Harvard
graduate finds home at The Beach
By
Oscar Montealegre
On-line Forty-Niner
The
man has the job that every student wants.
Students frequently see him walking with
Cal State Long Beach President Robert Maxson
while they take their daily walk through
the campus.
 Armando
Contreras, Maxson’s executive assistant,
has a job that seems attractive, but contains
an abundance of responsibilities.
“My job is very different from others because
I just don’t do one thing on a routine basis,”
Contreras said. “Everyday it is a new issue
and agenda. However, describing my job in
brief would be like I serve more as a public
relations person.”
Contreras is constantly working in collaboration
with the Associated Students Inc. He is
committed to students and makes sure students
feel comfortable talking to him on a professional
and social level.
“Armando is a very nice and friendly guy,”
said Wayne Stickney-Smith, former A.S.I.
president. “He works very well with students
and my relationship with him for the last
five years has been nothing but great.”
Danny Vivian, president of the A.S.I., also
had good things to say about Contreras.
“Armando is the coolest guy,” Vivian said.
“Because of his youth he can really relate
to students on a whole different level.
Armando is a really fun guy to talk to.
Also, he is always willing to help me and
other students out.”
Contreras is the son of Mexican immigrants
that migrated to the United States. He comes
from a large family that includes six older
brothers and two younger sisters. However,
Contreras ripped apart the stereotypes and
the obstacles during his youth by passionately
pursuing a higher education.
He enrolled into Harvard University as an
undergraduate student. At Harvard he received
his bachelor’s in both history and literature.
After his stint at Harvard he enrolled at
UC Berkeley, where he obtained his master’s
in history.
Contreras received the job when he was executive
assistant of the interim president that
served before Maxson. Then when Maxson was
appointed as the new president of CSULB,
Armando became his new executive assistant.
Contreras has been the executive assistant
of Maxson for the last nine years.
During Contreras’ free time, he enjoys going
to art galleries to view contemporary and
classic art pieces. In addition, his hobbies
consist of hanging out at the beach, reading
fiction and non-fiction books and watching
sports. What is even more intriguing is
that he enjoys extreme sports such as skydiving
and bungee jumping. However, he admitted
he doesn’t practice the latter extreme sports
on a regular basis.
CSULB’s reputation as a quality academic
school is increasing daily. Contreras sees
Cal State Long Beach heading in the right
direction.
“I envision CSULB 10 years from now maintaining
and improving its quality, and even becoming
more of a reputable school that will increase
its popularity and will be the number one
choice not only for Californians but also
to students in other states,” Contreras
said.
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