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Alumni
Association to award grants to students
By
Kara Ogushi
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
Cal
State Long Beach's Alumni Association will
be hosting its second annual Alumni Grants
Program Opportunity Drawing at this year's
Homecoming on March 5.
The
Alumni Association is in its 14th year at
CSULB and has awarded thousands of dollars
to programs on campus.
"The
awards are given on a competitive basis
to campus departments and programs that
benefits students and the university,"
said Gay Arakawa, executive director of
the CSULB Alumni Association. "In some
cases, the awards have been for equipment
that enables students to perform or experience
hands-on applications. In others, it may
support a conference that students can attend
to broaden their understanding of a given
topic or subject."
One
of the recipients of this award is Kim Anthony,
a marine technician, who said that the Alumni
Association has been very supportive of
her work.
"Having
just started, I needed help getting the
program running to my specifications and
the Alumni Association was very supportive
of that. Now under new management, the marine
lab is running stronger than ever and I
wouldn't have been able to do everything
without the help of the AA," Anthony
said. "The Marine Program, a division
of the Department of Biological Sciences,
continues to grow by the number of students
enrolling as marine biology majors and by
reputation statewide. Ours is the strongest
marine program in the CSU system."
The
drawing's first prize is a seven day Caribbean
Cruise from Florida or New Orleans and roundtrip
airfare for two, which was donated by Sea
Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines. This
is estimated to be valued at $4,600.
The
second prize is four tickets to the Pageants
of the Masters and dinner for four at Tivoli
Terrace with a special behind the scenes
presentation. The final prize is an Epson
Picture Mate photo printer donated by Epson
America, Inc.
Drawing
tickets cost $5 each or five tickets can
be purchased for $20 and the winners do
not need to be present at the drawing to
win.
For
more information or to find ticket sellers
on campus, contact Tony Alves in the Alumni
Relations office at (562) 985-7014.
Contrary
to its name, the Alumni Association does
not just benefit those who have graduated
from CSULB. Dr. Hamid Rahai, professor of
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering explains
how students in his department have benefited
from the awards.
"Every
semester many students use the new equipment
in laboratory experiments and their projects.
Many of the past, current and future students
have and will use this equipment and thus
hundreds of students have benefited from
these grants," Rahai said.
Current
students may feel left out from the drawing
since the awards are only given to campus
programs and departments. However, Henry
Dubois, associate dean, reminds students
that the programs that are granted the awards
serve the students of CSULB.
"Students
should know that our recent and distant
graduates care about them and want to do
something extra to enhance their education
at CSULB.
The
association has been responsible over the
years for countless enrichment initiatives
like this one that have impacted many students,"
Dubois said.
Arakawa
wants students to know that even though
they are not currently alumni they will
be someday and she hopes that they will
join the Alumni Association.
"Although
students may not realize it, but they are
'alumni in residence.' This means that as
students, they are training for their life
after college and the opportunities their
future alma mater can offer them,"
Arakawa said. "But more importantly,
we hope that they will consider how they
can give back for the opportunities, experience,
and education they received at The Beach,
and assist future generations of students."
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