also hopes to provide financial and moral support for others, especially women in science.
 

Monique Scott

Monique Scott

MPH
College of Health & Social Sciences

Monique Scott decided to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at SF State after seeing structural and systemic health disparities affect her community. She began her career as a social worker, caregiver and care coordinator, assisting people navigating governmental and nonprofit assistance programs and managing medical conditions.

During the pandemic, she became a resource navigator and case manager for individuals exposed to COVID-19. Seeing how disparities impacted marginalized residents, she wanted to make a larger impact. She became interested in the social determinants of health and how prevention programs could more effectively help communities. 

At SF State, she explored her passion for research with the Health Equity Institute. Her assessment of participation of food establishments in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) in urban university settings significantly influenced a statewide campaign to enhance access to SNAP benefits at CSU campuses.

She also published research on navigating nutrition inequities among pregnant and postpartum mothers and children in BIPOC communities. The Oakland native’s projects also included studies on how urban agriculture can use mutual aid practices and how built environment contributes to the adverse health outcomes of environmental injustices.

While at SF State, she was a Climate Action Fellow, a Graduate Equity Fellow and a President’s Leadership Fellow. She authored, published and presented her research at multiple local and national conferences. She also participated in the University’s Earth Week 2024.

After graduation, she will continue learning and applying her skills in research, writing and coordination to address health equity in the Bay Area. She plans to continue participating in strategies for community and policy-level interventions for marginalized communities of color. She is grateful for the SF State connections that contributed to her accomplishments.
 

Thousands of new Gators come to campus for Explore SF State

The University’s annual introduction to campus life was held Saturday, April 20

On Saturday, April 20, San Francisco State University welcomed thousands of newly admitted students and their families to campus for a taste of Gator life. The daylong introduction to the University community, Explore SF State, featured campus tours, financial aid workshops, a student research showcase and opportunities to meet with admissions experts, faculty members and current Gators.

During the course of the day, dozens of future San Francisco students accepted their admissions offers.

“I accepted my offer today because I really want to do bio here at SF State,” said Shannah Kwan, who’s finishing the Middle College program at College of San Mateo.

Kwan — who also hopes to get involved in musical theatre at SF State — says she’s looking forward to making new friends who share her interests. For Emily Underwood, the chance to live in the Bay Area was a big draw.

“I’m really excited to live in San Francisco,” said Underwood, who’ll be coming to SF State from San Diego. “I love the area, and the school itself just feels like a good community. So I’m excited.”

SF State students, faculty and staff were on hand to welcome Underwood, Kwan and the other newly admitted Gators to campus. The day also featured musical performances, open houses, a student life and organization showcase and a free doubleheader for SF State’s softball team.

“It was great to welcome admitted students and their families to campus on such a beautiful day and show off everything that SF State has to offer,” said Camille Rieck-Armstrong, the University’s director of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment. “The event had a celebratory atmosphere, and it was a joy to see the students being drawn into a genuine sense of community and belonging. I am so excited for them to write the next chapter of their lives here at SF State!”

Learn about SF State academics, housing, aid, admissions and more.

A crowd walks across the SF State campus near the Quad

SF State and Braven provide students with career accelerator course at second CSU campus

SAN FRANCISCO — April 10, 2024 — San Francisco State University (SF State) and Braven, a national nonprofit organization, have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU). This new partnership between SF State and Braven will serve 4,400 sophomores, juniors and transfer students over the first five years, providing them with a two-part career-accelerating experience.

“We take pride in providing SF State students, many of whom are Pell Grant recipients or first-generation students, a clear path to strong jobs or entry into graduate school, “SF State Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Amy Sueyoshi said. “We are glad Braven also shares that same vision and look forward to working with them to help students achieve upward mobility.”

The experience begins with a three-credit undergraduate course (AU 220: SF State and Braven Career Accelerator). Students, who Braven calls Fellows, complete weekly online modules on Braven’s online platform and then apply that content through weekly virtual Learning Labs in a cohort of five to eight peers led by a volunteer professional called a Leadership Coach. Fellows complete assignments to grow their leadership in five professional competencies: operating and managing, problem solving, working in teams, networking and communicating, and self-driven leading.

Upon completion, Fellows receive continued access to the online portal, periodic events and/or programming, including a regular jobs newsletter and a one-to-one professional mentorship program.

In Fall 2024, about 300 SF State students are expected to take the course, joining a growing network of over 8,600 Braven alumni nationwide. Already in partnership with San José State University in San José, Calif., Braven’s partnership with SF State will be its second site within the California State University system, demonstrating the potential for creating a systemic solution for the college-to-career pipeline.

"Braven is thrilled to partner with SF State to empower students to seamlessly transition from college to fulfilling careers, enabling them to apply their hard-earned degrees to make a meaningful impact," said Aimée Eubanks Davis, Braven’s Founder & CEO. "This partnership would not be possible without the unwavering support of exceptional champions like Tipping Point and Crankstart, who have played a pivotal role in establishing our new San Francisco location."

Nationwide, Braven is showing promising results. Braven Fellows have outpaced the national average for strong job attainment before and amid the pandemic. Within six months of graduation, 60% of Braven’s 2023 graduates secured quality full-time jobs worthy of their bachelor’s degree, and or enrolled in graduate school (17 percentage points higher than their peers nationally). In addition, Braven Fellows have achieved a 91% on-time graduation rate. By comparison, about 7 in 10 of their peers nationally graduate college on time. Furthermore, 64% of Braven college graduates have at least one internship during college compared with 48% of all college graduates and 41% of students from similar backgrounds.

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ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY

San Francisco State University is a public university serving students from the San Francisco Bay Area, across California and around the world, with nationally acclaimed programs that span a broad range of disciplines. More than 23,000 students enroll at the University each year, and its nearly 287,000 graduates have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and beyond. Through them — and more than 1,900 world-class faculty members — SF State proudly embraces its legacy of academic excellence, community engagement and commitment to social justice. For more information, visit sfsu.edu.

ABOUT BRAVEN

Founded in 2013, Braven empowers promising, underrepresented young people—first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color—with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs. Braven is embedded within large public universities and partners with employers to build cutting-edge career education into the undergraduate experience for low-income and first-generation college goers and provides students with a network of supporters and a sense of belonging. Braven Fellows are persisting in college and achieving exciting levels of internship and job attainment. For more information about Braven, visit bebraven.org.

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