SDSU Imperial Valley Celebrates 60th Anniversary
A scholarship fundraiser is scheduled for March 23 at the Calexico campus.
More than 900 students take classes at the two SDSU Imperial Valley campuses—the main campus in Calexico, just seven blocks from the Mexican border, and the smaller Brawley campus 24 miles to the north.
Established as a college for teachers in 1959, SDSU Imperial Valley now offers 10 undergraduate degrees, three teaching credentials, and two master's degrees. It provides a high-quality, reasonably priced alternative for students without the means or desire to assume the high costs associated with leaving their hometowns to attend college.
Many are the first in their families to seek a college degree. Some, like liberal studies major Ashley Nava, have family members who graduated from SDSU Imperial Valley.
“When I was considering college options, there was always a very good chance of me coming here just because of my family,” said Nava, who hopes to become a special education teacher in a valley school district. “The local option is so much more convenient, less expensive, and I feel like you just get more by staying local because you get to build important connections with people here.”
Anthony Acosta, Associated Student (AS) president for SDSU Imperial Valley, shares Nava’s view. “I was born here and grew up in the Imperial Valley; I can’t think of me being somewhere else,” said Acosta, a senior history major, who said he intends to someday teach history at the university.
“About 40” is the largest class he has attended on campus. In fact, many students cite the small class sizes and direct contact with professors as huge pluses in favor of their campus.
Daniela Garcia is a liberal studies major who intends to teach elementary school in the Imperial Valley. She is the very definition of a go-getter.
By taking 21 – 25 units each semester, she plans to complete her bachelor’s degree in just three and a half years. She has a work-study job on campus and serves as an AS ambassador.
“It has been a heavy load with work and the AS, but it is doable here,” Garcia said. “Whatever you want to accomplish you can do it here because we have some flexibility, so everything is possible.”
SDSU Imperial Valley Dean Gregorio Ponce is counting on the same community spirit that built the Calexico campus to come through for SDSU once more. “We are at that juncture again where we were 60 years ago,” Ponce said. “We need the community to come together and help us take the next step toward the place we need to be.”
Tickets for the fundraising event are $45 per person in advance and $50 at the door. For more information, visit the San Diego State University Imperial Valley Facebook homepage.
