What: Three Cal State Fullerton alumni will pursue their dream of earning a doctorate, thanks to the California State University Forgivable Loan/Doctoral Incentive Program. The competitive program provides financial assistance to graduate students and is designed to enhance the pool of those qualified to fill instructional faculty positions at CSU campuses.

Who: Gerald Desrochers Jr. (B.S. engineering-mechanical ’88) of Hacienda Heights will study mechanical engineering at UC Riverside.
Soraya Nauroz (M.A. communicative disorders ’00) of Fullerton will pursue a Ph.D. in education at Claremont University.
Gina Valentino (B.A. English ’98) of Santa Barbara will major in English at UC Santa Barbara.

Background: The three are among 78 candidates to receive loans of up to $10,000 per year to a total of $30,000 to complete their doctorates. Applications are selected based on potential for success, underrepresentation and the faculty sponsor’s plan of support.

Sponsors: The trio’s Cal State Fullerton sponsors are: Jesa H. Kreiner, professor of mechanical engineering; Cornel Bonca, associate professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics; and Kenneth Tom, associate professor of human communications studies. Such sponsorship is intended to establish early relationships between academic departments and program participants, to encourage the students during their studies, and to provide experiences to stimulate interest in a CSU teaching career.

More: Loans are forgiven at a rate of 20 percent for each year of full-time teaching in the CSU, after earning the doctorate and successfully competing for a faculty position.