Brandon Tong came to CSUN with an interest in the music program, five years later Tong is working on getting his master’s in Clinical Psychology and helping others by volunteering his time as a trainer for the CSUN hotline. “I auditioned and got in the program to see if I would like it and if I could keep up with it but I’ve always has an inkling towards psychology,” said the 22-year-old. Despite his change of heart, Tong has nothing… Read more

For most, college is a time to test our independence, transition into adulthood, and establish our own lives usually without parents. However, for the Adelmann family, it is quite the opposite. After being a stay-at-home mom since the birth of her children and running an independent portrait studio out of her home in Chatsworth, Carla Adelmann, 57, has decided to come back to school to pursue a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism. “I’ve always wanted to go to CSUN since I… Read more

Every Friday morning, when most college students are looking forward to starting their weekend, Stacy Merlos is trying to figure out how she can help out. “As long as I’m at CSUN I’m gonna be apart of this program. (They’re) never getting rid of me,” Merlos, 23, said with a wide smile. Merlos joined the CSUN Blues Project three semesters ago following the suicide of one of her closest friends and fellow CSUN student, Dylan Miles. The Blues Project is… Read more

Toting a Hello Kitty backpack around campus, Abbey Ronquillo said her first name comes from the Beatles album “Abbey Road” because her parents are huge fans of the band. She is happy her parents named her Abbey instead of Lucy or Jude. The 19-year-old psychology major and minor in broadcast journalism has a lot of goals that she wishes to fulfill. These include writing a self-help book or becoming a talk show host, but her main focus in life is… Read more

Kathleen Jaffe, a 23-year-old theatre major,  has found a way to combine her love for theater and film with her passion of spreading the message of equal rights for the LBGT community. Jaffe has worked with several organizations with the mission of promoting equality, the most recent being Outfest which is a yearly film festival that showcases lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender films and art. “I think the main reason I wanted to volunteer was because I wanted to see… Read more

The first time Nigel Jones fell in love with photography was when he was 15 years old. Jones developed a passion for film from a girl he dated, since then film has become his number one passion. Jones, a freshman film major once had dreams of becoming a professional basketball player but knew he wasn’t going to make the cut. “I’ve always wanted to play professional basketball but I guess I never really got the height. So that wasn’t really… Read more

David Meraz’s lifelong goal is not to be doctor, not to be an actor, or not even to be rich and famous. Instead, Meraz’s goal in life is to change the world in some way, shape or form. “I don’t know where to begin, or why I haven’t begun, but I’m going to do it,” said the 21-year old political science major. Meraz has had a number of life changing experiences and in return, he would like help change people’s… Read more

For Roberto Saravia, 25, his earliest memories are of marches, protests and “big old red flags.” The red flags stand for El Salvador’s current president’s political party, Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN. Both of Saravia’s parents, who met in the United States, have been staunch supporters of the party. Saravia’s mother came here in the 1970′s. She joined a solidarity group, Central American Resource Center, or CARECEN, that her sister was a part of. His father was still… Read more

Most typical teenagers go to the movies, watch games or play sports for fun. However, Hector Hernandez isn’t your typical teenager. The soft spoken and long-haired student with eye glasses has a passion for stencil art. For those who aren’t familiar with this concept of art, it’s really simple. First, you take a piece of cardboard and  prepare a template of your desired picture.  Then you paint the design which gets replicated on the cardboard, said Hector Hernandez, a 19-year-old… Read more