Category: 2025 Fall

Voice Magazine / 2025 Fall
Fall 2025

Furthering A Legacy

Fame, it’s said, is fleeting. The flickering of a candle’s flame against the winds of time. Yet celebrity’s shadow can extend well beyond the life of the wick, and those shaded regard it as a blessing or a burden. Or both. Rayna Harrison ’19 is well aware of her family tree and its links to […]

Historic 600th Career Win

The University of La Verne’s Head Baseball Coach, Scott Winterburn, has achieved a historic milestone: his 600th career win. This victory represents far more than a number; it’s a reflection of three decades of mentorship, tradition, and unwavering commitment to student athletes.  Coach Winterburn began his 32-year collegiate coaching service as the head coach for […]

Kathy Bakhit - Going Far Together - Header

Going Far Together

When Kathy Bakhit EdD ’11, first arrived in the United States nearly four decades ago, she never imagined her path would lead to the Vice Presidency of Academic Affairs. What she did know was that relationships mattered—deeply. “The way I grew up,” she reflects, “relationships are like glass. If you break them, even if you […]

Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr - Global Lessons to the ULV Classroom - Portrait

In Conversation: Global Lessons to the ULV Classroom

Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr, assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of La Verne, has built her career on a deceptively simple idea: food is more than sustenance; it is a window into culture, politics, and identity.  From studying halal certifications in Milan, Italy to examining how CRISPR, a gene-editing technology, is shaping modern agriculture, Dr. […]

Coming Home

It had been two years since I graduated from the University of La Verne, and I had just finished catching up with a fellow alum. I was in my office in Murrieta, sipping coffee between meetings, when a quiet tug at my heart stopped me mid-thought. It was subtle but insistent. I found myself asking: […]

A Journey Home

From the time I was a little girl, I couldn’t wait to go to school. I was eager to learn, and I still remember the exact moment I read my first sentence at five years old. That passion for learning has stayed with me ever since. My mother attended Spelman College in Atlanta, and growing […]

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Bookshelf

Journal of Strategic Marketing By Thomas Martin Key, Astrid L. Keel, Andrew J. Czaplewski and Eric M. Olson “Brand Activism Change Agents: Strategic Storytelling For Impact And Authenticity” proposes a narrative-based model to help brands engage in activism, strengthen customer ties, and minimize alienation, to enhance their impact as sociopolitical change agents while maintaining stakeholder […]

Michaelyn Thomas - Her Space - Header

Her Space

When Michaelyn Thomas EdD ’17 was four years old, she looked toward the stars, saying to herself, “I want to work in outer space when I grow up.”  Everyone has a story, and Dr. Thomas’s is quite unique. Through resilience, professional experience, grit, and doctoral research at the University of La Verne, she has had […]

Trophies awarded at the National Speech Championship in Peoria, Illinois at Bradley University.

Speaking Up and Speaking Out

My life took a meaningful turn when I decided to transfer to the University of La Verne during my sophomore year of college. I was initially drawn in by the university’s debate team, which seemed like a natural fit given my passion for forensics. Once I arrived, I learned that the team focused exclusively on […]

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Body Building Upon His Foundation at ULV

“Believe in yourself. Show up for yourself. And always move forward despite life’s challenges.” These words from Guillermo Escalante ’97, MBA ’99, are the personal mantra that transformed a nine-year-old immigrant from Costa Rica who spoke little English into a recognized leader in sports science and higher education. Today, Escalante serves as Associate Dean of […]

Continuing The Mission

Maria Estrada ’25 understood the mission: transitioning from 21 years of service in two combat deployments while serving in the United States Air Force to starting her path to a future in leadership at the University of La Verne. Born on an airbase in Okinawa, Japan, Maria was shaped by her father’s career in the […]

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A WAY FORWARD

It’s early afternoon, and University of La Verne President Risa Dickson, dressed in business casual and sensibly chic flats, has returned to her Founder’s Hall office from an Academic Affairs meeting. Her goal in these meetings and others like it is to share information frequently and transparently. “I tend to be very collaborative. I delegate […]

Grace F. Napolitano - Championing Education, Archives, and Mental Health - Header

Championing Education, Archives, and Mental Health

Grace F. Napolitano’s connection to the University of La Verne runs deep, shaped by decades of public service in California’s San Gabriel Valley. Born in Brownsville, Texas, and educated at Cerritos College, Napolitano launched her political career locally—first as Norwalk’s mayor, then as a California Assembly member—before representing the region in Congress from January 1999 through […]

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