Cyle Zezotarski is a couch surfer. he stays at someone's home out of the country and experience their lifestyle and culture. Photo Credit: Aprile Sumague / Staff Reporter

For Cyle Zezotarski traveling is not all about staying at swanky hotels and visiting the usual tourist spots. Traveling for him is learning the culture of one’s country or state, being able to meet new people and enjoying someone’s couch.

Zezotarski, a 20-year-old junior majoring in Japanese language and culture, is a couch surfer. Couch surfing is staying at someone’s home and experiencing his or her lifestyle. The Web site, www.couchsurfing.com is where people can sign up, get verified and search around for people and places to visit.

“You don’t really have to pay for accommodations,” Zezotarski said.

His first time couch surfing was in Bangkok, Thailand. He stayed with three people and through them he met around 20 more people and made friends. He said he felt the most at home in Thailand.

Zezotarski said he loves to travel in South East Asia because the people are more personal, open and willing to chat. He spent two months this past summer traveling to Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and South Korea, but was mainly in Thailand.

He stayed with a girl named Mimi who lived in a studio apartment with a big bed and a couch. There were two other people who stayed at Mimi’s apartment, and on the first night, they all slept on the same bed.

Traveling and couch surfing has made Zezotarski a lot more outgoing. Before, he was shy. He would go out, but not talk to people. Now, he said he has learned to be more open, ask questions, approach someone and say “hey.”

Zezotarski said that meeting and spending time with the locals was great because they know everything. He is a vegetarian and the locals helped him find the best food while in Bangkok – something more than just fried rice. The language barrier didn’t bother him much because the locals helped him communicate better and he studied the language beforehand.

“When you hang out with the locals, you see a completely different side of the world. You have a totally different experience and it’s not scary,” he said.

Zezotarski is moderating a San Fernando Valley group on couch surfing and recently he found out that in the past, there were only two incidents that happened that involved the police. The chances of anything bad happening are zero, he said.

“I generally learned that people are all the same. There are people who want to help and people who want to learn about you,” he said.

Zezotarski  considers Laos the most beautiful country, but his experience in Vietnam was one of the most visually profound. He didn’t couch surf in Vietnam, but the locals and other couch surfers took him and his friends for a motorbike ride at night around the city.

Also in Vietnam, he had the worst traveling experience of his life. He got food poisoning and was severely dehydrated. All his friends were gone and he was alone. Although he was grateful for those who helped him, he said it was still difficult to find help. No one wanted to help and he was also running out of money.

Ironic as it may sound, Zezotarski developed a fear of flying. When he went to Singapore, he experienced bad turbulence and the airplane went down.  He got nervous, freaked out and he even yelled while the rest of the passengers were calm. To overcome this, he takes sleeping medication when he’s flying.

He plans to travel to Taiwan or Japan next.

Triphena Denise Georgette Lawrence, born in Los Angeles to Jamaican immigrants, is an aspiring mechanical engineer who hopes to make a difference and help others the way she was helped. Photo Credit: Donnella Collison / Staff Reporter

Triphena Denise Georgette Lawrence is a bubbly, enthusiastic, passionate freshman mechanical engineer major.

Lawrence, the only child of Jamaican immigrants, said she was inspired to become a mechanical engineer during her senior year in high school after reading a speech by President Barack Obama in which he talked about energy efficiency and providing more opportunities for young people in math and science fields.

“Math and science was my strongest subject and I can also contribute to making a change in today’s society,” Lawrence said.

Although she said she was initially discouraged by the seeming lack of black women in math and science majors, Lawrence said she decided “anything was possible “and to not let the stereotype of math and science being a man’s field to dissuade her.

As a young child, she dreamed of becoming a math teacher since she was always good at the subject and enjoyed tutoring and helping others.

“My sixth grade teacher at my middle school, she just made math so great,” she said. “That’s when I knew, that’s when I fell in love with math. That’s when I knew that’s what I wanted to major in, something with math.”

But, it was also at that young age Lawrence experienced the greatest loss in her young life. At 9 years old, Lawrence’s father, Dennis George Lawrence, was killed while trying to break up a fight during a business trip to Jamaica.

“This person had a gun and he had the power to end my father’s life,” she said, as tears formed in her eyes. “It’s still hard to talk about it.”

Lawrence said that after the death of her father she went through a rebellious stage where she was often at odds with her mother, now a single parent.

In her sophomore year in high school she accepted the help of a counselor who helped her with her grieving process and her relationship with her mother.

“I never wanted to be the person that lets this bother them or bring them down. I still know that I am very privileged. That’s why I want to help people, just as I was helped,” she said. “I still don’t feel like I’ve fully grieved, but I don’t think that my dad would want me to be like this, closed off and building walls and not allowing anyone in.”

This is the reason why, Lawrence said, she has decided to make the most of her college experience and fully enjoy it.

“My experience so far has been great. There are probably no words that can describe it. I didn’t think my freshman year would be this good, meeting all the people I’ve met, being a part of NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers),” she said.

“Just being able to experience college the way I’m experiencing it. I love living in the dorms, the on-campus activities. Just the whole college experience

Vanessa Bustamante, a Chicano studies and communication studies major, uses her experience of struggling in high school to now help other young adults succeed. Photo Credit: Wendy Barba / Staff Reporter

The inspiration to help at-risk teenagers achieve success comes from her personal struggles. Vanessa Bustamante, a Chicano studies and communication studies major, used to be a high school student that was barely getting by. Now, she is recognized for her outstanding academic achievement and still finds time to actively participate in various organizations in order to help young adults excel.

Besides being the first in her family to go to college, she is on the dean’s list and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Golden Key Honor Society. She is also a second year resident adviser, an active participant in MEChA and a founding sister for the CSUN chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.

Part of her drive to surpass academic expectations is a result of the sacrifices her parents have made in order to give her the opportunity of higher education. Now she works continuously to make sure other students understand that they too can stand in her place. She achieves this in part by doing countless hours of community service including cancer and AIDS walks.

“The most symbolic event I have done is putting on the Raza Youth Conference with MEChA. We bring at-risk students and teach them that they can get to college,” Bustamante said.

For this event, the students are brought to the location on buses and are taught that no obstacle is big enough to keep them from attending college. Bustamante stresses to students, no matter how bad their grades are at the moment, or how little money they have in their checking account, there is a way.
Having these conversations with students hits close to home for her.

“I was not a very good high school student and wasn’t sure if I would go to college. Now I have become an outstanding honor roll student and proved the people who doubted me wrong,” she said.

Her purpose for attending conferences is to show students that she is proof that overcoming academic struggles can be done. She wants at-risk youths to prove stereotypes wrong just as she did.

“I had a lot of people doubt me growing up, especially teachers,” Bustamante said. “I was surrounded by the negative stereotypes of a Chicana, often having people tell me I was never going to make it, and making it to college and achieving the various things I have achieved have gone to prove a lot of people wrong.”

She said that the best part of contributing her time to teens from her same culture and community is seeing the results.

“A few years ago when we put on the Raza Youth Conference, a pregnant girl showed up. She didn’t think she would go to college because of her situation. Later I saw her on our CSUN campus. This showed that this really works,” she said.

For Bustamante, the best reward is not the recognition she receives, but rather feels most proud knowing that the students she is helping today will continue on to college and educate upcoming generations that their struggles can be overcome, just like someone told her.

Terrance Stewart is the president of CSUN's Black Student Union (BSU). Photo Credit: Donnella Collison / Staff Reporter

For Terrance Stewart, being a leader on campus is not only a way to pad a resume, but it has become his passion, one he discovered during his freshman year at CSUN.

Stewart, a 20 year-old criminology major and president of the Black Student Union (BSU), said that even in high school he recognized the importance of being a good leader by being the captain of his school’s football and wrestling teams.

Stewart, also a member of CSUN’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Association of Black Students (NSBE) and Harambee Student Association, said being a student leader not only taught him responsibility, but the importance of being a role model.

“It taught me to be a good role model. I am not older; I am the same age as my peers. And as a leader, people do pay attention to what I do,” Stewart said.

Stewart said he wants to become even more conscious of what he does and aims to set a good example for his peers.

His goals and aspirations have always been a driving force in his life.

“There was never a question about whether I would graduate high school. I always expected to be here in college. I have always had high expectations,” Stewart said.

He hopes of one day attending law school and using his career, whatever it might be, to help troubled youth and to best serve his community.

Stewart’s goals for his organization are to ensure that the black students at CSUN become more aware of their voice and power and learn to use it for the betterment of the community. He also aims to facilitate more cultural awareness and community service.

As for his more personal goals, he is trying to raise his grade point average and possibly open his own landscaping business, which he describes as his craft.

“There is always room for improvement and I am always trying to do my best,” Stewart said.

For Stewart, his life with the BSU and social life have seemingly merged, making the balancing act between his duties as a student and as a student leader more manageable.

“My social life surrounds BSU. When I hang out with friends, a lot of them are also members and its BSU time. But it’s worth it,” Stewart said.

Stewart says that there is still a need for black students to be encouraged and uplifted and that one of his goals as president is to “build unity and togetherness among black students.”

“It’s important, especially in these times of economic hardships where blacks are already seen as being at the bottom of the totem pole,” Stewart said.

William "Will" Borza's interest in music began at an early age and is now a music industries studies major at CSUN. Photo Credit / Christine Chen

After spending a year studying as a jazz major, then another year as a general music major at CSUN, William “Will” Borza, decided to change his major to music industry studies to have more options and flexibility in the job industry after graduating.

“Being a jazz major, I would only have one career path. But if I major in music industries, I can be a publisher, a producer, or even an audio engineer,” explained Borza.

Having more choices, options and flexibility is a big concern for Borza who aspires to be a well rounded professional in the industry.

“I like the idea of having it all under one roof. It’s like a one-stop shop,” said Borza. “Record labels usually outsource to other companies for producing and recording, but I want to do everything in one place.”

Getting into the music program at CSUN is difficult because unlike most majors on campus, the music program requires students to pass a musical audition, a one-on-one interview with a faculty member where students explain their goals and answer a 500 to 1,000-word essay problem. This year’s essay topic was about copyright laws.

“You have to have a musical background and be able to play an instrument to get into the program,” Borza said.

Borza’s passion in music began at an early age. He started banging on the piano keys at his grandmother’s house when he was just a toddler. From kindergarten through the fourth grade he began his formal musical training in piano. He started playing the trumpet soon after and during seventh grade, he began playing jazz music.

Borza was even in his high school jazz band and played in his community college band as well.

“I’ve always wanted to play in my own band,” said Borza. “I love jazz, it’s my favorite kind of music.”

Borza’s musical inspirations come from his favorite trumpet player Clifford Brown. Brown was a highly rated American jazz trumpet player in the 1950s who influenced many other famous jazz musicians, such as Wynton Marsalis, Booker Little and Donald Byrd. “He is the best trumpet player. His technical ability is amazing,” Borza said.

After graduating, Borza’s goal is to open his own record label, be a producer and operate a recording studio.

“That would be the ultimate dream,” said Borza.

Jackie Phipps, 22, is an English Creative Writing major at CSUN. She's a commuter from Santa Monica, Calif. and is currently in the process of writing novels and short stories. Photo Credit: Katie Chavarin / Staff Photographer

Jackie Phipps is an English creative writing major at CSUN.  Making the trek from Santa Monica, Phipps is in her junior year working towards a bachelor’s degree.

She doesn’t dedicate countless hours to any club or organization on campus, but she has been busy working on over 15 novels and short stories.

The 22-year-old’s hobbies consist of reading for hours, writing short stories, and going to the beach with friends. She enjoys having time to herself and to relax.  One of her favorite places is the annual UCLA festival of books because it’s “fun, but very exhausting.”

Phipps would like to write more novels in the future, but sometimes ends up writing short stories. Fairytales are definitely one of her favorites, simply because they can be twisted in so many ways, both for adults and children.

“The thing about fairytales is that there are so many versions of a story.  There’s the Disney version of these stories that are aimed towards children and are usually sugar-coated…but if you read the same story made for teens and adults, the story tends to be a little more gruesome and just more graphic.”

Another type of book genre Phipps can’t help but love is teen literature. “I know I’m 22, but I can’t help it. I just get really into it… It’s really easy to get involved in a teen lit story. Sometimes it’s simply relatable. I love it.”

After contemplating over several different majors, English was her final choice.

“I’ve thought about majoring in journalism, but I like creative writing. I like being able to be free with writing. It’s the fact that I can do it for pleasure and not have to follow a certain structure. It can be whatever I want it to be. I love that freedom,” she added.

In addition to her love for creative writing, Phipps has an interest in photography and the arts.

However, with the budget cuts, and not being able to qualify for financial aid, Phipps is paying for tuition and fees out of her own pocket and with the help of her parents.

“I figured if I’m not getting financial aid, might as well let someone else who really needs the help take the financial aid,” Phipps said.