David Weinberg '21
My experiences at The Beach have relentlessly surpassed my expectations. I was hesitant to believe that I could avoid a sense of imposter syndrome, but I feel that this community has contributed more to my identity development than anything else in my life. I have gained invaluable knowledge imparted by my amazing professors, expert-level training in research from the unparalleled NIH BUILD staff, critical feedback from my inspirational mentors Danielle Kohfeldt, Ph.D. and Bradley Pan-Weisz, Ph.D., and a desire to continue advocacy further from my colleagues in ASI. That said, as I have developed as a scholar, researcher, and advocate at this university, I have become cognizant that my experiences have not always been perfect. The university needs to mature just as its community members have. Our campus community has recognized the social injustices that continue to oppress our marginalized students, yet there is an absence of changes to foster equitability across our entire community. If my experiences with each of the individuals I have connected with at this institution have taught me anything, it is that our campus must develop to embody the commitment to diversity that brought me here. I cannot avoid expressing my gratitude toward each member of this university, but I must also recognize the need to eliminate the systemic barriers that ensure inequity across our community at CSULB.
My initial introduction to higher education commenced when I became a student at MiraCosta College. During my time in community college, I had the opportunity to reflect on why I prospered as a student despite entering college with seventh-grade as my last formal education experience. I concluded that the non-traditional student community and the knowledge they contributed to discussions based on lived experiences were responsible for my profound experience. Simply, it was the students and faculty at California State University, Long Beach solidified my intent to apply. I toured several other campuses, but it was undeniable that CSULB was the place I hoped to call home.
After graduating in Spring 2021, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Psychology with a minor in Diversity Science. My interests are in the social and cultural factors influencing the social identification and experiences of underrepresented students navigating academia. I am fascinated by the acquisition process in which students inherit socio-cultural identity schemas, the effects of stereotypes on identity integration, and eliminating the systemic barriers in education that perpetuate inequitable outcomes for students who identify with oppressed intersectional identity groups. Ultimately, I hope to integrate my lived experiences as a disabled student with future graduate-level studies and incorporate them into a career as a professor and social psychologist.
As my time at CSULB comes to a close, I feel that it would be a mistake to lose the connections I have built and ignore the chance to extend my network with the ever-growing community of this university’s esteemed alumni. Graduates of this institution embody the values of diversity and respect that led to my interest in applying, and I hope to continue learning from the perspectives that gave my journey in academia its unequivocal value. Involvement with the myBeach Program and CSULB Alumni is a tremendous privilege. I look forward to entering my journey as an alumnus with aspirations to contend with the standard of the California State University, Long Beach Alumni.
