CSULB 1st Gen Health Science Students Primed to Pursue Their Doctorate

CSULB Health Science Master of Public Health students Stephanie Perez Martinez and Channel Ruiz are 2 of 10 recipients in the entire CSU System to be awarded the new health professions track of the Sally Casanova California Pre-Doctoral Program Scholarship. Read on to learn more about these outstanding students. 

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Channel Ruiz - Health Science Scholar

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When Channel Ruiz was applying to the CSU’s Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship, she couldn’t help but think of her own community in Southeast LA, and how she could use her passion for health equity to benefit her home city of Cudahy. 

Ruiz, a second-year Master of Public Health student studying community health education, was inspired by Department of Health Science mentors Dr. Melawhy Garcia, Natalia Gatdula and Toni Espinoza-Ferrel on applying to the scholarship, which Ruiz will use to help gain entry into a doctorate program.

“I am a first-generation student, and the fact that I could one day be able to take that knowledge and experience obtained in school and apply that in my community to make a difference – that honestly would be a blessing.”

As a research assistant, Ruiz -- who also obtained her bachelor’s degree from CSULB, majoring in health science -- teamed up with her faculty mentors, fellow students, and staff members in the Center for Latino Community Health, to work on projects related to nutrition, obesity and diabetes in Hispanic/Latinx families -- helping to address health disparities that often exist among underserved populations.

“Cal State Long Beach does a really great job of promoting wellness in the community, and I love how the people in the Center for Latino Community Health are very focused on that. I just appreciate all the work we are doing here at the Center -- all this research we are implementing. I would want to be able to take that to my own community in Southeast LA and help the people around me.”

As a student researcher, Ruiz has worked on the Center’s projects including Harvesting Healthy Habits, Eat, Play, Go, and project evaluation of the Comprando Rico y Sano initative, to name a few. All of the CSULB Center for Latino Community Health projects are aimed at providing Hispanic/Latinx community members the tools needed to sustain healthy living. Ruiz says upon graduation and upon pursuing doctoral studies, she would like to become a program manager or director, and establish her own community-based health programs.  

“I’ve learned how to manage a program, and how to implement it all behind the scenes – so that is what I am really interested in pursuing in the future. I’d never thought I’d get to this point. My parents are from Mexico, and they grew up with only an elementary school education; they are happy to see me being very community oriented, and that I have gotten this far in life.”

In the immediate, Ruiz is finishing up her Master’s of Public Health degree in community health education, while also pursuing a certificate in Latino Health. Ruiz is very interested in establishing programs that would benefit the family unit in underserved populations. 

“There are a lack of resources and a lot of health disparities that exist today and if anything, we should start small and grow programs from there.”

As the first one to navigate the educational system in her family, going all the way to pursuing her doctorate, there’s no doubting that Ruiz will rise to the challenge of helping to address the health challenges prevalent in our society. After all, she already has made a tremendous impact at CSULB and what she does next is ripe for success.  

Stephanie Perez Martinez - Health Science Scholar

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As one of ten recipients of the CSU’s Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship for health professions track, Stephanie Perez Martinez is making her dreams come true -- aligning her passion for health informatics with her training in community health education.

“I was involved at the CSULB Center for Latino Community Health last year in the Harvesting Healthy Habits project. We would lead health education classes in nutrition and gardening with kids grades 3 through 5, and that was a very rewarding experience for me. The [Sally Casanova] scholarship will hopefully allow me to get into my dream school to continue to work on more community-based projects.”    

As of now, Martinez says she is looking at UC Irvine or UC San Diego to pursue her doctoral training. UC San Diego is where her mentor at the Center for Latino Community Health, Dr. Melawhy Garcia, obtained her Ph.D. in public health. 

“The schools that I’m looking at for my doctorate have a track record in working closely with their local community, just like here at Cal State Long Beach,” Martinez says. I want to do research in childhood obesity, but also work with the Latino communities and tying in my passion for the health informatics field.” 

Last academic year, Martinez was one of four graduate students in the College of Health and Human Services who attended the college’s trip to Seol, South Korea, to study the techniques and technologies being explored and implemented in the universities there. 

“It was very eye-opening, especially from a public health, informatics standpoint,” Martinez says. “Universities there are very technologically advanced, even in their community hospitals. They take a more preventative approach to health care there.” 

Martinez was one of the first to enroll in the new health informatics course at CSULB, as she would like to continue studying the use of technology in health care. For example, Martinez says South Korean clinics and hospitals are forward thinking in the use of pre-check in technology and other methods that streamline the way people receive health scans and meet with their doctor.

Other advances in technology, like smart watches, are being used to track people’s eating and sleeping habits, logging physical activity, and more. This is what Martinez feels she wants to continue to study in her doctoral pursuits -- and playing a part in helping her fellow Hispanic/Latinx community with digital and health literacy. 

A first-generation college student and person of Latin American heritage herself, Martinez is thrilled that being a recipient of the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship allows her to travel throughout the United States to various universities and health science conferences to hone her niche in the field.

“In general, I’ve always loved education, so I always knew I wanted to go beyond a 4-year-degree,” Martinez says. “And the public health field is so wide; I’m still trying to figure out where I would fit in, so I’m hoping that throughout this program and experience, I can establish more fields and research that I would want to go into.” 

Meanwhile, Martinez graduates Spring 2025 with her Master’s of Public Health degree specializing in community health education. Martinez obtained her undergraduate degree in sociology and minor in global health from UCLA. 

Asked about what her family thinks of her stellar achievements, Martinez smiles, saying, “They are extremely proud. Just graduating from college [as a first generation student] was a big step.”

Now, as they say, sky’s the limit for what Martinez will do next, but whatever it is, odds are that she will be extremely impactful. 

To learn more about the Department of Health Science Community Health Program: Visit our Career Options Page