Senior Carolina Gonzalez, seen here working in biology professor Jonathan Kelber’s lab, is one of 15 CSUN students named Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars by the CSU. Photo by Lee Choo.

“It means that people believe in me,” said Gonzalez, 33, a single mom. “I am among the first in my family to go to college, and there’s always this fear in the back of my mind that I am going to fail. But being named a Sally Casanova Scholar means that there are people who believe that I can do it, that I can go on to a Ph.D. program.”

Gonzalez is one of 15 outstanding CSUN students who were named Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars last month by the California State University system. In addition to a $3,000 stipend to support their research, the students may also apply to participate in a fully funded summerresearch experience at a University of California campus or another doctoral-granting institution.

Gonzalez, a senior, is currently spending her summer in biology professor Jonathan Kelber’s laboratory, studying the role the protein RAI 14 (Retinoic Acid Induced 14) plays in the development of pancreatic cancer cells, and doing an internship with CSUN biology professor Rachel Mackelprang at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, studying the characterization of a novel bacteria found on a space craft.

“All of CSUN’s Pre-Doc Scholars have one thing in common,” said Hedy Carpenter, director of graduate programs and CSUN’s California Pre-Doc program coordinator, who has managed the program for 30 years. “They all have faculty mentors who believe in their academic ability to succeed in earning a doctoral degree.”

Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar program is sponsored by the CSU Chancellor’s office and funded by the California lottery. It is designed to increase the pool of potential California State University faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of CSU students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. It was created as a tribute to the CSU’s former dean of academic affairs Sally Casanova, who oversaw the creation of the California Pre-Doctoral program in 1989. Casanova died in 1994.

Drawing from all 23 CSU campuses, a total of 74 students are selected for the annual honor. The program provides funding for visits to doctoral granting institutions, travel to national conferences, membership in professional organizations, and graduate school applications and test fees.

The other CSUN students named as 2019 Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars are:

• Ashtyn Isaak, who will be working with marine biology professor Robert Carpenter;
• Cristian Apolinar, who will be working with criminology and justice studies professor Nayan Ramirez;
• Crystal Venegas Silva, who will be working with psychology professor Meeta Banerjee;
• Essence Wilson, who will be working with psychology professor Andrew Ainsworth;
• Jennifer White, who will be working with family and consumer sciences professor Elizabeth Sussman;
• Justin Pardo, who will be working with geological sciences professor Jennifer Cotton;
• Madeline Awad, who will be working with psychology professor Stefanie Drew;
• Maria Yera, who will be working with biology professor Mariano Loza-Coll;
• Marika Sigal, who will be working with psychology professor Scott Plunkett;
• Natalie Souaid, who will be working with mathematics professor Bruce Shapiro;
• Roxana Lesso, who will be working with psychology professor Elise Fenn;
• Sara Shatela, who will be working with biology professor Lisa Banner;
• Skye Shodahl, who will be working with psychology professor Meeta Banerjee; and
• Virginia Kartu Gomez, who will be working with gender and women’s studies professor Breny Mendoza.

Carpenter noted that Northridge has the distinction of receiving more California Pre-Doc awards than any other CSU.

“This program opens the door to life-changing opportunities,” she said. “Countless CSUN students have been accepted into first-rate Ph.D. programs and many are now tenured professors throughout the U.S. The success of this program speaks for itself — it has increased faculty diversity within California and the U.S.”

Carolina Gonzalez, Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar, Student Research