The Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino will honor two students: Rudy Morales Gamez as its Outstanding Graduate Student and Marlene Baumann as its Outstanding Undergraduate Student.

The honorees will be recognized at the college’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 16, at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario at 8 p.m.

Morales Gamez, who has worked more than two years as a graduate research assistant for CSUSB’s William and Barbara Leonard Transportation Center, will graduate with a master’s degree in public administration.

“I chose to pursue an MPA because I want to pursue a career in policymaking,” he said. “I am fascinated by the challenge of solving public issues, especially in the field of transportation.”

Morales Gamez credits Kimberly Collins, associate professor of public administration and executive director of the Leonard Transportation Center, for being a valuable mentor who has contributed to his academic success.

“She has been essential in motivating me to take opportunities that shape my professional development,” he said. “Working as her graduate assistant allowed me to acquire knowledge in many areas of policy.”

After conducting research on network governance in the U.S.-Mexico border region with Collins, Morales Gamez presented their findings at the Western Social Science Association in San Francisco in April 2017, which he says is his biggest accomplishment.

While Collins served as his greatest mentor throughout his graduate studies, his biggest source of inspiration stems from his mother.

“She has always supported me in everything that I do,” he said. “I model my work ethic after her.”

After graduation, Morales Gamez plans to either continue his work at CSUSB or work for a public agency, and would eventually like to get his doctorate in public affairs. He hopes to become a city manager for an Inland Empire municipality.

“CSUSB has been instrumental in shaping my passion for policymaking,” he said. “It has provided me with ample opportunities where I was able to acquire vital knowledge that will help me in my career as a future policymaker.”

Marlene Baumann, the Outstanding Undergraduate Student, will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, with the goal of becoming a certified public accountant and working in a public accounting firm. Her long-term goal is to eventually become either a partner or a CFO.

“I chose accounting because I love working with numbers and it is a career field in which I can help people,” she said.

Although Baumann faced financial hardship and had to get a second job during her undergraduate studies, she still managed to be named the Outstanding Undergraduate Student, which she says is her biggest accomplishment, and credits her brother for her motivation.

“My brother has always been my biggest inspiration because he sets such high goals for himself and gave me that competitive push I needed,” she said.

“CSUSB helped me define the future because it gave me the opportunities to succeed,” said Baumann, who plans on getting her MSA from the university. “The faculty and students here push one another to be better and strive for more, so in turn, it helped me want to do the same.”

To learn more about CSUSB’s Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration, visit its website at jhbc.csusb.edu.