Student Success

BY Emily Cain

Beach Forensics team wins national tournament and more

Diego Flores and Curtis Ortega, a policy debate duo for CSULB’s speech and debate team, also known as Beach Forensics, put together a historic season over the past year.

The duo earned first place at the American Debate Association, where Diego also won first-place speaker and Debater of the Year and Curtis earned fifth-place speaker. They also qualified as semifinalists at the Cross Examination Debate Association, where Diego again took home first-place speaker and Debater of the Year and Curtis earned third-place speaker. At the National Debate Tournament, the duo qualified as quarterfinalists.

They credit much of their success to their preparation and flexibility. While getting their arguments ready for major tournaments, Flores and Ortega would adjust their strategy based on the preferred style of the team they were facing.

“As we figured out the trends that each team decided to follow, we’d continue refining the types of arguments we wanted to do,” he says.“If they were able to create arguments against our position, they wouldn’t be able to create them again.”

As a team, Flores and Ortega maintained a critical race theory lens, prioritizing the perspectives of marginalized communities in the structure of their positions. They weren’t sure how well that approach would work in the American Debate Association national tournament—but it was one of their best showings of the year.

“It was a very traditional tournament where [typically] conservative-leaning arguments win,” Flores says. “I didn’t think it would be done.”

For Flores, the Cross Examination Debate Association national tournament was probably his most significant win of the year, as it represented a full-circle moment for him.

“That was the tournament I felt influenced by the most as a high schooler,” he says. “Every single person who won firstplace speaker, those were the people I looked up to.”

CLA Outstanding Baccalaureate winners reflect on their time at CSULB as they look toward the future

Every year, the College of Liberal Arts names its top graduates. We caught up with the 2024 honorees before they set off on their postgrad journeys.

Raya Torres has a desire to learn that not only got her through a challenging start at CSULB, but also guided her to outstanding academic success during her four years at the university.

As a freshman in 2020, Torres began her higher education online—and on the other side of the globe. Living in the Philippines, Torres had to log on to her classes between midnight and 5 a.m. throughout her entire first year of college. Despite this undeniably difficult experience, Torres excelled.

“I’ve always loved being challenged by difficulties,” Torres says. “I feel a lot more fulfilled and accomplished once I get through them. So, despite everything that I went through during the pandemic—trying to be awake while my little sister was asleep in the bed next to me, trying to be as quiet as possible, and all that—I think I was able to get through most of it through just wanting to persevere.”

Along with her thirst for learning, Torres attributes her ability to adapt to the support of her professors and family, who she remained close to after moving to the United States in 2021.

“One of my biggest constants was my family, so having moved 7,000 miles away from them and staying in a place long-term without them was definitely a shift,” Torres says. “I felt very supported by them regardless.” After discovering she won the Baccalaureate Award, Torres immediately

called her mom, who quickly picked up the call, even with the nearly 15-hour time difference.

At CSULB, Torres majored in journalism and minored in psychology, a combination of studies that helped her develop valuable interpersonal skills for her career path. She holds extreme gratitude for her mentor, assistant professor Jesus Ayala, who has helped her grow professionally and personally.

During her time at The Beach, Torres contributed to nearly all the student publications, and she eventually became the first executive producer of Beach TV News. In 2021, she co-founded the student chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association for CSULB and remained involved in on-campus clubs throughout her time at the university.

Post-graduation, Torres plans on pursuing a career in broadcast journalism at a major news network and hopes to one day be an international correspondent.

For JJ Mueller-Dombois, CSULB was the obvious choice. As a Long Beach local, they found the transition to university easy, thanks to the school’s proximity to home and its active community engagement.

Starting in their freshman year, Mueller-Dombois was involved with multiple on-campus clubs, especially those geared toward psychology students. They served as president of the Psychology Student

Association, vice president of Psi Chi, a board member of the Psychology Transfer Student Association, and a peer mentor for the Psychology Resource Office.

Mueller-Dombois’s fascination with psychology started in high school and grew through their studies as a psychology major and creative writing minor at CSULB. During their time at the university, MuellerDombois was closely guided by faculty.

“One of the most enriching discussions I’ve ever had in my 20 years of life was when I got to sit down with Dr. Ahrens, Dr. Illingworth, Professor Tuttle, and Dr. Miller about their careers,” Mueller-Dombois says. “Each of the people I spoke to helped in a different way. I got some advice about what to avoid and then what to look toward.”

Mueller-Dombois was overwhelmed to be recognized with the Baccalaureate Award. “It was a very surreal experience, and I never thought I would be in that position,” Mueller-Dombois says. “I think that even despite being engaged in your academic community, you never really know what other people are doing or what their academic achievements are, so it’s a very bizarre and out-of-body experience to be one of the people being recognized.”

In the fall, Mueller-Dombois will be attending Claremont Graduate University’s doctorate program in psychology. They plan to earn their master’s degree and one day become a professor at CSULB or another CSU, where they hope to create a research lab focused on narrative media.

CLA’s Best Master’s Thesis Awards go to students in history and geography

Every year, the College of Liberal Arts recognizes graduate students with the Best Master’s Thesis awards. We spoke with this year’s winners about their research and plans for the future.

After her son suggested she finish her college education as a reentry student, Julie Haltom earned her bachelor’s degree from CSULB, where she double majored in geography and American studies. Following the guidance of her undergrad professors, Haltom continued at the university to earn her master’s degree in history.

Her thesis, titled “Five Acres of Freedom: Jackrabbit Homesteading in the Mojave Desert, 1938-1976,” focuses on small-tracked homesteads in California and how the motivations and attitudes of their residents evolved throughout the federal initiative to make use of the land.

“My father’s family were homesteaders,” she says. “His grandfather emigrated here, got a homestead in Nebraska, then moved to Colorado, which is why I ended up writing my thesis on frontier stuff.

“But, I’ve just always kind of loved it. I’m interested in why things happen and the people who have moved our country forward or backward.”

Haltom’s time in graduate school was no simple task, but it was made possible by the careful understanding of her thesis committee. Over the past year, Haltom juggled working on her thesis, working as a writing tutor for the history department,

and caring for her mother, who was recently diagnosed with dementia, all with a long commute to and from campus.

“All of them really took the time to work with me on various things to make sure that I was a better historian, a better teacher, and a better writer—and also just that I was thriving,” she says. “Dr. Luhr, in particular, always made sure I wasn’t overloaded and I was taking time for myself, which was wonderful.”

Currently, Haltom is working on turning the first chapter of her awardwinning thesis into an article. She is also a lecturer in the CSULB history department.

“I want to help other people find their path,” she says. “So I figured I’d do that through history, which I love.”

Mary Venegas, a first-generation college student, earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science and policy from CSULB, where she also minored in geography. After two years serving in the Peace Corps post-graduation, Venegas returned to continue her education at The Beach and earned her master’s degree in geography.

As an environmentalist, Venegas was set on pursuing an education that aligned with her values, beginning in her undergrad years and extending into her career.

“I always focused on what nature meant to me, and for my mental health especially,” she says. “Something that I used to cope was being in nature, whether it was having plants in my room or something like that, and I think that was super important. Even during my downtime, I always found myself going to the river or being underneath a tree. To me, that meant so much.”

Venegas’s stint in the Peace Corps, in Jamaica, was inspired by a high school teacher. It was this two-year experience that led to her award-winning thesis, “Vulnerabilities and Resilience to Weather Events: Woodford Saint Andrew, Jamaica.”

“I got to learn more about what climate justice was and what vulnerabilities were— who was suffering and why? It was really nice to be there and observe,” she says.

While pursuing her master’s degree, she learned how much environmental science and policy intersect with geography. “[Geography] is not just about maps and capitals,” she says. “There’s physical geography, there’s sociology, social justice, and land-use planning. I think for me, it was about understanding humans and the environment.”

Venegas remains grateful to her support system and advising team for leading her to success in graduate school.

“I want to sincerely thank Dr. Hytrek, my thesis chair, for being a consistent source of support and guidance during my graduate studies,” she says. “I am also grateful to Dr. House-Peters and Dr. Sidorov, my two committee members, for their insightful feedback and encouragement. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Heliodoro, and my son, LoLo Sigala, for their constant encouragement.”

Venegas is now working as an executive director for her local chamber of commerce, where she focuses on youth development and education, while also teaching online for a high school and community college in rural Iowa. She hopes to one day work for the Environmental Protection Agency.