Dean's Award

DEAN'S AWARD WINNER 2015

Carlos Rosas

We are very pleased to announce the Dean's Award winner for 2015, Carlos Rosas.

Carlos will graduate in May with a degree in Psychology and upon doing so he will be the first in his family to earn a Bachelor’s degree. When Carlos was young his parents were farmworkers who dreamed of providing a better life for their children. After graduating from high school Carlos worked full-time while earning an Associate’s degree in Liberal Studies from Mira Costa College. Upon transferring to CSUSM he was introduced to research by Dr. Heike Mahler who invited Carlos to work in her research lab. After learning how to code and collect data scientifically Carlos did not simply sign on to existing research projects being carried out by others, but designed and implemented his own research project instead. This project is very dynamic and stands to make a significant contribution to the field of social psychology. The project examines the mental health effects of intra- versus inter-group discrimination among Latinos. Once completed and published the project will be the first quantitative study to analyze the prevalence and effects of intra- group discrimination among Latinos.

In addition to winning recognition and multiple awards for his innovative research, Carlos has also been on the CHABSS Dean List each semester, been awarded the prestigious Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Fellowship, earned a competitive summer internship with the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Program at Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), won a full travel award to the Emory University STEM Symposium, received Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in the Sciences (SACNAS) and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), and most recently was offered the Abraham Lincoln Fellowship at the University of Illinois Chicago for graduate study in psychology.

Carlos’ service contributions to the university and the local community are also exemplary. He currently serves as the president of the CSUSM chapter of SACNAS and in this role has organized workshops to help minority undergraduates who plan to apply for graduate study. He has also helped lead this chapter’s efforts to plan and run college-preparatory workshops at local high schools for college-bound minority students. Further service to the local community includes Carlos’ work as a founding member of the Human Rights Council of Oceanside. The goal of this organization is to educate local immigrant communities about their civil and human rights. As immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, are a vulnerable population in great need of information and education about their legal rights Carlos work in this area is especially noteworthy.

 Dr. Heike Mahler describes him as “easily one of the top 2-3 students” with whom she has worked in the past 30 years. Dr. Keith Trujillo gives Carlos his highest recommendation and notes that Carlos “will undoubtedly be a leader in the field,” while Dr. Kimberly D’Anna-Hernandez describes Carlos as that rare student whom once he or she comes along “bypasses all your expectations.”

We wish Carlos success and best wishes as he continues his education and research in his Ph.D. program this Fall. Congratulations!