Cal State Monterey Bay’s 2024-25 class of Sally Casanova scholars is the largest ever, with five students being honored with the prestigious $5,000 prize. 

Laura Flores, Alyssa Walter, Yeritizi Victoria, Saba Shah and Sam Ulloa will each receive the scholarship to support their pre-doctoral activities such as procuring research supplies and visits to doctoral-granting institutions. They have an option to apply for one summer research experience after graduation. 

The award was founded in 1989 by both the CSU and UC systems to encourage students to enter UC PhD programs and increase the diversity of the pool of newly minted PhD’s from which the CSU draws its faculty. Casanova was a biology professor at CSU Dominguez Hills and an administrator who saw the need to support economically disadvantaged CSU students who wanted to apply for graduate school.

This year, 77 CSU students, from an applicant pool of 212, received the award. 

Flores, of Salinas, is a psychology major on track to graduate next spring. She plans to pursue a clinical psychology PhD at UC Berkeley, focusing on cognitive neuroscience.

“I plan on serving the minority communities as a neuropsychologist and as a professor,” Flores said, adding that she is appreciative of “the amazing faculty that has supported me during my time in college.” 

A marine science major, with a minor in statistics, Walter also plans to graduate next spring. She is from Davis. 

“I will be applying to graduate programs this fall, and plan to pursue a PhD studying top predator ecology,” Walter said. “After graduate school and a postdoc, I would either like to become a professor or work for NOAA conducting research.”

As an Otter, she said, she has been able to take advantage of “all of the incredible opportunities and connections available for students due to our campus's location and smaller class sizes.”

Shah, of Marina, will graduate this fall and hopes to continue her studies in developmental psychology either at UCLA, Dartmouth College or the University of Pennsylvania. She wants to concentrate on investigating early childhood experiences of risk and resilience as she pursues her PhD.

“I am passionate about using my knowledge and experiences to empower students through teaching, mentoring, and advocating for children's well-being, development, and overall health,” Shah said. “Additionally, I look forward to collaborating with non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting holistic child well-being and fostering positive developmental outcomes.”

She has found the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center to be particularly helpful in reaching her goals. 

“The professors are wholeheartedly dedicated to empowering students and preparing them to achieve their future academic and professional goals,” she said.

Victoria came to King City from Guerrero, Mexico, when she was 9. A double major in psychology and Spanish language and Hispanic culture, with a minor in statistics, she plans to graduate in Spring 2025. After that, she will apply to PhD programs in cognitive psychology with an emphasis on bilingualism. 

“I want to come back to my community to teach at a Hispanic-serving university and be a role model to people like me: underprivileged, marginalized minorities, immigrants and people of color,” Victoria said.

She said she appreciates the one-on-one relationships she’s had with professors at CSUMB and the community she has found.

“My peers in my cohort have provided so much support as first-generation students,” she said. “I have been able to relate to my Latine community at CSUMB, both with classmates and the surrounding population.”

Information on Ulloa, a psychology major, was not available. 

More information about the Sally Casanova Scholarship program is availble on the UROC web page.