Alhambra resident gets CSU’s top award for academic achievement

An Alhambra resident and Pasadena City College alum received the California State University system’s top academic achievement award on Tuesday, officials announced.

Rebekah Reyes was among 23 students statewide to be honored with the distinction. Reyes, a Cal State Los Angeles graduate student, will receive an $18,000 scholarship and be named a CSU trustee emeritus and CSU Foundation Board Member Ali C. Razi scholar, according to a Cal State LA statement.

“Despite an abusive childhood experience and earlier struggles with addiction, Reyes, 32, has prevailed to become an outstanding college student,” officials said.

“I am grateful that I have been chosen as the Razi Scholar,” Reyes said in a statement. “This award reflects and symbolizes the resiliency of my spirit and dedication I have placed on my success and on my goals.”

Reyes is one of 23 students statewide to receive the 2024 California State University Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. She will receive the largest scholarship that is funded by a donation from Razi, who endows a scholarship fund to recognize the top-scoring CSU Trustees’ Award recipient each year.

“Ms. Reyes personifies the vision we hold for first-generation student success by demonstrating personal resourcefulness, overcoming adversity, and a strong commitment to serve her community,” Cal State LA President Berenecea Johnson Eanes said in a nomination letter.

Reyes is a sociology major and believes that education has the power to transform lives, university officials said.

“By committing myself to educational goals, I have avoided becoming a statistic associated with weak family ties, an abusive home life, and the health and life implications produced by childhood experiences,” Reyes said.

She added that with the correct guidance and access to resources, people can not just survive but also thrive, despite whatever challenges they may have to face and endure.

Reflecting on her college experience, Reyes said, “Figuring out how to navigate the college system, my own finances, and experiencing homelessness due to my LGBTQ status, and the healing of childhood trauma required to even adequately function in a society were some of the challenges I faced to gain an academic degree.”

Despite being determined to change her life’s path through higher education, “Reyes admitted that she went through a period of self-doubt, grappling with imposter syndrome while attending Pasadena City College,” university officials said.

“Reyes was utterly incapable of concentrating on the course topics and was experiencing suicidal thoughts following a summer of rehabilitation and less than 90 days sober. She eventually confided in her professor about her circumstances and decided to take a semester off to attend to her mental health.” the Cal State LA statement said.

“This lesson taught me how to communicate honestly, to listen to my body,” she said, “and most importantly, that it is okay when plans get thrown off course for a bit of time, as long as we return to them.”

Reyes eventually completed associate degrees in psychology, humanities and sociology in 2017. She transferred to UC Davis and earned a bachelor’s in sociology in 2019.

“Sociology was able to negate some of the statements that I grew up hearing,” she said. “Learning the impact that social institutions have on individuals expanded the scope of my own thinking, leaving me more eager to learn more.”

She’s now motivated and feels ready to serve low-income, first-generation students seeking college educations, officials said.

“The drive to not want to struggle, to seek the truth of social systems and human behavior, and to understand my own ascribed situation through academic learning results in my ability to be a strong, compassionate leader for future generations,” Reyes said.

Currently, Reyes is an intern at the Los Angeles Housing Authority, where she supports students through the city’s Build Hope scholarship program.

“Getting to know many of the students through their essay stories and via email reminds me of the hope that I was holding onto when I was going through community college and undergrad myself,” Reyes said.

She’s on track to graduate with a master’s degree this spring, and since attending Cal State LA classes starting in fall 2022, Reyes has been named to the Dean’s List and has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average in the sociology program.

Reyes was also invited to give a presentation in March about her research on the opiate-addiction epidemic at the 2024 Pacific Sociological Association Conference.

After graduation, Reyes is considering a career start in education as a community college teacher, with hopes of becoming a mentor for underserved communities, officials said.

“With a master’s degree, I plan to teach at a community college part-time while working for a nonprofit organization,” Reyes said. “I want to place myself in a setting where I can lend a hand to others and offer my experience, strength, and hope to individuals that may need it.”