Alum News

Spring Events

• Party in the Park - Our 10th anniversary was very hot and very successful! More than 730 people enjoyed samplings from 50 different wineries. Attendees also enjoyed grilled sausages and assorted hors d'oeuvres while browsing auction items and listening to Jazz Festival sound checks. The event, in partnership with the Bakersfield Wine Society, raised more than $10,000 for the Alumni Scholarship Fund and Alumni Park improvements. We'll see you at next year's Party!

• Legislative Day - Alumni and administrators joined the hundreds of CSU representatives on March 20 at the CSU Legislative Day in Sacramento to promote initiatives supporting the CSU and our students. After visiting the legislators, an alumni reception was held at the Sacramento Convention Center to relax and socialize.

• Grad Fair - The Runner Bookstore and the Alumni Association held Grad Fair for those who planned to celebrate their graduation in June 2006. The event lasted fours days - including the Antelope Valley and the College of the Canyons EUD campuses. Seniors could purchase their caps and gowns, class rings, diploma frames, get information on commencement, and those who purchased alumni memberships got a free license plate frame.

Spring Volunteers

• Freshman Day - Fifteen alumni volunteers helped at this year's Freshman Day Orientation by giving tours and offering advice in a panel discussion for our Class of 2010.
High School Parties - Volunteers also met incoming students at their high schools by attending pizza parties with CSUB's outreach office to share their CSUB stories.

• Athletics Spring Barbecue - Forty alumni volunteers helped serve another record crowd for the Spring Barbecue. More than 3,400 people were served their Pepsi, beans and salsa with a smile from an alumni volunteer.

• Commencement - Alumni also came out to support the Class of 2006 at the June commencement. Twenty-seven volunteers sold flowers and cameras to family and friends at the four ceremonies. With their help, the ceremonies were filled with flowers, and proceeds benefited the Alumni Association. Alumni also attended the Antelope Valley graduation reception honoring the new graduates in Lancaster. To celebrate the CSUB-AV class, we handed out an alumni pin to each graduate.

Activist alumnus meets Lance Armstrong's mother

Thanks to his work in the community, CSUB alumnus, current student and local cancer survivor Rudy Hernandez ('01, BA Communications) got the opportunity to share the spotlight with one of his role models.

Hernandez was a guest speaker at Hoffmann Hospice's 12th annual "Voices of Inspiration" dinner and event raffle where Linda Armstrong Kelly, mother of seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, was the keynote speaker. The event was held in May at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The fundraising event makes it possible for Hoffmann Hospice to continue caring for Kern County's terminally ill and their families. "I think the work hospices do goes overlooked in a community," Hernandez said. "This shows how hard and how much they care to never turn away a terminally ill patient, and raise money for their nonprofit efforts."

Hernandez was diagnosed with stage-three testicular cancer in April 2004 when he was 28 years old. At the time he was a television director for a local news station. Since undergoing surgery and chemotherapy he has dedicated his time and efforts to helping the community, and even has changed his career. He is currently a second-year graduate student in the social work program at CSUB and plans to become an oncology social worker.

In addition to his volunteer efforts, Hernandez has worked with 32nd District Assemblyman Kevin McCarthy and Kaiser Permanente to designate October as Testicular Cancer Awareness Month in California. Through Hernandez's effort Kaiser Permanente in Kern County will now begin encouraging men to conduct self-examinations similar to what women are encouraged to do about breast cancer. He has worked vigorously in the community spreading the importance of awareness.

Gretchen Daughtery, external affairs and event specialist for Hoffmann Hospice said, "I remembered reading about him in the paper and seeing him on TV and I immediately wanted him to be part of our event. He has lived and breathed the very experience that our 'Voices of Inspiration' featured speaker lived. I thought he would be the perfect person to introduce Linda Armstrong Kelly - and I think it was a really special opportunity for both of them to meet each other."