Keynote speaker

Eduardo M. Ochoa, CSUMB President

Dr. Eduardo M. Ochoa grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before moving with his family to
Portland, Oregon, while in high school. He has earned degrees in physics, nuclear science and
economics from Reed College, Columbia University, and the New School for Social Research,
respectively. He has worked as an engineer, as a faculty member, dean, and provost and as a
member of the Obama Administration.

In 2012 he became president of California State University, Monterey Bay. He will retire this
August after 10 years of service at CSUMB.

Dr. Ochoa has spent nearly four-decades as a teacher and leader in the California State
University system, including his tenure as provost and vice president for academic affairs
at Sonoma State University. In February 2010, President Barack Obama named Dr. Ochoa
assistant secretary for postsecondary education. In that position, he served as the secretary’s
chief adviser on higher education issues and administered more than 60 programs.
At CSUMB, Dr. Ochoa established three broad goals for his presidency: establishing excellence
in selected fields in response to regional needs; becoming a national leader in the development
of new sustainable models of higher education; and developing the university’s catalytic role in
regional, cultural and economic development.

Dr. Ochoa moved decisively to deal with the challenges facing the university and the region.
His emphasis on inclusion and outreach meshes with both the vision statement of the campus
and the realities of serving a student body made up of a majority of first-generation students. He
re-focused attention on improving the university’s retention and graduation rates, while stressing
the importance of a rigorous educational experience. He has increased the university’s outreach,
as it plays a more active role in improving the economy and quality of life on the Central Coast.
Dr. Ochoa’s wife, Holly Byers Ochoa, is a historian, writer and editor. They have two adult sons,
Michael and Eric.

Honorary degree recipient

Helen Rucker, Doctor of Humane Letters

Helen Rucker, retired educator and longtime community activist, worked as a teacher and
librarian for the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District for more than 25 years. After
retiring in 1988, she devoted herself to a second career as a civic leader and activist.

Rucker has served as an MPUSD board member, as well as a city council member and mayor
pro tem for the city of Seaside. She founded the Seaside Voter Education Center in 2008,
holding regular office hours and planning voting rights presentations and voter registration
events involving community members and CSUMB service learning students. She is a longtime
supporter and active volunteer for many community groups and organizations including the
NAACP of Monterey County, the Leon Panetta Lecture Series Task Force, the Service Learning
Institute, and the Women’s Leadership Council. In 2011, Helen endowed a scholarship she has
awarded annually to CSUMB students since 1998 in honor of her late husband, James Rucker,
who served in the U.S. Army on Fort Ord.

For her leadership and service, Helen has received many awards including the 2015 Woman of
the Year for the 29th Assembly District, and the 2017 NAACP Medgar Evers Freedom Legacy
Award. In 1999, CSUMB honored Helen as a Presidential Fellow for Community and Human
Services. The university honored her again in Spring 2022 with an honorary degree and the
naming of the Helen Rucker Center for Black Excellence.

Student speakers

Miranda Sampson, Business Administration

Miranda Sampson is graduating from the College of Business with a concentration in
agribusiness. Sampson earned an associate’s degree in business administration at Cabrillo
College and transferred to CSUMB in Fall 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Miranda’s start at the university was completely virtual, she was determined to
make the most out of her college experience. She joined the Agribusiness Club and became
club president after two semesters. She completed internships at the Monterey Bay Economic
Partnership and CSUMB’s Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library. Miranda lived on
campus, went to school events, met fellow students, and engaged with inspiring professors. She
is unbelievably grateful for the support of professors, supervisors, and mentors during her time
at CSUMB.

Misha Zmuda-Arnold Moseley, Collaborative Health and Human Sciences

Misha Zmuda-Arnold Moseley is a Collaborative Health and Human Services graduate
passionate about nutritional health. She interned with CSUMB’s Basic Needs Initiative for
the past three semesters, serving as a nutritional advisor. Moseley says it was an amazing
opportunity to support the health of CSUMB students while pursuing her professional goals in
dietary education. She is enthusiastic about sharing the benefits of healthy eating with others to
promote holistic well-being for all communities.

Jianshan Chen Khalsa, Psychology

Jianshan Chen Khalsa is a first-generation college graduate, earning Summa Cum Laude
academic honors. She transferred to CSUMB from Hartnell College in 2020 and will continue
her education as a graduate student in CSUMB’s School Psychology Program. She grew up in a
remote farming village in Guangdong Province, China, where she dropped out of high school
to support her family. She moved to California in 2016 to pursue her dream of becoming an
educator. She plans to become a school psychologist to help diverse student populations receive
the services they need to help them thrive and succeed.

For additional information, please email our commencement staff.