Student Karla Moreno hugs Senior Director of the Equal Opportunity Program Shiva Parsa as Moreno is recognized for receiving the scholarship. CREA Foundation Executive Director Arvetta Jideonwo stands along side the pair on the stage. Photos provided by Crystal Gomez.

Thanks to the California State University, Northridge CREA Scholars Program, 20 incoming freshmen were welcomed to campus this fall with funds and resources allocated to help them achieve academic success.

The scholarship program – for undergraduate students admitted to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Resilient Scholars Program (RSP) and/or the Trio Program at CSUN – was set up to provide each recipient with a scholarship on average of $5,000, beginning with the 2023-24 academic year and continuing each subsequent year. The money is intended for books, technology, tutoring or any other resources needed to help the students to successfully reach their educational goals. 

“This money will allow historically low-income, educationally disadvantaged, first-generation college students to stay focused on school rather than working more hours than they should,” said Shiva Parsa, the director of the Educational Opportunity Program at CSUN. 

After reviewing applications and conducting interviews, CREA Foundation and CSUN leaders selected 20 incoming freshmen for the award: Jose Mejia Acabal, Miguel Angel Garcia Luna, Lucio Aranda, Alexander Bonilla, Roman Buenrostro, Luis Cotto, Christian Galindo-Carrera, Ellen Garcia,  Katherine Guinea, Levon Hakobyan, Carlos Hallman, Joel Ipatzi, Mariana Morales – Hernandez, Karla Moreno, Jacqueline Navarro, Annette Perez, Crystal Tellez, Yajaira Valencia, Jeremy Velasquez and Angelina Zuniga Kramer. 

The program is funded by a $260,000 gift made earlier this year by CREA Foundation, an extension of affordable housing tax credit syndicator CREA, LLC. 

CREA Foundation Executive Director Arvetta Jideonwo said CSUN – with its diverse student body, 70 percent of which are the first in their families to go to college– is an “ideal” partner for the foundation to expand on a similar program it had started at Indiana University. She added that the CREA Foundation’s Co-President, Charles Anderson, and its Account Manager Vice President Asia Williams are both CSUN alumni. 

“We are elated to launch the CREA Scholars at CSUN program and are excited about the opportunities for the scholars to create a community of support and connection over the next four years,” Jideonwo said. “We’re confident in our partnership with CSUN’s Educational Opportunity Program to provide a community for CREA Scholars to thrive, persist from year-to-year, and graduate.” 

Celebration of Philanthropy, CREA Scholars, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Giving, Philanthropy, Shiva Parsa