October 21, 2022

In this issue…

• Current News
• Family Updates
• Personnel Updates

Current News

First-Year Experience connects new Lancers to campus life

The transition from high school to college can be daunting as students leave behind familiarity to embark on their next journey.

At California Baptist University, the First-Year Experience (FYE) course was carefully created to make this process seamless, so new Lancers can transition easier to campus life.

The semester-long course is required for all first-semester freshmen and includes campus information, activities and meaningful discussions to identify the needs of new students at CBU. The course also covers students’ spiritual journey, emotional and physical wellness, and time and money management.

Activities include movie and game nights, hikes and dinners. FYE leaders and students also connect by getting coffee, visiting the Recreation Center or shopping together.

Courses are run by two FYE student leaders and classes have approximately 25 freshmen.

First-Year Experience exists to welcome and connect all first-year students to CBU’s campus and culture, said Taylor Rilling, assistant director of new student programs.

“The First-Year Experience course is for freshmen to take as an introduction to CBU resources and create connections with other students,” Rilling said. “This program seeks to support students as they navigate the transition to college.”

Victoria Bucy, a civil engineering senior and FYE leader, said FYE greatly impacted her experience at CBU.

“As a freshman, FYE truly helped me get plugged in with everything that happens on campus,” Bucy said. “Being an FYE leader has allowed me to meet other students outside of my major and form connections with people who love to serve and give back as much as I do.”

Involvement and connections start during a student’s first semester on campus, Rilling said.

“We see time and time again that the more a student is involved and connected at CBU, the more likely they are to not only have a positive college experience but also graduate with a degree,” Rilling said. “From Welcome Weekend, FYE class and other campus events [Community Life] hosts, we hope that students engage outside the classroom in order to have a successful time during their CBU journey.”

Taira Hall, a biology sophomore, met one of her best friends during FYE.

“I loved FYE so much that I am now an FYE leader myself, and it is such a rewarding experience to be here and to help freshmen through their first semester because we all know it is not easy coming into a university,” Hall said.

Elisabeth Mather, an elementary education freshman, said she was nervous getting the help she needed because she was coming to CBU from out of state.

“FYE taught me that there are resources everywhere and has also showed me how easy it is to use them,” Mather said.

Allison Holliday, a public relations senior and FYE leader, said FYE has been incredibly fulfilling as a student leader and follower of Christ.

“At the end of the day, my hope is that students come out of the class feeling comfortable navigating their first year with all the changes, but also [that they] look back and recognize how their participation in FYE and forming meaningful relationships will benefit them in the long run,” Holliday said.

 

Alumnus scientist selected as Hanna Gray Fellow

Gabriel Muhire Gihana (’13) was recently named a 2022 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The institute seeks to increase diversity in biomedical science by recruiting and retaining early-career scientists from groups currently underrepresented in the life sciences. Twenty-five fellows receive funding for their postdoctoral training and may continue to receive funding during their early faculty years. In total, fellows may receive up to $1.4 million each over eight years.

In 2020, Gihana had also received a postdoctoral fellowship from both the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. The four-year national award encourages young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing funds to work on innovative and high risk projects.

Gihana came to California Baptist University in 2009 on a scholarship from a partnership between the government of Rwanda and CBU. He studied biochemistry and molecular biology. After graduating, he went to Indiana University for doctoral studies in biology. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

We asked him questions about receiving the honor and his research.

What does it mean to be named a 2022 Hanna Gray Fellow?
I came to this country from a relatively disadvantaged background, and I had to work very hard to succeed academically and gain exposure to research when I was still an undergraduate student at CBU. After CBU, I pursued research through a Ph.D. program at Indiana University. Being selected as a Hanna Gray Fellow gave me a gratifying moment to reflect back on my journey as a student and a researcher, and it brought me a great sense of honor and satisfaction. This fellowship provides significant and long-term financial support to my research, which not only boosts my confidence but also gives me a great opportunity to plan my transition from the postdoctoral position to the research faculty position.

Explain your research.
I study how the shape of human cells affects their potential to become cancerous. I focus on a cancer-causing gene called RAS in pancreatic and lung cancers.

What attracted you to cancer research?
My Ph.D. research was in basic cell biology, and I wanted to switch to biomedical research for my postdoctoral phase. Although we continue to see promising therapeutic breakthroughs, cancer is a very complex disease that we still have a lot to learn about in hopes for even better therapies. I realized that the cellular features that I investigated during my Ph.D. were poorly understood in cancer biology, and yet cancer is a cellular disease. For my postdoctoral research, I was fortunate to join a team of interdisciplinary experts who were doing cancer research in areas that intersected with my Ph.D. research.

What is your future goal?
My goal is to continue to do cancer research in an academic setting. I am also passionate about helping younger students, especially those from Africa, gain competent research experience. A few years ago, I cofounded AFRISNET, a nonprofit organization with the goal of exposing African students to modern research.

How did CBU help prepare you for these endeavors?
As an undergraduate student at CBU nine years ago, I was fortunate to have encouraging professors who not only realized my academic interests but also pushed me to seek research exposure outside CBU. I think these professors, especially Dr. Dennis Bideshi (professor of biology), made all the difference. I still tell them today that I owe it all to them; they have remained great friends.

 

Career fair brings engineering employers to campus

The Career Center at California Baptist University hosted an Engineering Fair on Oct. 12 in the Project Hall of the Dennis and Carol Troesh Engineering Building.

The fair featured over 50 employers in search of qualified applicants in the engineering field to fill various job and internship opportunities. More than 30 alumni came as representatives for their companies. Additionally, more than 320 students attended the event, making it the largest attended career fair to date, said Lisa Singer, director of the Career Center.

Ahead of the fair we asked a few of the employers what they look for in a future employee and what stands out about CBU applicants.

Adriane Flores, human resources recruiter, Sorenson Engineering

What are you looking for in an applicant?
We are looking for candidates with a desire to learn, humility and a sincere interest in precision manufacturing. As our manufacturing processes are unique, both to our industry and relative to U.S.-based manufacturing, engineers coming out of school need to be willing to learn hands-on and ask lots of questions.

What is a quality that stands out to you?
Humility and honesty are the key traits that we are always screening for.

Why do you come to CBU to search for applicants?
We have been recruiting from CBU for some time now and have always been able to find excellent candidates who exemplify the principles we’ve stated above. We have extraordinary talent at Sorenson Engineering, and we appreciate our partnership with CBU to help us identify that talent in the past and into the future!

Richard Quesada, territory manager, Abbott

What are you looking for in an applicant?
We are looking for a strong team player. Someone with the ability and drive to educate themselves, with the help of the team, to be better than our competition. We are looking for self-starters and someone who is willing to go the extra mile so that our customers and patients feel the difference between us and our competition.

What is a quality that stands out to you?
Drive! That is something that is rarely taught. People either have it or they don’t. It’s a character trait that separates individuals who want to accomplish a goal.

Why do you come to CBU to search for applicants?
We come to CBU for the people. The individuals who come out of CBU are real. They have been taught something you don’t see everywhere — morals and character.

Capt. Austin Lenick, U.S. Marine Corps

What are you looking for in an applicant?
We are looking for well-rounded individuals who want to lead others in a multitude of work environments. We not only want to create great leaders but great people who lead a life of servant leadership and community support.

What is a quality that stands out to you?
Confidence in abilities and an eagerness to learn. Knowing personal strengths and weaknesses and seeking self-improvement shows an eagerness to learn and continue to grow personally and professionally.

Why do you come to CBU to search for applicants?
We go to CBU because we know that the high quality of person and standard are equal among all students. CBU students are not only academically driven but they are also driven to serve each other and their communities.

 

Hispanic Heritage Fiesta celebrates culture

California Baptist University held its annual Hispanic Heritage Fiesta on Oct. 11. This event, scheduled during Hispanic Heritage Month, aimed to provide an opportunity for Hispanic students to express themselves and share their culture with fellow CBU students.

“This event is to educate, bring awareness and celebrate cultures within the Hispanic heritage,” said Emilee Thomas, assistant director of campus activities. “We have partnered with our student body to create a fun event that celebrates our Hispanic culture on campus.”

To prep for the event, Community Life connected with Latino students on campus to ensure the event accurately represents the Hispanic community at CBU. Eric Schmidt, a junior software engineering major, was one of the Community Life interns involved in planning the event.

“We put a lot of time, preparation and thought into this event because it means a lot,” Schmidt said. “It’s an event where we celebrate culture and history, something that is super important to me and to a lot of others on the team.”

Having conversations with Latino students on campus about their culture was a vital part of the process.

“We were able to have some really good conversations about what they would love to have here … to make them feel at home,” Schmidt said. “I think that’s the goal: to make a lot of our Hispanic students on campus feel at home.”

Schmidt said that the planning team settled on three aspects of Hispanic culture to highlight: food, music and people. At the event, students tried food from many different Latin American countries, participated in salsa dancing, listened to music and made arts and crafts inspired by Hispanic culture.

Schmidt said he hoped Latino students see that the CBU community cherishes their culture and will have the opportunity to connect with other Latino students. For non-Latino students, he would like this event to provide some insight into and understanding of Hispanic culture.

“I’m looking forward mostly to seeing students’ reactions to the event and to seeing students smile, especially the Hispanic students, and to know they feel at home,” Schmidt said.

Ultimately, the event is to foster connections and encourage understanding of different cultural backgrounds, especially as CBU grows, Thomas said.

“For this event, we want to educate, bring awareness to and celebrate Hispanic cultures on our campus,” Thomas said. “As we continue to grow in our diversity, we want to make sure that our student population is being seen.”

 

Family Updates

Dr. S. Jeannette Guignard, professor of organizational leadership, Dr. Cammy Purper, professor of education, and Dr. A. Greg Bowden, professor of organizational leadership, presented their work on a new model for interpersonal collaboration at the International Leadership Association 24^th Global Conference Virtual Event on Oct. 6.  Their presentation was titled Interpersonal Collaboration: The Mapping of a Model.

 

 

Dr. Joshua Knabb, professor of psychology, was interviewed by Dr. Eric Johnson on Houston Christian University’s Think About It podcast (Oct. 3) on how to draw from the Christian tradition to conduct psychological research.

 

 

 

 

Christopher Kern, associate professor photography, and three 2022 alumni—Raymond Alva, Alicia Berardelli, and Ashley Chruszcz—spoke at the virtual SPE West x Southwest Student Showcase on Oct. 6. They talked on their work, photographic process and experience as undergraduate students.

 

 

 

Dr. Thomas Frederick, professor of psychology, Dr. Scott Dunbar, associate professor of human resource management, and Dr. Yvonne Thai, professor of sociology, created a new website for the purposes of helping pastors cope with burnout. It is called Center for Pastoral Renewal.

 

 

 

Dr. Mary Ann Pearson, professor of communication studies, presented a research paper at the International Leadership Association online conference on Oct. 6. The title of the paper was Inspiring Wisdom through Mentoring and Leadership in a Student Publication Team Setting.

 

 

 

 

Dr. S. Jeannette Guignard, professor of organizational leadership, presented at the International Leadership Association Global Conference (virtual) on Oct. 7. The presentation was titled Mindful Leadership: Enhancing Workplace Climate and Employee Wellbeing.

 

 

 

Dr. Riste Simnjanovski, professor of public administration, and Dr. Kenneth Minesinger, professor of law, published an article on Bitcoin Magazine titled D.C. Vs. Michael Saylor: Tax Fraud Or Another Political Attack Against Bitcoin? (Oct. 4).

 

 

 

 

Dr. Thomas Frederick, professor of psychology, was interviewed for a London Lyceum podcast (Sept. 28). The discussion was on integrating Christianity and counseling.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Virgo Handojo, professor of psychology, made several presentations in July. He presented research findings titled A Correlational Research and Biblical Reflection on Love and Inter Cultural Relationship for the Creative Family Counseling Institute in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 2. He presented a workshop on Love, Spirituality and Happiness: Research Findings at the 17th Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Salatiga, Indonesia, on July 6. Additionally, he presented a seminar on Developing Resilient Self, Family and School for the Jakarta teachers’ conference in Indonesia on July 9.

 

 

Dr. James Lu, professor of English, published an article in Academic Perspectives, titled Two Tales of a City: An Ethnic and Cultural Study (Vol. 15, December 2021). Additionally he co-authored an article, Virginia Woolf’s “Between the Acts:” A Case Study of Trauma Theory, in The Journal of Social Sciences (September 2022).

 

 

 

CBU’s photography program hosted a photography workshop for community college and high school photography educators and students on Oct. 8. Thirty participants came from High Desert, Murrieta Valley, Perris and Riverside. The workshop was led by CBU faculty and educational partners from Canon USA and Hahnemühle Paper.

 

 

 

Dr. John Marselus, professor of aviation science, presented at the annual University Aviation Association meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He spoke on Safety on the Flightline and on Implementation of a Safety Management System. He also visited the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he provided input to research and development initiatives currently within the Department of Defense. Marselus is a retired colonel from the Air Force with over 3,000 fighter hours.

 

 

 

 

Cathy Letherer, associate professor of physician assistant studies, and Mary Ann Stahovich, assistant professor of physician assistant studies, presented a research poster at the national PA Education Association convention in San Diego on Oct. 12-15. The poster was Bad News Delivery using Telemedicine – Is It Bad?

 

 

 

Four aviation science students attended the Champions of Flight March Air Reserve Base dinner at the March Air Museum on Oct. 14. The students — Nola Samuels, Kate Ahlberg, Seth Guthrie and Patrick Shaneck — met Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, who was being honored. A donor gave the tickets to the Department of Aviation Science.

 

 

 

CBU received several awards at the Public Relations Society of America, Inland Empire Chapter’s Polaris Awards ceremony in Redlands on Oct. 20. The Marketing and Communication division earned three: a Polaris Award for Audiovisual – Video Long Form: Breaking the Silence; a Capella Award for Magazine, Newsletter or Periodical: The Roundtable, Summer 2021; and a Capella for Writing: Crossing the Finish Line. Lancer Public Relations and CBU PRSSA received a Polaris for Public Relations for the campaign The Shadow Days. Student Hannah Tudor received a Polaris in Marketing for the ASCBU campaign titled California Baptist University stress relief week.

Personnel Updates