– Additional reporting and photos by Athena Ebuen and David Ajtun
Women’s History Month is a time to honor the women whose strength, vision and determination have shaped our past and continue to expand what feels possible. At CSUN, it is also a chance to hear directly from Matadors about the person they are becoming and the moments that helped them see their own power more clearly. CSUN Newsroom spoke with four students who reflected on the quality that feels most true to who they are right now, the experiences that helped that identity take shape and how they are putting it into action on campus and beyond.
Rebecca Gonzalez, “I am curious.”
For Rebecca Gonzalez, her inquisitiveness is a way of pushing past expectation. “I am curious,” the urban studies and planning major said. As a Black and Latina woman, the 22-year-old senior said she has often felt pressure to stay quiet and simply follow what is expected. Instead, she has learned to lead with questions, stay open to new experiences and listen closely to perspectives beyond her own. For Gonzalez, curiosity means “asking the questions that nobody wants to ask” and remaining open, even when something is unfamiliar.
That mindset helped her find her path at CSUN. After she discovered the course, Urban Studies 150: Discover the City, Gonzalez had a realization that changed everything. “Oh my gosh, urban planning is a career? I can do that?” she told Newsroom, thinking back to the moment she discovered her major. “It was the best decision I ever made and I haven’t looked back.” Since switching to urban studies and planning, she has also found purpose in bringing her perspective into a field where women are often outnumbered. In classes where there may be only a few women in the room, Gonzalez said, “It’s cool to be able to bring that point of view.”
She is now putting that perspective into action through and internship with the organization Strategic Actions for a Just Economy and its Tenant Action Clinic, where she helps support tenants facing harassment, unsafe housing conditions and illegal rent increases. She explained this work has strengthened her commitment to housing justice, especially for Black and brown communities. She told Newsroom her CSUN courses and professors have helped her gain a better understanding of issues like redlining, gentrification, food deserts and urban heat islands – and what can be done to solve them.
Because of CSUN: “I know I can work towards building a more equitable and inclusive built environment for Black and brown communities.”
Angel Tiznado, “I am resilient.”
Angel Tiznado knows strength as something lived, not just named. “I am resilient,” said the 22-year-old senior, who is also a first-generation student majoring in child and adolescent development. Coming from a family with limited financial resources, Tiznado said that strength is tied to her drive to create a different future and to show her loved ones that what they have seen in life is not the only path possible.
One of the first times that resilience felt real for Tiznado was when she connected with the university’s Educational Opportunity Program as a freshman. “They offer a lot of resources and support,” she said, recalling the start of her college journey. Going straight from high school into the Summer Bridge program was a big adjustment, but she explained completing it helped her see herself differently. What once felt uncertain began to feel possible, and college started to look not just like an opportunity, but a place where she could grow into her own potential. “Being able to graduate this semester, that kind of shows my resilience towards achieving higher education and actually getting a degree and being able to get a career at the end,” she said.
Tiznado is carrying that resiliency into her work as student coordinator for Project D.A.T.E., a peer education, date or acquaintance rape prevention program sponsored by University Counseling Services and Strength United. Through the peer education program, she helps others learn about sexual assault awareness and brings that knowledge into the campus community. “I also lead with advocacy,” she said. “I’ve been advocating for sexual assault survivors and being a voice for others who can’t seem to find their voice.”
Because of CSUN: “I know I can lead with confidence and persist through challenges to achieve my goals.”
Irina Hayrapetyan, “I am adaptable.”
Irina Hayrapetyan has learned to trust herself in motion. “I am adaptable,” said the 22-year-old senior marketing major. “You could throw whatever you want at me. I’ll be able to find a way.” For Hayrapetyan, that quality is not about having every answer right away. It is about staying flexible, adjusting when things change and believing she can keep moving forward.
At CSUN, she explained that confidence grew through her major. Looking back, Hayrapetyan said studying social media marketing showed her just how much the field depends on quick thinking and flexibility. “My major, social media marketing, that’s literally all rolling with the punches and trying to be as flexible as you can,” she explained. “I definitely realized I am adaptable.” What started as coursework gradually became something more personal for her and proof that she could handle change and rise to new expectations.
Now Hayrapetyan is putting that mindset into action by aiming higher than she once imagined. “I am applying to positions that I would have never even thought I would apply to, let alone actually go and work there,” she told Newsroom. Hayrapetyan said opportunities like Industry Night (a CSUN networking and career event) helped those goals feel more real by giving her the chance to meet employers face to face and leave a strong impression. She also credits her on-campus job with CSUN’s social media team with helping her feel more connected to the university and more motivated about what comes next. “This job definitely got me more involved,” she shared. “I enjoy the community,” and at times it has even made her think, “Oh, I wish I was here longer.”
Because of CSUN: “I know I can make my dreams come true.”
Ashosha Haque, “I am strong.”
Ashosha Haque does not talk about strength as something abstract. For her, it shows up in the way she keeps moving forward. “I am strong,” said the 20-year-old senior studying film in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication.“Every week I’m being thrown something new or a new obstacle,” she said. “From a very young age, I always strived to be more than what people believed that I could be.” Haque pointed to the many ways that mindset has shaped her path, from starting her own business to graduating high school early and now preparing to graduate college early. Strength, for her, means continuing to push past expectations and put herself forward as someone capable of more.
One moment at CSUN made that belief feel especially real. Looking back on her path into the university’s competitive film program, Haque said the acceptance meant more because of how much work came before it. “I worked over a year to perfect my portfolio,” she recalled. “To see that I actually got into the program with the emphasis that I wanted meant so much to me.” That moment became proof that the effort she had poured into her goals was carrying her exactly where she hoped to go.
Now Haque is putting that strength into action by continuing to bet on herself. “I honestly live by the motto of, ‘No one’s going to do it for me,’” she told Newsroom. As she prepares to graduate, she is balancing internship goals, her business and producing a senior thesis film, all while continuing to build a future on her own terms.
Because of CSUN: “I know my worth.”
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