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Look What’s Inside. VSC Memorial Day Student Veteran PresentsResearch CSUSB Veterans WritersGroup CSUSB Alumni BecomesUSMC Officer Student VeteransOrganization VSC’s Dedicated Tutor PDC Armed Forces Day VSC Wins Award PDC Memorial Day Your Goals for SpringQuarterReveilleIssue 23June 2015&On May 14, 2015, the Veterans Success Center hosted CSUSB’s Armed ForcesDay-Yellow Ribbon Campaign to pay tribute to military service members andCalifornians currently deployed, and to give our campus the opportunity toexperience what military life is like. Different branches of the Armed Forcesprovided demonstrations: Edwards Air Force Base brought its police K-9; theMarine Corps conducted a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program demonstration; theNavy brought its SEAL desert patrol vehicle and the Army brought its armoredHumvees. The event was organized by CSUSB alumni 2ndLt. Eric Rebollar,USMCR. Remarks were made by U.S. Navy veteran and CSUSB professor Dr.Joseph Scarcella and USMC veteran Enoch “Mac” McClain. After the decorationof the trees, judges walked around campus scoring the trees based on establishedcriteria, followed by demonstrations by the respective branches.Best Tree Decoration WinnersSan Bernardino CampusOffice of the Registrar, Community Engagement and the SMSU Program BoardFacebook.com/VSC.CSUSBor search forCSUSB Veterans Success CenterPalm Desert CampusServices to Students with Disabilities
Veterans Success Center Memorial Day and Community ServiceJaime EspinozaI have never looked at Memorial Day the same eversince I started working at the Veterans Success Center.Before working at the VSC, Memorial Day to me was justanother day off or what some people call a three-dayweekend. I never stopped to think about the meaning of it.Also, I was one of those people that get Veterans Dayconfused with Memorial Day. On May 20, 2015, theCSUSB Memorial Day Ceremony was on the Pfau LibraryLawn where all of the ceremonial traditions took place.That is where I learned that Memorial Day is more thanjust a three-day weekend. Its purpose is for us toremember all those American service members who havepassed away. It is because of their commitment andloyalty to this nation that we enjoy freedom anddemocracy here. I am glad that we are able to hold thesetypes of events here at CSUSB and the Palm Desertcampus because as I was once confused about the meaningof Memorial Day, there are still students who are also lostwhen it comes to the meaning of this special day.The Veterans Success Center also took about 30students to the Riverside National Cemetery to place flagsand flowers on the graves of the fallen service members.The expressions on the students’ faces were remarkable;we were happy we were able to remember what sacrificesAmericans have made for our freedom. Students were ableto look at how many graves there are at the cemetery andreflect on one question: Is freedom free? And the answeris “no”, freedom comes with a price and at times the lifeof a human. That is why we title our event here at CSUSB,“Remembering the Sacrifice.” We at CSUSB will alwaysremember.Jason Alipio, USMC Veteran, Presents His Research on Capitol HillJason Alipio, a CSUSB psychology undergraduate student and a USMCveteran, was selected by the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR) toparticipate in the 19th Annual Posters on the Hill in Washington, D.C., April22-23, 2015. Posters on the Hill helps raise awareness of researchundergraduate students are conducting and its impact on the U.S. Jason’sresearch project was one of 60 selected from approximately 500 applicationsand the only one from CSUSB. His research focused on the spatial memorydeficits caused in adolescents from taking the anti-depressant drug Prozac,which is the only FDA approved anti-depressant for children.In a letter to CSUSB President Tomás Morales, Elizabeth Ambos, executiveofficer of CUR, wrote, “We would like to congratulate California StateUniversity, San Bernardino on the acceptance of your student, Jason B Alipio.We believe that the undergraduate research experience contributes positivelyto the value of the education your students receive and they will leave your institution better prepared as aresult for graduate school, their career, and the future. We are proud of our members, who serve as advisorsand as mentors to undergraduate researchers, and believe your faculty and students are stellar examples of thebest in higher education.”Jason and his faculty mentor, Dr. Sergio Iñiguez (a CSUSB alumnus and former McNair Scholar) met withseveral congressional members from our region. Jason remarked, “Posters on the Hill was an amazingexperience! My adviser, Dr. Iñiguez, and I were able to speak to Congressman Pete Aguilar, CongressmanRaul Ruiz, and Congressman Ken Calvert's assistant Molly Lowe. They were all very welcoming andsupportive of undergraduate research and very receptive to my specific research endeavors.” Jason isscheduled to present his research at several conferences.
CSUSB Veterans Writers Group Exhibits at Los Angeles Festival of BooksThe CSUSB Veterans Success Center and its Written By Veterans Programbroke new ground on the weekend of April 18, when the center representedCSUSB for the first time at one of Southern California’s most importantcultural events, the 20th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.The VSC’s free, all-volunteer Written By Veterans Program was conceivedless than a year ago with the goal of opening the world of creative writing toall affiliated with the U.S. military and their dependents.The Written by Veterans Program offers a college-level screenwritingcourse during the summer, which is an introduction to the art and craft ofBest Selling Authors at VSC Booth professional storytelling, as well as a year-round veterans writers group,which includes CSUSB alumna and best-selling author Vanessa Booke among its advisors. In this supportivesetting, group members can complete their projects, and when they are ready, publish their work in print andeBooks. The publishing is handled by Written By Veterans’ own imprint, a unique setup that allows authors toretain all rights and profits. Finally, the program helps its published authors meet their readers in person. “This stepis essential to developing as a writer,” emphasizes Andreas Kossak, a CSUSB faculty member who spearheads theprogram. “And what better place to get to know your readers than at the prestigious Los Angeles Times Festival ofBooks?”With this goal in mind, Marci Daniels, director of the Veterans Success Center, and Kossak took the program’snewly published authors to the 20th annual LA Times Festival of Books with its tens of thousands of visitors. “Itwas very inspiring to see our authors interact with their readers,” Kossak observed. “Nothing completes the writingprocess like shaking their hands, looking them in the eye, chatting with them, posing for their photos, signing yourbook for them. It is a fundamental experience, that puts it all in perspective and keeps you writing, especially if yousell all your books, and our authors did just that.”The first batch of books showcased included ROSE, a suspense-laden thriller screenplay, written by Suzy Pearceand her husband, Marine Corps veteran Jeff McCarley, as well as Marine Corps veteran Jorge Aguayo’s screenplayMY WORST ENEMY, a personal story of a veteran who struggles to find his bearings, and Aguayo’s collection ofpoetry, “Vita.” “I was especially amazed,” Kossak remembers, “to see veterans of all ages come to our booth andbuy the books written by our veterans. There is a very strong interest in books by fellow veterans, no matter if theyare screenplays, works of fiction, or poetry.”Being an author is also a very personal experience, as Jorge Aguayo found out. Kossak remembers, “I was verymoved when I met Jorge’s family, who came to the Festival of Books to see Jorge, now a published author. Theyhad no idea that he was writing books and Jorge had never spoken to them about his war experiences during DesertStorm. Now, his book is out and a dialog has started, especially with Jorge’s younger relatives, who are inspired byJorge becoming a writer. Many doors are being opened and that is what this program is all about.”If you are interested in joining Written By Veterans, please contact the VSC.
CSUSB Alumni Commissions as Second LieutenantEric Rebollar2ndLt, Marine Corps ReserveMy name is Eric Rebollar and I am an alumni of CSUSB. I graduated in springof 2013 with a bachelor’s in criminal justice with a concentration in CrimeAnalysis. Six months after graduation, I joined the United States Marine CorpsReserves and was sent to Officer Candidate School (OCS) to earn a commissionas a second lieutenant. Following OCS, I went on to the Marine Corps’ BasicSchool (TBS). TBS is a six-month long training evolution that teaches everyMarine Officer, regardless of occupation, the fundamentals of being an infantryplatoon commander. At the completion of my time, I was assigned my MilitaryOccupational Specialty (MOS): 7208 Air Support Control Officer. I went on tocomplete another three-month long training cycle at Marine Corps Air GroundCombat Center 29 Palms. Now that my training is all complete I will be drillingone weekend a month and two weeks in the summer at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. I am currently in thefinal selection process to become a law enforcement officer.Student Veterans Organization at Coyote Cares DayJordan Gallinger, SVO TreasurerCommunity service is an important foundation ofour society. Every year, millions of people donatecountless hours of service to their local communities.As the Student Veterans Organization Treasurer, I hadthe pleasure of volunteering my time alongside fellowclub members on April 18 for the 3rd annual CoyoteCares Day. Our club preformed service for theDisabled American Veterans Garden in SanBernardino. We preformed upkeep and readied newgarden sections for planting.willingly work so hard to better their communities.We had club members take their time to drive fromout of the county to come to this event. Although theevent was only one day, through the power ofnumbers the Student Veterans Organization and theuniversity made a lasting impact. In the end, thisproject not only supports our community, itstrengthens the ties between fellow service membersand brings renewed pride in the participants. CoyoteCares Day was a remarkable success and I encourageI am honored that our club and university had so everyone to participate next year, and to continue tomany volunteers participate that day. It speaks be an active member of their community.volumes of the character of the participants to
Meet the VSC’s Tutor!Hello! My name is Vivek Kumar Muthusamy and I am currently working onmy business degree here at CSUSB to master global strategy for internationalbusiness. I received my master’s in biotechnology from University of Texas,San Antonio and a bachelor’s in industrial biotechnology from Anna Universityin India. I am very passionate about science and technology, and I enjoyteaching it as I get to learn through the process as well. I have taught advancelevel labs for graduate students and can tutor bio-related subjects such asbiochemistry, biology, and chemistry. I can also tutor math subjects includingcalculus, statistics, algebra and trigonometry. My tutoring and contactinformation is below. Feel free to contact me whenever!Tutoring HoursContact InformationMonday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.Cell: (909) 702-0555E-mail: muthusav@coyote.csusb.eduPDC Armed Forces Day and Yellow Ribbon CampaignThe CSUSB Palm Desert Campus Yellow RibbonCampaign is a wonderful example of campus pride andrespect for our men and women in the armed forces. Ourceremony included guest speakers USMC studentveteran, Daniel Sisounthone and Assistant Dean, Dr.David Maynard. Sisouthone initiated the ceremony withhis speech on gratitude and military honor while Dr.Maynard took us back to a greater understanding of thehistory and meaning of pinning a yellow ribbon on atree and how such a meaning would be resonated andvalued through our yellow ribbon campaign at PDC.said sponsors pinned yellow ribbons on trees around thePalm Desert Campus with ribbons provided by theVeteran’s Success Center. Decorating trees was made afun and slightly competitive task, as sponsors did theirbest to make their tree the winning and most honorabletree, in the eyes of the judges.Our yellow ribbon campaign was merged with theArmed Forces Day celebration, we wanted to give ourattendees a taste of what our armed forces men andwomen could expect to eat during their deployment. Assuch, our center provided MREs, or Meals, Ready toThe Palm Desert Campus united as 17 campus Eat, for attendees to try. For many this was their firstdepartments and organizations chose to sponsor a tree in experience and it opened up a new window in learninghonor of our nation’s deployed heroes. During the event, more about military life and culture.
VSC Recipient of Patriots of the Past Present and Future Education AwardOn May 15 2015, the VSC was honored by California Senator Mike Morrell. The nomination read,PDC Memorial DayFriday May292015,CSUSB-PDCstudents,faculty, andlocal residentsgatheredtocelebrate thenoblesacrificeofthe men andwomen who have served in theUnited States Armed Forces. Theceremony was held in the lobby ofthe Palm Desert Campus HealthSciences Building. A projector insidedisplayed images of honor and valorfor the United States of America andits fallen heroes. The focal point ofthe event was a memorial of whitecrosses symbolizing the brave menand women that did not make ithome. Among the crosses werelabeled crosses that stood in honor ofour fellow Coyotes that gave theultimate sacrifice for us and ourcountry.The event started off withwelcoming remarks from CSUSBPDC’s Dean Sharon Brown-Welty.She reminded all those attending ofthe importance of Memorial Day andof the great honor our college has forour nations Armed Forces members.After her speech, the Marine CorpsJROTC from Desert Hot SpringsHigh School presented the colors,followed by the singing of ournational anthem by Rancho MirageHigh School student, Bryton Carpio.After paying respect to our nation andits colors, attendees were presentedwith the keynote address by Maj.Sean M. Merlin of the U.S. MarineCorps. He noted the importance ofremembering the sacrifice of ourservice members on Memorial Dayand stressed that the holiday caneasily lose impact if we do not takethe time to properly honor our servicemembers. This address was followedby a moment of reflection byChaplain Lt. Matthew T. Fischer ofthe U.S. Navy. Attendees paid theirrespects to those currently on duty,those who have come home, andthose who have fallen during thistime. The end of the ceremony wasmarked by a folding of the flag by LaQuinta High School’s Air ForceJROTC and a 21-gun salute by theAmerican Legion Post 519.After the ceremony, attendingguests were invited to participate in areception that included an assortmentof lunch and desert items. The PDCVeterans Success Center was open tothe attendees and as they entered theywere given valuable information onthe services provided for all CSUSBstudentveteransandveterandependents. The CSUSB PDCMemorial Day event was asuccessful reminder of the honor andrespect our Coyotes have for the menand women of the U.S. ArmedForces.
Jamey JohnsonAngel FloresU.S. Marine Corps DependentU.S. Army National Guard SoldierMy goals for spring quarter areto stay focused and pass all myclasses so I can have a goodsummer vacation knowing Iworked hard for the grades Iearned. Fall and winter werethe most stressful quarters andspring goes by the fastest, so ifI stay on top of everythingwithout procrastination I knowI'll achieve my goals. I alsowant to start making plans for summer as I will bebusy with work and helping out my family withwhatever they need.This spring quarter I’m aiming tocontinue my academic excellenceand pass my classes with highgrades. As a sophomore, I'vealready managed to complete allmy GEs and am already workingon my upper division classes thisquarter. I am well ahead of myfour-year degree plan and mygoal is to keep it that way. I amalso striving to complete my finalBio class (Bio 202) of myyearlong Bio series with an “A”, which has been said tobe one of the most challenging series this school has tooffer. As the quarter progresses my main focus is tosucceed academically in order to achieve my long-termgoal of graduating with above a 3.5 GPA.Grace MundacaU.S. Army National Guard VeteranFinals are close and it is time tohit the books. Normally, I willreview the PowerPoint slides,chapters,andnotessimultaneously. During thistime, my kitchen counter anddining table turn into my denwhere nothing but studyinghappens. Lucky for me, I am anight owl and nights run long,days are hard, and success isnear. I have also been acceptedto the social work program here at CSUSB and I ambeyond honored to be given the opportunity to earn thedegree.Megan DuenasAir Force ROTCThis spring quarter I amfocusing on keeping myGPA at a 3.7. I have beenable to hold a 3.7 for twoquarters now and want tokeep it going. I am alsostriving for the position ofCadet Wing Commander inthe Air Force ROTCprogram. This is the highestposition in the Cadet Wing and it is for the entire fallquarter. I believe this position will provide me withgreat opportunities and challenges. Lastly, I am strivingto keep my fitness at a high level. This will help meprepare for my summer survival training.This newsletter was written and published by the staff and students of the California State University, San Bernardino Veterans Success Center.
final selection process to become a law enforcement officer. Eric Rebollar 2ndLt, Marine Corps Reserve CSUSB Alumni Commissions as Second Lieutenant Community service is an important foundation of our society. Every year, millions of people donate countless hours of service to their local communities.
