First-Generation Graduate Looks to Make a Difference

Chayan Garcia graduated from CSUDH in Spring of 2019 with a B.A. in Film, Television, and Media. She is the first person on both sides of her family to graduate from a four-year university and high school.

"I spent my first few years after high school working and traveling," said Garcia. "I studied abroad for a year and really invested in life and cultural experiences before finishing my Communications degree."

Garcia found it essential to do life in that order. "I believe curiosity and education are the two most valuable resources when used simultaneously to experience true personal growth."

So Garcia then joined the Communications Department during a "transition year."

"They were launching communications media studies as a new degree, and I wasn't entirely sure what that meant," explained Garcia.

"[The Communications Department] benefited my overall structure of communicating in a workplace."

Garcia learned lessons at CSUDH that go beyond the courses that make up a Media Studies degree. "A key lesson I learned from being at CSUDH is that it's okay to be wrong because you don't need to be the smartest person in the room. You should surround yourself with experienced people and make sure to make room for yourself," Garcia explained.

In an age of aggressive media consumerism, Garcia takes comfort in the fact that the values that were instilled in the courses she took at CSUDH can be used in the field for good.

"My goal as a Media Studies major isn't necessarily to be on a set for 15 hours. It's being able to pick up a camera confidently, record a podcast and navigate modern technology's growth while being culturally aware of my surroundings," said Garcia. "I love that students are being taught that media doesn't have to be an evil tool. It's entirely capable of being a platform that is used for whatever we invest into it."