By Mark Muckenfuss

Tatiana Salazar and Mariana Jimenez are this year’s recipients of the President’s Award. 

President Vanya Quiñones said the award is a way of spotlighting the best Cal State Monterey Bay has to offer. 

“The President's Awards go to students who have shown outstanding performance in academics and in their service and engagement with our Otter Raft,” Quiñones said. “The awards are an important way to recognize those students who exemplify the best of Cal State Monterey Bay, and who can be advocates for our university as they take the next step in their careers or educational journeys.”

The award recognizes two students – one undergraduate and one graduate student – who have best demonstrated the “values and commitments of CSUMB,” and who have shown themselves to be well-rounded students who have made notable contributions to university life. A GPA of 3.5 or higher is required to be considered. 

Salazar, who is in the master’s degree program for speech and language pathology, was chosen as the graduate honoree. Jimenez, a marine science major, was the undergrad winner. 

“I am pleased to honor two exemplary students with President’s Awards this spring,” Quiñones said. “We are fortunate to have two very dedicated graduates who found their strength at Cal State Monterey Bay, and will go on to make a difference in our community.”

"Mariana Jimenez’ personal story of being a first-generation student who sought a connection with wildlife through the lens of her culture struck me. I was also impressed with her engagement on campus and in the community in getting other students excited about marine science.

“She has been a great ambassador in local schools,” she continued, “and has certainly ignited an interest in STEM for future Otters.”

Jimenez, of Anaheim, said she was drawn to marine science because of her grandmother’s fascination with the ocean and the animals that lived there. 

“My grandma was always interested in the ocean,” Jimenez said. “Sharing that joy was what kept me in it. I know she’d be very proud that I actually followed this and did it.”

During her time at CSUMB, she helped bring marine science to local grade school students, introducing them to scuba by integrating it into the curriculum. She plans to continue studying marine science, doing research and working with underrepresented communities that are more highly impacted by pollution and climate change. 

Among her many endeavors at CSUMB, Jimenez was in the TRIO Student Support Services program, an experience that made an important impact on her. Not only did she benefit from the guidance and mentoring she received from the program, she turned around and reciprocated by serving others. That experience, she said was the most important part of her academic career at CSUMB.

“It was monumental to have that program to support me,” she said. “I’ve served on panels and I’ve been a mentor to some students.” 

As a master’s degree student in speech and language pathology, Salazar has worked with local schools and hospitals, helping mostly young patients with everything from stuttering issues to tracheotomy care. 

“Tatiana Salazar has shown a commitment to serving our community and furthering her discipline through her work with the CSUMB Adult Language Clinic, the Stuttering Enrichment, Advocacy and Research Circle, and the California Speech Language Hearing Association,” Quiñones said. 

Salazar, of Castro Valley, said she became interested in the speech and language pathology field at a young age when she had a cousin with Down Syndrome.

“I ended up helping him and finding a career through that,” Salazar said. 

She came to CSUMB to be part of the fledgling program’s second cohort of students. 

“I liked that it was a new program,” she said. “And the atmosphere and the personalities here kind of drew me.”

She hopes her award will bring more attention to the program.

“I think a lot of people think we’re only in schools working with kids on speech corrections,” she said. “You can also work in a hospital or a private medical practice. There are hospice centers that employ speech and language pathologists. We need so many speech pathologists that it’s crazy.”

Salazar said she hopes to move into a career working with acute pediatric care, which would largely involve tracheotomy care and patients with ventilators.  

“There’s a huge spectrum of what we do,” she said.