Two CSUB scholars receive President’s Medal as top undergraduate and graduate students

Luis Rangel could barely speak when he received the call from interim CSUB President Vernon B. Harper Jr. informing him that he had been chosen as the 2024 recipient of the President’s Medal for Outstanding Graduate Student.

"When Dr. Harper called me and gave me the news, I was speechless," Rangel remembered. "I felt this heat come over me. I didn't know what to say. I was beside myself."

Thankfully, Rangel was fully recovered when he and outstanding undergraduate student Haydee Barahona received their President's Medals on Monday afternoon at a gathering just outside the office of the president at Cal State Bakersfield.

"In 2019, during President (Lynnette) Zelezny’s first commencement season at Cal State Bakersfield, she introduced the President’s Medal for the top undergraduate and graduate students," Harper told Monday's gathering of about 50 faculty, friends and family of the two honorees.

"The winners are chosen from a long list of outstanding students from each of our four schools and the CSUB Antelope Valley campus," he said.

"This year, I have the honor of carrying President Zelezny's tradition forward and have selected two students who exemplify the CSUB spirit of service, integrity and excellence."

Chosen from the School of Business and Public Administration, Rangel graduated in the fall with a Master of Business Administration degree and a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

"He also completed his undergraduate degree at CSUB," Harper said, "and we are proud to call him a double alumnus of our university."

David Olson, professor of management and marketing at CSUB, had Rangel in two separate classes, including international business — which included a trip to Italy — and the capstone MBA class, the final step in many MBA programs.

"It was, from go, an honor to have him in my courses," Olson said. "I put his name forward for the honor of the outstanding MBA student."

Rangel worked through much of his university career. At Golden Empire Mortgage, where he's been employed for several years, Rangel is leading a new initiative intended to provide opportunities for home ownership to underserved communities in Kern County and the Central Valley.

"Luis' journey to CSUB — like that of many of our students — was not a straight path," Harper said. "He and his family came to this country from Mexico when he was 4, settling in the Los Angeles area.

"But his dad got a good job offer in Nebraska, so the family moved to the Midwest for several years. However, Luis never grew accustomed to the brutal Nebraska winters and eventually joined one of his sisters here in Bakersfield," Harper added.

He enrolled at Bakersfield College but left school to work so that he would avoid racking up student debt.

"It took him eight or nine years to finish his undergraduate studies," Harper said, "but he graduated cum laude and decided after a few years in the workforce to return to CSUB for his MBA."

After posing for photos with Rangel, his family and members of the faculty, the interim university president invited Barahona, of the School of Arts and Humanities, to join him at the podium.

"Haydee is graduating with her bachelor's degree in communications, with a concentration in journalism," Harper told the gathering. "You might be familiar with Haydee's name because it has appeared in many bylines in The Runner student newspaper, where she served as editor in chief and in many other key roles.

"Last semester, Haydee took student journalism at CSUB to an entirely new stratosphere when she helped establish El Veloz, a Spanish-language version of The Runner," Harper said. "She explained that it was important for the students who work at The Runner to be able to bring home a newspaper that their own families could read in their own language."

Barahona credited two members of the faculty, Harper said, who also happen to be former news staffers at The Californian, for helping her become a true journalist.

"Haydee ... has a one-man cheering squad in Runner adviser John Harte, who has just retired following an extraordinary career in journalism and education," the interim president said.

Monday's honoree also credited another former faculty member as one of the most profound influences of her life.

"This mentor nurtured her, believed in her and continued to offer Haydee opportunities, even after she left CSUB for a new career," Harper said. "And that mentor of course is former Runner faculty adviser Jennifer Burger."

Harte and Burger were both at Monday's event to cheer for Barahona and continue their support.

"I consider Haydee to be generational, a once in a generation student," Harte said. "I've been doing this for 27 years now, nine at CSUB and 27 at BC, and I've had lots of really strong journalism students who've gone on.

"What she has is this incredible ability to do everything ... she can do everything and she does everything well."

After she finishes up her role at The Runner newspaper, the budding professional journalist is heading north. UC Berkeley has invited her to join its prestigious graduate program. She leaves in August for this next phase of her studies.

"May these students and all of our graduates go forward with the same integrity and energy they have demonstrated at CSUB," Harper said.

"I can’t wait to see how far they rise."