色情视频

鈥淚 love to juggle.鈥�

Keep those words from Lawson Hardrick III in mind while reading about his time at 色情视频 Imperial Valley, how he got involved in his community, and how he earned a 2021 to help continue his studies.

Student government, LGBTQIA+ mental health, broadband access for underserved communities, disaster relief, volunteer work for the disadvantaged: Hardrick immersed himself in all of the above while pursuing a double major and a minor.

Now he鈥檚 in San Diego going for a master鈥檚 degree in post-secondary educational leadership at the College of Education with a goal of 鈥渉elping people find community鈥� or to build it in places where it does not yet exist.

Influenced by personal experience of transferring from community college to a university, Hardrick would like to wind up in the field of student affairs 鈥渨here I can have an impact on students,鈥� possibly back in the Imperial Valley where 鈥渞esources for students (are) just so scarce.鈥�

鈥淭here's just a lot of inflation happening with regards to tuition and fees,鈥� Hardrick said. 鈥淚t's a huge barrier for people to even think about pursuing higher education, especially at a four-year university.鈥� And it makes the community college even more important as a first step toward lifting those barriers, he said.

鈥淭o get that bachelor's degree and maybe even go further, would be the ultimate goal that I always try to motivate students for,鈥� he said.

The award recipients, announced Monday, were honored Tuesday during an online meeting of the California State University Board of Trustees鈥� Committee on Institutional Advancement. The scholarships are awarded each September to California State University students, one from each campus, who demonstrate superior academic performance, personal accomplishments and community service.

Hardrick鈥檚 award carries an $8,000 scholarship, supported by an endowment from the late trustee emeritus Murray L. Galinson and the Jewish Community Foundation. The graduate student said it provides not only welcome financial security in the move into San Diego鈥檚 high rent, but an unexpected social benefit from networking with the other awardees.

Graduate research

In his first weeks in 色情视频 Hardrick has been working with assistant professor Marissa Vasquez鈥檚 SEMILLAS Research Team, helping analyze data on experiences of transfer student participating in a research fellowship program. Vasquez appointed him managing editor of a journal for community-college scholars, citing his 鈥渋ncredible work ethic and keen attention to detail.鈥�

鈥淟awson鈥檚 naturally welcoming disposition allows him to connect easily with others, while his own life journey allows him to demonstrate authentic compassion,鈥� Vasquez wrote in a letter of recommendation.

Hardrick grew up in Imperial County鈥檚 Calexico. With a Black father, a Latinx mother and identifying as queer, he felt like an outsider, often bullied and left out of group activities. But the negative experiences had a positive impact. Without them, he said, 鈥淚 probably wouldn't have understood why inclusion is so important and why it's so important for people to feel like they are a part of something.鈥�

Hardrick entered Imperial Valley College after high school with no initial career path in mind. A decision to take a leap and continue at Southwestern College in Chula Vista sparked an interest in getting involved in student government. Then he headed back home to Imperial Valley, taking college more seriously with additional responsibilities outside of the classroom.

After earning an associate鈥檚 degree at the community college, he transferred to 色情视频 Imperial Valley, majoring in psychology and public administration with a minor in linguistics 鈥� all while continuing to fulfill additional required courses at the community college and diving into an ambitious extracurricular life.

As president of Associated Students in 2020-21, he pushed to give the Imperial County students voting representation in the University Senate, the delegate assembly at 色情视频 that sets educational policy and advises the president. He also established a student organization to provide assistance to family shelters and other nonprofits serving the disadvantaged.

He represented the American Red Cross at disaster scenes, supplying instant debit cards to families in distress, and became a board member at the county鈥檚 LGBT Resource Center to work on mental health issues. He joined the Young Leaders Advisory Council of California Forward, an economic advocacy group, and helped write its 2020 鈥�.鈥�

In San Diego, he got involved in Associated Students鈥� Graduate Student Association as vice president of social change, which also gives him a seat on the University Senate Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He is working two and prospectively three jobs.

鈥淭aking off one hat and putting on the other one, and then going back and forth, it's been interesting because I love to juggle,鈥� Hardrick said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very good learning experience so far.鈥�