Design student earns national honors in month of Beach achievement
Making Waves is a monthly column that celebrates accomplishments of the CSULB community.
Design student wins Steelcase competition and Bergmeyer Scholarship
Third-year interior design student Yanira Rivas has put CSULB at the top of one of the nation's most competitive design competitions. Rivas won first place in the 2025 Steelcase NEXT Student Design Competition, outperforming 1,700 students from 89 interior design programs across the United States, Canada and Mexico — and did so as the only undergraduate finalist. Rivas was also named the 2026 Bergmeyer Scholarship recipient, a $6,000 award recognizing leadership potential in interior design, architecture and related fields. She completed her Steelcase entry alongside two other course projects in the same semester, under the mentorship of Professor Eduardo Pérez of the Department of Design. Classmate An Kida also earned honorable mention in the Steelcase competition.
Photography alumnus earns Guggenheim Fellowship and Artadia Award
Jonathan Michael Castillo ‘13 has received two prestigious national honors: a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Joyce Foundation Artadia Award from Artadia's Chicago program. Castillo, who studied art photography in the College of the Arts, works across photography, video, installation and handmade paper, often focusing on immigration, labor and community. His project "Immigrant Owned," a documentary series on immigrant-owned businesses across Chicago, has grown into a significant body of work that includes a permanent public installation at O'Hare International Airport and acquisitions by museum collections. A past guest on CSULB Alumni’s 49er Industry Chats, Castillo was recognized by jurors for his "deep sense of care and intimacy" and bringing the experiences of immigrant communities to a national stage.
Faculty honored with President's Achievement Awards
Awards for Outstanding Faculty Achievement, each of which accompanies a $10,000 prize, have been distributed in recognition of sustained excellence in teaching, service, research, creative activity, administration and student success initiatives. The 2025-26 honorees represent five colleges across campus: Banafsheh Behzad, Ming Chen, Jessica Robinson and Reo Song from the College of Business; Lindsay Pérez Huber from the College of Education; Niloofar Bavarian, Tiffany Brown, Christine Scott-Hayward and Kamiar Alaei from the College of Health & Human Services; H. Isabella Lanza and Richard Marcus from the College of Liberal Arts; Lijuan Li from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Jermie Arnold from the College of the Arts. Their work reflects the university's Beach 2030 strategic priorities.
PR students place in top 14 at national Bateman Competition
Four College of Liberal Arts students earned honorable mention in this year's Bateman Case Study Competition, placing in the top 14 of 46 teams representing public relations programs across the nation. Makenzy Bowen, team lead and director of editing; Jakki Padilla, director of research and writing; Isabela Zuniga, director of outreach and research; and Valerie Perez, director of creative, developed their campaign from November 2025 through March 2026 under the guidance of Professor Krista Coriaty and industry professional Shani Crooks. The team reached more than 10,000 key publics and extended outreach across the CSU system — a milestone the group described as significant to their work. The Bateman Competition is one of the premier student case study competitions in the public relations field.
CSULB students launch literary journal for disenfranchised voices
Darya Jafarinejad, a fourth-year creative writing student, and Christine Nader '25 have founded Wild Tongues Journal, a feminist journal in association with CSULB’s Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department dedicated to amplifying nonmainstream voices, identities and perspectives. Taking inspiration from intersectional feminist scholar Gloria Anzaldúa, the journal provides a space for work rooted in women of color and transnational feminist traditions. The inaugural Winter 2025 issue features poetry, essays, digital art and music exploring themes of resistance, identity and lived experience — including work addressing sexual violence, racism and transgender rights. Wild Tongues Journal reflects its founders' commitment to creative and intellectual expression as acts of political urgency. Submissions and readership are open to the broader campus community and beyond.
April Employee of the Month: Financial analyst John Balarosan
John Balarosan, lead financial systems analyst in the Financial Management Department, has been named CSULB's Employee of the Month for April 2026. Nominated by Mary Nguyen from Contract Services, Balarosan is recognized for his technical expertise, responsiveness and commitment to collaboration across campus. A member of the Beach community since 1996 — when he began as a parking attendant with the Research Foundation — he became a state employee in 2015 and has taken on increasingly complex responsibilities since. Colleagues describe him as a "trusted and indispensable resource" whose solutions-oriented approach empowers staff to navigate challenges independently. Balarosan was honored April 8 at Friendship Walk, joined by President Andrew Jones and Vice President of Administration and Finance Scott Apel.
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