´ó·¢

Yomira Zamora

Criminology and Justice Studies

• About Yomira and her accomplishments

  Yomira was born and raised in an empowering community in Downtown San Diego known as Barrio Logan. She has always been a shining star in the classroom and in her community. She not only dedicated her time to the books but also invested in bettering her community by challenging the misconstrued stereotypes imposed on the Chicanas in her community.

  Through her adolescent years she endured many hardships as she began to slowly become conscious of her identity as a Chicana. She witnessed people in her community being funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline where she was introduced to the concepts of juvenile courts, juvenile hall, and probation agencies. She didn’t have the language or knowledge at that time to address these inequitable social conditions but since then she has set out to tackle hierarchical systems of oppression.

  During her high school years, her father was deported to Mexico and her family would travel back and forth to reunite. This struggle to remain as a single family unit motivated her to stay disciplined to continue to fight for her education as it was challenged multiple times. Through these lived experiences she was inspired to pursue a career in law and politics. For her undergraduate career, Criminology and Justice Studies became her avenue to advocate for historically marginalized communities and youth of color.

  She has dedicated her free time to give back to her community by interning at the Juvenile Detention Facility, as well as the Girls Rehabilitation Facility to be a mentor for those young womxn in need of support. She is also an after school teacher working with predominately youth of color in preparing them for college.

  Through her trajectory at Cal State San Marcos, Yomira has been an active voice in and out of the classroom. As Vice President of Student and University Affairs in Associated Students Inc. (ASI), she founded Lobby Corps for students interested in politics and who have a passion to lobby for higher education legislation and policy. She also authored a resolution that was passed unanimously by the ASI Board of Directors stating support of the implementation of Project Rebound to help support formerly incarcerated students on campus.

  As a first-generation Chicana to attend a higher education institution (8% of the Latinx population to graduate with a bachelor’s degree), she takes pride in unapologetically embracing her culture and trying to be a role model for other womxn of color – to push past the stereotypes and follow their dreams, regardless of how real the struggle gets.

Louis Adamsel

Communication

• About Louis and his accomplishments
  Louis is a first generation college student majoring in Communication and minoring in Ethnic Studies. During his time at ´ó·¢, Louis was involved with some of the early planning for the Black Student Center on campus and was one of the first members of ´ó·¢â€™s Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Leadership is important to his fraternity, so in Louis’ senior year, he campaigned and subsequently elected president for Associated Students Incorporated (student government). An important part of Louis’ time at ´ó·¢ has been his work with Associated Students, Inc. and being a representative of all students and providing a voice and insight to the needs of students. He had the opportunity to work with the VP of Student Affairs and the University President. Louis also sat on various committees that help support shared governance on campus. Some of the particular issues Louis has dealt with were student food insecurity, undocumented student success and working on a taskforce for African American and Native American student retention. One of his most memorable experiences was working as a mentor in the Peer Mentoring Program. Louis also serves in California’s Army National Guard.

Varavit Chinnapong

Psychological Science

• About Varavit and his achievements
  Varavit is a Psychological Science major who was involved with many organizations on campus including Psi Chi, Tukwut Leadership Circle and Alpha Kappa Psi. He enjoys psychological research and served as a research assistant for the Clinical Health Psychology Lab under the guidance of Dr. Kim Pulvers. He has also spent some time helping Dr. Nancy Caine and Dr. Vogel-Trautt with their research projects. Furthermore, he works part-time as a Human Resources and Accounting Assistant. Outside of school and work, he spends his free time travelling with family, playing sports and exploring the outdoors. Varavit will continue his studies as a graduate student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at San Jose State University. This program will help provide the foundation of his career goal of becoming an organizational development consultant working alongside businesses in the Silicon Valley. He ultimately wants to implement innovative business practices that will help employees thrive and solve everyday workplace issues.