In 2008 during the great recession, Angela Padilla went through a series of hardships that put her into a desperate situation — the company she worked for closed down before she gave birth to her son, leaving her as an unemployed single mother.
But when she made the decision to go back to school to pursue psychology and public administration, she was ecstatic.
“The day I got my acceptance letter really was one of the happiest moments in my life,” Padilla said.
Alumni, faculty and staff attended a gala Saturday night to commemorate the 50th anniversary of CSUN’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Orchard Conference Center, marking it as one of the longest running public health accreditations in California.
The event featured a showcase of student work within the program, as well as a cocktail reception.
Padilla, who currently serves as a mental health advocate and the president of FundaMental Change, was one of a handful of alumni who recounted their experiences with CSUN. She said she was grateful for the opportunities offered to her by the university.
“I want to thank [the program] for giving me the foundation to use that energy and to use all of the resiliency built throughout the years,” the alumni said. “All that knowledge I gained from these programs goes out into the world and makes a real change and real difference.”
Padilla also recalled a time where one of her high school teachers held a discussion that she wanted to participate in, but was told that she couldn’t. Instead, she was told to “shut up and be a model.”
“It wasn’t because I didn’t have the ability or because I wasn’t doing well in her class,” Padilla said. “It was from a bias that someone who looked like me couldn’t be taken seriously. I’m so glad that I didn’t listen to that advice. She couldn’t be more wrong.”
Her husband, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, also attended the gala and spoke to attendees about the program’s impact on public health in the state.
“I reflected that as we celebrate 50 years of the program, what we’re also really celebrating is half a century of public health advocates who have worked to protect and strengthen the health of our communities because of the education and training they got at CSUN,” Alex Padilla said. “Who knows what the world is going to be like in 50 years? But I know that CSUN will have us ready.”
Graduate student Jocelyn Sandoval, who is studying toward her MPH, presented the work she completed during her internship at the UCLA Women’s Center. This included a manuscript she helped develop that focused on the health and wellbeing of Latina janitorial workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said the empathy she felt from CSUN professors is what made her stick with the program.
“I’ve actually been with the online cohort, and it’s been a lot of work, but it’s also been very educational,” Sandoval said. “The professors are extremely helpful and everything’s been paced adequately. I feel like all the professors want to answer questions, and it doesn’t feel like they’re just trying to throw information at you. They’re actually trying to discuss it with you and take into account your opinions.”
Graduate student Eric Shanazari shared similar sentiments to Sandoval, noting that the people within the program are what make it welcoming.
“CSUN gives you something that, in my experience, I haven’t gotten from other colleges and other schools,” Shanazari said. “They’re really invested in you and they’ll give you chances. If you’re willing to show that you’re going to put in an effort, they’ll give you opportunities to put in that effort. You get more than what you paid for.”
During the gala, Department Chair of Health Sciences Bethany Rainisch outlined a short history of the accreditation program, which started in 1971 and was the first of its kind in California. She emphasized her appreciation for the influence CSUN’s graduate students have had on the community.
“Our 50th anniversary is not just a celebration of the past. It’s a call to action for the future,” Rainisch said. “In the coming years, I hope we embrace new technologies, continue to foster a spirit of collaboration with our colleagues and train our students to be advocates for change, leaders in research and champions in health.”
Note: Corrections were made to this article.
