Joe Gutierrez | CSUSB Office of Strategic Communication | (951) 236-4522 | joeg@csusb.edu
The College of Education at Cal State San Bernardino has named its two top graduates for the Class of 2020.
Oliva Rosas is the college’s Outstanding Doctorate Student, and Princess Marie Etuale is the Outstanding Graduate Student.
Rosas and Etuale would have been honored at the college’s June Commencement ceremony, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, large gatherings including CSUSB’s five Commencement ceremonies have been postponed. A new date for the events will be announced when it is determined that the ceremonies can be held safely.
Rosas, who serves as the associate vice president of Student Success and Educational Equity at CSUSB, earned her doctorate in educational leadership. Her dissertation, “Paradise … They Make You Feel at Home: A Case Study on Understanding the Role of an Undocumented Student Resource Center and its Influence on the College Journey of Undocumented Students,” provides insight on how institutions and higher education professionals can establish or redesign dedicated spaces to serve undocumented students.
Rosas has more than 30 years of experience in the education field, and has been a compassionate leader and advocate for students throughout her career.
She earned her master of arts degree in education, with a concentration in counseling and guidance, from CSUSB, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Spanish and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Riverside.
Etuale earned her master of science degree in counseling and guidance. While a student at CSUSB, she interned at the Coyote Counseling Center and at the Lincoln Elementary School’s Wellness Program, where she counseled children, couples and families, often at the height of crisis. In her second year at CSUSB, she was elected vice president of the university’s Counseling Graduate Student Association and developed a mentor program, which continues to thrive, for 50 new students entering the college’s counseling and guidance program.
Etuale, who graduated from UC Riverside magna cum laude, continued her record of academic excellence at CSUSB – she was named the outstanding student of the quarter in eight separate occasions by eight different professors.
And all this was accomplished while she worked full-time as an instructional assistant in the Moreno Valley Unified School District, and as a graduate assistant doing research projects on grief counseling with Lorraine Hedtke, professor and coordinator of the counseling and guidance program.
Visit the College of Education website to learn more about its programs.