Scholarships

Hello, my name is Mia Calderon, and I recently graduated from Birmingham Community Charter High School. I played varsity basketball for four years and this year — for the first time in more than a decade — we won the L.A. City open division Championship. I also coached a youth nonprofit travel basketball team and volunteered to raise funds for the program. 

I am a psychology major and plan on having an emphasis in sports psychology. Through the years, I have seen how much mental health can affect athletes and how often it is overlooked. The amount of pressure that is placed on them both physically and mentally can be extremely challenging. My intended career is to be a sports psychologist — to work with athletes, with or without mental disorders, to develop mental skills for success and maximize their performance and mental strength. In the fall, I am looking forward to joining various clubs at Cal Lutheran and being involved in all opportunities as much as possible. 

Hi! I am Lillyanna Mata and I dislike formal introductions. I am majoring in accounting, because I love spending and budgeting money. Always got to get the deals. For some reason I have a small habit of looking at the prices of items at all the different stores I go to, all the while comparing the quality and quantity of the product to other stores. So, if you want to learn about savings, we can have a great conversation.
I am also one of many who suffer from extreme clumsiness. Sometimes I’ll be walking, and trip on dust. Pass through store aisles and have items fall. My father told me that when I first learned to walk, my head was so large that I had to lean it back and forth to keep it from falling. Clumsiness is me, but living life in fear of falling is a waste. So, through life, I developed quick reflexes. My character stats consist of coordination: -50, BUT reflexes:100.

Hello, my name is Nina Almaoui, and I recently graduated from Newbury Park High School. Growing up in this tight-knit community, I have always been grateful for my hometown, Thousand Oaks. I am elated to start this new chapter at Cal Lutheran. Over the past four years, I have been an active member of the Rotary Interact Club and the treasurer for two years. My community service experiences over the years have helped show me how gratifying it is to volunteer and give back to your community. Some of my favorite events were K9s For Warriors, Alex's Lemonade Stand, Caroling For Cans, and Rise Against Hunger. I am ready to be involved at Cal Lutheran and make a positive difference.

Hi there! I'm Israel Lozano, and I am an incoming freshman majoring in History Pedagogy. I will also be minoring in TESOL and be part of the University Honors Program. I'm from Oxnard, a city only a half an hour from campus. I would like to become an educator, with a particular emphasis on working with English Language Learners throughout my career. 

If there is a single word I would use to describe myself, it would be resilient. Through the support of people in my community, ranging from friends to teachers to family, I have learned to overcome the barriers I have faced in my young life and create greater opportunities for others in the process. Whether it has been advocating for greater regulations on e-cigarette products as a representative on the California Youth Council or providing affordable AP tutoring to fellow students in South Oxnard, I firmly believe that the greatest form of growth comes from helping others with shared obstacles. I look forward to sharing this passion for aid with as many people on campus as possible during my time at Cal Lutheran, whether it be through music, poetry, exploring history, or new involvement opportunities. 

My name is Kylie Kwak and I will be entering my second year at Cal Lutheran, double majoring in global studies and music. Born and raised on the island of Oʻahu, I have grown up surrounded by diversity. This has allowed me to gain a passion for learning about different cultures and giving back to my local communities. One of my most memorable experiences was serving as the communications coordinator for a project group dedicated to improving elderly loneliness in Hawai’i. With this project, we were able to pair elders in nursing homes with student volunteers to help elders gain a sense of purpose and strengthen the relationship between the overlooked elderly community and young people. On campus, I am a part of the Cal Lutheran Choir, Kupaʻa Hawai’i Club and, most recently, the Line Dancing Club. I currently am studying in Auckland, New Zealand, for the fall semester to learn more about the Pacific peoples and cultures and their connections to Hawai’i. When I return, I hope to share my experiences with faculty and students to improve opportunities for minority students on campus.

Hi! My name is Ethan Craig, I am an incoming Senior entering my second year at Cal Lutheran after transferring from Moorpark College. I am a Business Administration major with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship, a Philosophy minor, and I spent two years in the pandemic studying Music Theory for fun which has helped me with my band.

Ever since my time in Boy Scouts I have loved giving back and serving those in the community, usually through local food pantries and my church, and additionally with homeless outreach, trash pickup, and Christmas toy drives. On Campus, I am involved with the Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity and serve as Head of Campus Outreach for the Entrepreneurship Club where I have helped plan and run two student-run flea market events to inspire the entrepreneurial spark in others. I hope to use my degrees in Entrepreneurship and Philosophy to create something that helps alleviate the mental health issues so present in the world right now, as I think that if people were more connected to the beauty of life and were less in their heads most of our issues would be easier to solve.

Once I graduate from Cal Lutheran this school year, I plan to pursue my master’s in public health (MPH) with a specialty in epidemiology or community health sciences and a graduate certification in global health at a two-year graduate public health program here in California. Then, once I obtained my master’s in public health, I plan to pursue my doctorate degree in public health with an emphasis on sexual health and global health. By obtaining both my master’s and doctorate degree in public health, I want to use these two degrees to pursue a career as a social epidemiologist and global health specialist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  and the World Health Organization (WHO) aiming to control and prevent various infectious diseases through surveillance methods from occurring throughout the world which will help maximize society’s overall health and wellness. Additionally, I want to volunteer at non-profit organizations to help provide access to healthcare services, treatments, and sexual health education to communities who suffer infections disproportionally from sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS and HPV.

My name is Millennia Gamez and I am an incoming junior double majoring in Political Science and Psychology. I am also minoring in Spanish, and have an emphasis in Law and Public Policy. I am also a student in the University Honors Program. I have been involved in the Associated Students of California Lutheran University Government, Latin American Student Association, Psychology Club, Model United Nations, CLU Peer Advisors, Delight Club, and Younglife College. As a member and officer in many of these organizations I have gotten to be very involved with the Cal Lutheran Community and have greatly furthered my leadership skills. I am currently working for an attorney and am pursuing a career in the legal field. In the future I hope to be a lawyer. I enjoy serving my community, meeting new people, and learning as much as possible. I have also been on the Dean’s List every semester so far and hope to continue accomplishing such honors as I continue to work towards my goals.