Class of 2009 Outstanding Graduates - Sciences
Below are several of San Diego State University's outstanding graduates from the class of 2009, which includes nearly 10,000 degree candidates:
College of Sciences
Roberto Carlos Partida
Roberto Carlos Partida, 20, B.S., mathematics
Roberto Carlos Partida will graduate this May after completing his degree work in just two years.
Growing up in a low-income family, Partida's parents worked everyday just barely getting by. When he was younger his family moved a lot, so it took Partida three years to be able to communicate in English, so his standardized testing scores in English were low. It was a different story when it came to math.
Thanks to his mom explaining his math homework in Spanish, Partida's math scores were high. He received honor awards in elementary and middle school, while also working and helping out in the family business every day. Things changed in high school, when his involvement in the "street scene" led him to stop attending school for periods of time.
His brother convinced him to focus on his studies and he transferred to Grossmont Middle College High School, where he graduated in 2007. Now only two years later, he will graduate from SDSU with a degree in mathematics.
Partida plans to become a math teacher, to help students like himself that are often overlooked or given up on. He said he wants to give students that "little push" that he wishes he could have gotten. (Hometown: Spring Valley, Calif.)
Anastacia Tobin
Anastacia Celena Tobin, 28, B.A., psychology
While spending the majority of her college career volunteering for two research labs at SDSU, Anastacia Celena Tobin discovered her passion for research and furthered her ability to help others.
In addition to her time in the Aging and Dementia Lab and the Center for Understanding and Treating Anxiety, Tobin further immersed herself in psychology through the Psychology Club, acting on the Student Advisory Board for counseling and psychological services and serving as a psychology teaching assistant and undergraduate peer advisor.
A Quest for the Best recipient, Tobin received the SDSU Student Research Symposium Provost Award recipient for outstanding poster presentation and a nominee for the psychology department's Outstanding Student for 2009.
After graduation she plans on working full-time as a research assistant at the Center for Understanding and Treating Anxiety while applying for Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology. (Hometown: Alexandria, Virginia)
Other class of 2009 outstanding graduates by college:
- College of Arts and Letters
- College of Business Administration
- College of Education
- College of Engineering
- College of Health and Human Services
- College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts (Ceremony 1)
- College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts (Ceremony 2)
- College of Sciences
- Special programs and double majors
