May 18, 2007 :: No. 206

One student seeks to better understand and help others understand older adults. The other hopes to make a difference through international relations. The academic and extracurricular excellence of Karen Wong and Walter Ruigu in pursuit of these goals have earned them the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Graduate and Outstanding Senior Awards, respectively.

Each will be presented $1,000 and a commemorative plaque at the university’s Honors Convocation tonight at 7 o’clock. The awards are presented to the graduating Cal State Fullerton senior and graduate student who are academically outstanding, demonstrate service to their departments, university and/or community, and are active in extracurricular, academic or professional activities.

Both also will walk away with additional honors.

Ruigu is receiving the President’s Associates Scholastic Award, the university’s top honor for academic achievement, which includes a $1,000 cash prize.

Wong has been named Outstanding Graduate Student by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute — a support group of retired and semiretired individuals dedicated to the pursuit of lifelong learning at Cal State Fullerton — and will receive the Gerontology Program’s Outstanding Thesis Award.

When international student and Fullerton resident Ruigu decided to attend Cal State Fullerton, “I couldn’t point to Fullerton on the map,” he said. What he did know then as a high school senior in his native Kenya was that he wanted to attend college in California, unlike his older brother and sister, who enrolled at universities on the East Coast.

Ruigu’s decision to attend Fullerton was based on his dual interests in computer science and political science. He opted for a double major and will receive a bachelor’s degree in both. “I looked online and found that Cal State Fullerton had good political science and computer science programs.

“Since discovering my first computer, I found it fascinating — I have a lot of respect for information technology,” he said. “And I’m keen on politics. I’m interested in international politics, the United Nations. Coming from Kenya, I’m interested in why certain countries prosper and why others don’t.”

Following that interest, Ruigu has been a member of the Model United Nations Club, participating in national conferences in New York — where his delegation earned distinguished honors — and Chicago.

In addition, he has been active in more than 10 campus organizations, including: Associated Students Inc., as a board member representing the College of Engineering and Computer Science; co-founder of the Fullerton Ambassador’s Club; founder of the campus intramural soccer league; board member of University Affairs; interviewer for the Social Science Research Center; tutor for the University Learning Center; and orientation leader for the Volunteer International Peer Program.

Asked how he got so involved, Ruigu says, “The first week I arrived, I was invited to join one club. Then I learned about another, then another one. Through them, I got to know more about the school and the people.”

Off campus, Ruigu is the webmaster for the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Review Commission — for which Raphael Sonenshein, professor of political science, is executive director. Sonenshein says of Ruigu, “Even though he is still an undergraduate … he is already doing a great job, testimony to his extraordinary ability, organizational skills and creativity.”

He also has volunteered for Outreach to Africa and is a resident adviser at University Village.

Following graduation, Ruigu plans to study international relations with an emphasis in IT in France. Although conversational in French — as well as fluent in English, Swahili and Kikuyu — he’d like to be more confident with the language. “This will help make me into a better global citizen, particularly with Francophone countries in mind.”

His long-term goal is to work for the United Nations, about which Sonenshein says, “Of all the students I’ve met in recent years who have expressed such bold ambitions, Walter seems the most likely to actually attain it. I expect to read about him someday making a major contribution in the international arena.”

Referring to the inevitable effects of Father Time, Wong says, “I have a self-interest in aging; I want to know what the mysteries are.” True as that may be, the Fullerton resident — who will receive a master’s in gerontology — has gone far beyond self-centeredness. She has volunteered her time and experience to many local and national organizations, including the 2006 and 2007 National American Society on Aging Conference, National Fibromyalgia Association, Acacia Senior Fair, the Braille Institute and Dayle McIntosh Center, where she runs a support group for visually impaired older adults.

Her involvement there, she explains, stemmed from her experiences at her job at an eye surgery center. “I help with the surgeries, and also assist with taking the preliminary workups from patients.

“I noticed with these patients that there was a disconnect between losing their sight and being directed to available options. That’s why I work at the Dayle McIntosh Center — to help them reorient themselves.”

On campus, Wong has served as president of Sigma Phi Omega — the gerontology honor society — maintained the gerontology community Blackboard site, organized the 2006 Careers in Aging Week and volunteered at Welcome to Cal State Fullerton Day.

She also has been a guest lecturer in graduate classes at CSUF and Fullerton College, and is a part-time lecturer in the Gerontology Program.

“I love teaching gerontology, being able to help shape the students of tomorrow, giving them information that’s correct,” Wong says. “Helping them better understand what their elders are going through and what their parents will go through.”

Wong’s thesis, “Age-Related Vision Loss: A Comparison of Adaptation, Emotions and Times,” further illustrates her interest in this area. “I interviewed 30 older adults aged 60 and older with vision loss. I surveyed them to find differences in emotions in their ability to adapt over time. They seemed to fare better with support — groups, family — which showed the importance of support groups.”

She credits her parents as her No. 1 support system. Originally from Hong Kong, Wong’s parents moved to the British Isles to raise their family. “The reason why I was born in England and then moved to America is due to the fact that my parents were always looking for the best place to raise all five of their children,” she says. “The opportunities that have come my way really are all due to my parents, who have worked extremely hard so that we can achieve higher educational goals that were not within their reach. They are my ultimate role models and my support and foundation for growth.”

As for her future, she says, “I’m looking at a doctoral program with an emphasis in gerontology, but not right now. I want to get more experience teaching, becoming a better educator.”

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