SCVNews.com | CSUN Students Find Stable Living With CREA Scholarship

As a high school student, Angelina Zuniga Kramer accompanied her stepfather to the construction sites where he worked, which inspired her to dream big.

She saw how small businesses could contribute to massive public works projects like highways and bridges and decided: She wanted to be a civil engineer. She learned that women were still underrepresented in the field, but she knew she could do it.

Her family’s financial struggles made it difficult for her to settle down, and Zuniga Kramer’s grades suffered, she said. Before she started her junior year at the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles, she devoted herself to improving her grades by taking online and weekend classes.

In 2023, she was accepted to CSUN’s Educational Opportunity Program and enrolled for the fall semester. Zuniga Kramer, a first-generation college student, applied for a scholarship from the CREA Foundation, which aims to support students living in communities that offer affordable housing to low-income families.

“I knew I had the potential,” the freshman recalled recently. “I explained (to the scholarship committee) that going to college was the best chance I had because I was the first in my family to go to college and even finish high school. So I saw it as an opportunity where I just didn’t want to go to college, but I wanted to end University.”

The scholarship has already helped stabilize her housing situation and academic life. It helped cover the cost of her dorm room at CSUN. She used to do her homework on her phone, and inconsistent document formatting could cost her grades, she said. But the scholarship funds allowed her to buy an iPad.

Zuniga Kramer was one of 20 individuals selected for the first fall 2023 cohort of CREA Fellows at CSUN, established with a $260,000 grant CREA Foundation. Matching funds from the CSUN Foundation through the recent Matador Match Challenge initiative doubled the number of scholarships available for fall 2023.

The CREA Foundation is an extension of Indianapolis-based CREA, LLC, which funds the development of affordable housing communities for families nationwide. California has the second largest concentration of CREA communities in the United States.

“We are not only helping them immediately and individually, but also their families for generations.” – Arvetta Jideonwo, Executive Director of CREA Foundation

CSUN is only the second university in the country to offer the CREA Scholarship Program, following Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis’ program launching in fall 2022. The CREA Foundation selected CSUN because of its proximity to the CREA community and long-standing success in supporting students who face socioeconomic barriers to pursue and complete their degrees.

The CREA Foundation Scholarship at CSUN is renewable and provides an average of $5,000 per year. The scholarship is available to students who qualify for one of three CSUN programs that expand access to historically low-income, educationally disadvantaged, first-generation college students by helping them attend and succeed at college: Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), EOP Milt and Debbie Valera Resilient Scholars Programand EOP/TRIO Student Services Support Program.

These programs provide comprehensive support services to students throughout their higher education studies, including academic and emotional support, financial literacy and career assistance.

“The CREA Scholarship Program is an incredible opportunity for students,” said Shiva Parsa, director of EOP at CSUN. “CREA has done a great job of communicating to students that not only does EOP stand behind them, but so does CREA.”

The scholarship has already helped freshman Lucio Aranda prioritize his studies. He came to CSUN to study psychology and wants to provide a safe space for therapy for people with similar backgrounds to his, Aranda said.

Before receiving the CREA scholarship, Aranda was worried about his family’s financial situation, he said. When he started at CSUN, he lived in East Los Angeles, commuting two hours each way by public transportation. The scholarship allowed him to move into an apartment near campus, giving him time to study.

“It definitely made a big difference,” he said.

CREA Foundation Executive Director Arvetta Jideonwo said the programme aims to break the cycle of poverty by providing access to educational opportunities.

“All of these students have ambitions, they have things they want to do in life,” Jideonwo said. “We’re not only helping them immediately and helping them as individual students, but we’re also helping their families for generations.”

CREA also has some proud ties to Matador — CREA, LLC co-president Charles Anderson and vice president of customer service Asia Williams are both CSUN graduates. Anderson grew up in affordable housing, and CSUN’s business program was a catalyst for his career, he said.

“CSUN holds a special place in my heart,” Anderson said. “Everyone needs an opportunity to succeed, and it is our goal and sincere desire that each of our CREA Scholars take advantage of this opportunity and make the most of it.”

This article originally appeared in CSUN Magazine, Spring 2024.

Learn more about CREA.

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