Friday - May 19, 2023

6:00 p.m. - Undergraduate Ceremony

Contents

Program

Platform Party

Commencement Speaker

College of Health, Human Services and Nursing

College of Natural & Behavioral Sciences 

Program

PRESENTATION OF COLORS AND NATIONAL ANTHEM

Dr. Michael E. Spagna
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs

CSU Dominguez Hills ROTC Color Guard

Mr. Jeremy Sarmiento
Music

WELCOME AND PLATFORM PARTY INTRODUCTION

Dr. Thomas A. Parham
President

INTRODUCTION OF STUDENT SPEAKER

Dr. James Hill
Chair, Academic Senate

STUDENT SPEAKER

Mr. Obioha Ogbonna
MS, Cyber Security

INTRODUCTION OF KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Michael E. Spagna
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AND ALUMNI PINNING

Mr. Franco Vega
Founder / CEO, RightWay Foundation

RECOGNITION OF HONORS RECIPIENTS

Dr. Michael E. Spagna
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs

PRESENTATION OF CLASS FOR CONFERRAL

Dr. Michael E. Spagna
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs

CONFERRAL OF DEGREES AND PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES

Dr. Thomas A. Parham
President

CONGRATULATIONS

Mr. Obioha Ogbonna
President, Associated Students, Inc.

TASSEL TURN AND CONGRATULATIONS

Dr. Thomas A. Parham
President

Platform Party

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

Mr. Franco Vega
Founder / CEO, RightWay
Foundation Class of 2000, BA Human Services

STUDENT SPEAKER 

Mr. Obioha Ogbonna
MS, Cyber Security

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, DOMINGUEZ HILLS

• Dr. Thomas A. Parham
  President
• Dr. Michael E. Spagna
  Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
• Dr. William Franklin
  Vice President, Student Affairs
• Ms. Deborah Wallace
  Vice President, Administration and Finance
• Mr. Chris Manriquez
  Vice President, Information Technology
• Dr. Bobbie Porter
  Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
• Ms. Eva Sevcikova
  Vice President, University Advancement
• Dr. James Hill
  Chair, Academic Senate
• Mr. Obioha Ogbonna
  President, Associated Students, Inc.
• Mr. Ken O’Donnell
  Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
• Dr. Timothy Caron
  Dean, College of Arts and Humanities
• Dr. Mi-Sook Kim
  Dean, College of Health, Human Services and Nursing
• Dr. Enrique Ortega
  Interim Associate Dean, College of Health, Human Services and Nursing
• Dr. Philip LaPolt
  Dean, College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
• Dr. Leonardo Martinez
  Associate Dean, College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

Commencement Speaker

Mr. Franco Vega
Founder / CEO, Rightway Foundation

CSUDH alumnus Franco Vega is the founder and CEO of the RightWay Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps transition-age foster youth attain and keep good jobs and stable housing. He was inspired to found the organization in 2011 due to his own experiences growing up and his years of work with foster youth.

After a childhood of trauma and disruption, Vega joined the U.S. Army upon graduating from a continuation high school. He received an honorable discharge in 1995, and immediately began putting his new-found discipline to work for the community.

Vega began his career teaching “Rites of Passage” to foster youth as an employee of the Department of Children and Family Services. He created an employment center at the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, working with recovering addicts and the local homeless population.

He went on to work for the Youth Opportunity Movement in Watts and Boyle Heights, and with the Los Angeles Community Development Department. Vega attained a bachelor’s degree in human services from CSUDH in 2000, helping him gain more insight into the needs of underserved communities.

His years of work with foster youth and job development led Vega to realize that Los Angeles County needed to develop better programs that combined mental health services and job readiness training. He founded RightWay as a vehicle for such programs.

The RightWay Foundation continues to provide support for foster youth in a family atmosphere, creating new foundations for these young people to build on. In addition to his work, Vega stays busy raising his four children and coaching Little League baseball.

College of Health, Human Services and Nursing

Bachelor of Science

College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences

Bachelor of Arts