Eight SDSU Students Receive Prestigious CSU Scholarship

Eight San Diego State University students were selected as 2020-21 Sally Casanova Scholars, a California State University award to help promising students with economic disadvantages continue their education in doctoral programs.

The award assists student recipients with a $3,000 pre-doctoral scholarship, one-on-one mentorship from a faculty mentor, and visits to doctoral-granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study. 

The awards are open to upper-division undergraduate and graduate students.
“At SDSU our doctoral students are critically minded leaders who have the passion and determination to impact and transform their fields,” said SDSU President Adela de la Torre. “These students exemplify those qualities and have the perseverance it takes to create real change.

“We are exceptionally proud of these students who are poised to take on the world’s greatest challenges,” de la Torre added. “I look forward to celebrating their future achievements.”

This year’s SDSU Sally Casanova Scholars, their major areas of study, and their faculty mentors are:

• Selena Baca, graduate student, psychology — Mentor: V. Robin Weersing
• Lorise Diamond, graduate student, rhetoric and writing studies — Mentor: Cezar Ornatowski
• Jackelyne Garcia, graduate student, psychology — Mentor: Miguel Villodas
• Ernesto Millan Aceves, undergraduate student, chemistry — Mentor: Jeffrey Gustafson
• Deva Reign, undergraduate student, psychology — Mentor: Maureen Gibbins Paolini
• Guadalupe Rosas, graduate student, psychology — Mentor: David Marx
• Elybeth Alcantar, graduate student, Latin American Studies — Mentor: Ramona Pérez 
• Sophia Rodriguez, graduate student, Master of Public Health and Latin American Studies — Mentor: Ramona Pérez

The scholarship helps fund the costs associated with traveling to national symposiums and professional meetings, as well as memberships to professional organizations and journal subscriptions. It also can be used for graduate school applications, test fees and research materials, among other expenses.

The SDSU recipients are among 77 Sally Casanova Scholars selected by a committee of CSU and University of California representatives. CSU’s Pre-Doctoral Program is intended in part to increase diversity within faculty ranks by supporting the doctoral aspirations of students, particularly those who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages.

The award is named in memory of Sally Casanova, former associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies at CSU Dominguez Hills who launched the pre-doctoral program in 1989.

The application cycle for the scholarship opens in December and closes in mid-February of each academic year. The Division of Graduate Affairs offers workshops during the application period to assist students with applying and identifying eligibility requirements. For additional information about the scholarship and future workshop dates, students are encouraged to reach out to Cristina Sanchez at [email protected].