Three graduating students win awards for vision, service and achievement

By Mark C. Anderson

Their backgrounds and spheres of excellence vary. But there's something very similar about these three Otters – beyond the fact that they all earned prestigious year-end CSUMB awards.

They're each simultaneously grounded and ambitious, hyper-engaged on campus and off, thoughtful, daring and well-spoken.

On top of that, their most compelling shared quality might be that they're constantly looking for ways to contribute more to their community.

Here’s a chance to learn a little bit more about them and the annual honors they’ve received.

Alumni Vision Award: Nevan Bell

The Alumni Vision Award recognizes a graduating student who best exemplifies the vision of CSUMB, namely preparing leaders for a collaborative, multicultural society – especially in the areas of bridging socio-economic divides, celebrating diversity and promoting understanding and respect for other cultures.

Nevan Bell finds joy in his service as a resident advisor, Otter Collective peer mentor, and Inter Club Council chair. But he feels most proud of his advocacy work for student affinity groups. He utilized his role as a coordinator for the Men of Color Alliance and a partnership with Associated Students to begin a campaign to repurpose Building 12 into an affinity student success center – a hub for the Helen Rucker Center, Centro, Undocu-success, and future API, LGBTQ+ and Gender Equity success centers. 

“I continue to advocate for students and staff to have access to physical space that increases student involvement in identity-based programs that will hopefully support opportunities for success,” Bell said. “I have confidence that as I go into the world, I will be intersectional, with cross-cultural competence, and keep an inclusive perspective – and, most importantly, connected to a community of learners that I hope to give back to, so that I may provide the same support to others that I received.”

Outstanding Senior for Social Justice: Jacob Morales

For this honor, applicants must have coordinated or participated in a project to promote equity and social justice or generate awareness; worked actively as a positive agent of change; and provided a service that improved the quality of life in local or other communities.

That said, Jacob Morales qualifies as overqualified. In the last two years alone, he has contributed to a groundswell of good causes, all while completing a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a pre-law minor. 

He served as an AmeriCorps volunteer infrastructure project fellow, Second Year Experience mentor, cultural engagement student coordinator for Otter Cross Cultural Center, student assistant for the Office Of Inclusive Excellence and Sustainability, restoration aide for Habitat Stewardship Project (formerly Return of the Natives), treasurer for Citizens for Sustainable Marina, and also worked on the President’s Advisory Board for Sustainability and the Hispanic Serving Institution Committee.

Associate Professor Victoria Derr summed up his contributions succinctly in her recommendation for the award: “Jacob Morales...has been an exemplary student who embodies social justice values through his coursework, advocacy, and action,” she wrote.

One of Morales’ particular focuses, Derr added, was organizing on behalf of native nations and peoples.

“He is a skilled advocate and ally in the way he constantly pushes us all to think about how we are working to achieve justice, and what that looks like from a Native perspective, while at the same time meeting people where they are in their thinking and their own justice journeys,” Derr said.

Outstanding Athlete Award: Colin O'Mahony 

Traveling 5,077 miles from home to attend college and play an outstanding level of soccer  presents significant challenges. Ireland native Colin O’Mahony said coming to CSUMB was a huge transition.  

“It was a shock,” O’Mahony said. Fortunately, he had support. 

“I’m very close to all my family members,” he said. And he found trusted company here. 

“I came into a good group of lads,” said O’Mahony, who’s majoring in kinesiology (and carrying a 3.94 GPA) before pursuing a master’s in public health. “The lads I live with and play with every day are my second family.”

Other challenges included balancing a study-practice regimen dramatically different from the routine back home. 

“Back home in Ireland, you did your school work, then practice,” he said. “Here it’s class, practice, class, homework. You learn to manage your time in the best way possible.”

And he’s managed quite well. He became the sixth student-athlete in Otter history to be named Academic All-America, and was named the 2022 CCAA Defensive Player of the Year. 

His leadership found two primary impact points. 

Point No. 1: on the field. 

“The thought that comes from a lot of people is that I’m always loud, whether that’s gently putting people in their place, encouraging my fellow players, or having my teammates’ backs,” he said. “I am probably one of the loudest – if not the loudest – on the field. Some people react well to tough love; some might rather hear, ‘You'll get the next one.’ So it helps to know your teammates well.” 
 
The other point of impact: off the pitch. 

“We’re always representing CSUMB in general and the soccer team specifically, always wearing the gear, and around the places where people know who you are,” he said. “So you have to hold yourself to that standard – repping yourself and family, and representing the program too. It’s a 24/7 responsibility.”