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Rodriguez honored for outstanding achievement

An aspiring physician and medical researcher from CSUMB has been chosen for a California State University Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Jason Rodriguez, a senior biology major from the San Fernando Valley, will be honored on Sept. 8 at the CSU board meeting in Long Beach.

The Trustees’ Awards are the highest recognition of student achievement in the California State University system and are accompanied by a scholarship. Awardees must demonstrate superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need.

“These trustees’ scholars are leaders on their campus, in the community and among their peers,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy White.“Their stories of drive, commitment and perseverance – often overcoming great odds – serve as testaments to the indomitable spirit of CSU students.”

Jason is a senior at CSUMB, majoring in biology and preparing for graduate school. He works in the university’s Academic Skills Achievement Program, where he tutors other students. He felt a great deal of pressure to succeed in college as a first-generation student from a single-parent home. A lifetime of financial struggles motivated him to prepare for a career that will allow him to help support his mother while also being able to help other people. To pursue his passion for using science to improve the lives of others, Jason plans to pursue a combined M.D.-Ph.D. program, a goal solidified by his summer research experience at Dartmouth College’s School of Medicine. He wants to be a practicing physician who also does bio-medical research. He hopes to attend UCLA or UC San Francisco. Approximately 460,000 students attend the 23 campuses of the CSU system.

Only one student from each campus is honored with the Trustees’ Award. The program began three decades ago with scholarships endowed by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Since then, the generosity of current and emeritus CSU trustees and many other supporters has allowed the program to expand.

CSU Trustees’ Scholars are nominated by their campus presidents.