Anthony Cerrato, a graduate student in social work, is this year’s CSU Trustee Emerita Claudia H. Hampton Scholarship honoree. Students across the California State University system are selected each year to receive the CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. Honorees are selected based on their superior academic performance, personal accomplishments and community service. The scholarships are funded in a variety of ways, including support from current CSU Trustees, Trustees Emeriti and CSU Foundation Board members.
Cerrato, 32, said he was settled in a successful career in advertising, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA in 2017. He decided to make a dramatic career change after his mother took her own life in 2022.
“My mother was my best friend,” Cerrato said. “As a nurse for 20-plus years, she showed me what it meant to care for others. I blew up my life in advertising and decided to pursue social work, because I knew that I was meant to help others.”
The work he did to process his grief eventually led Cerrato to volunteer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, then to CSUN and the full-time online Master of Social Work (MSW) program through Tseng College. Cerrato plans to either work in higher education Program Management or become a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and work in suicide prevention and suicide loss grief counseling.
“One thing I did realize throughout my grief journey was the amazing work that social workers and licensed clinical social workers do as therapists and advocates for mental health, so that’s what inspired me to pivot into social work,” Cerrato said.
He is in his second year of the two-year program and plans to graduate in May 2027. He said he chose the program, in part, because of its flexibility.
“My daughter turned 1 the week before I started school. I needed a program that would let me be there for my family while I earned a degree,” he said. “Also, I met CSUN MSW graduates before coming, and I knew it was an amazing program.”
At CSUN, Cerrato has been active across campus: As part of his MSW program, he created a men’s mental health awareness campaign and talk series for the Minority Male Mentoring (M3) program. He also has worked on campus as a student assistant with CSUN’s new College Corps program that promotes career development and community service. This year, the father of a now 2-year-old is the president of Parent Scholars United, a campus organization devoted to supporting parents in education. He succeeds his wife, Magdeleine “Maggie” Arce, in that role.
“My journey in Parent Scholars United started with my wife, Maggie Arce, when she decided to join the club,” Cerrato said. “Parent Scholars United was her way of giving back to the community here at CSUN, and now I am proud to take the torch and be of service to parents across CSUN.”
As a first-generation scholar of Indigenous Canadian and Latino heritage, Anthony was the first in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree. Off campus, Cerrato is continuing his volunteer work with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, where he got his start “putting up tables and chairs” at events, he said. He’s now a certified mentor through the organization’s Healing Conversations program, where he conducts one-on-one discussions with other suicide loss survivors. Cerrato was also recently chosen to serve on the board for the Greater Los Angeles chapter.
“I hope that I can be an advocate for suicide prevention and use my story to help others speak up about mental health and destigmatize the conversation around suicide,” Cerrato said.
In addition to the CSU Trustees’ Award, Cerrato is also an award-winning Live Storyteller at The Moth Los Angeles, External-Vice President of the Social Work Society at CSUN, and mentor at the Parent Scholars Resource Center. Cerrato is also part of the Public Behavioral Health MSW Training Program — a state-funded effort to provide funding for students’ education.
“I am so grateful for the MSW faculty and staff that have given me every opportunity to succeed at CSUN,” Cerrato said. “I look forward to using the skills I learned in class to help serve others after graduation.”
In the meantime, Cerrato said he enjoys spending time with his family and the supportive community at CSUN, particularly among the students.
“Instead of it being a fight to the top, at CSUN we help each other to the top,” Cerrato said. “CSUN students are resilient, kind, and diverse. I am proud to be a Matador.”
