When Cal State Fullerton business students participate in commencement on May 25, they will hear two of their peers share details of their Titan experience during this era of change, along with words of inspiration.
Vivian Yenson ’22 (finance) will address the 9 a.m. ceremony, while Rita Boyle ’22 (accounting) will speak at the 5 p.m. event.
Meet Vivian Yenson
Yenson served as president of the Business Inter-Club Council (BICC) during the 2021-2022 academic year. She also held leadership roles in the food services sector, working as project manager for West Lake Food Corporation and as family business director for Tay Ho Restaurants, both establishments that are part of the College of Business and Economics business network.
Looking back at her time at Cal State Fullerton, which began in fall 2018 and included the coronavirus shutdown, Yenson recognizes the agility and adaptability that such change has brought to her and her peers.
“Our college experience may have been one of a kind, but it shows our resilience,” she says. “When we face challenges like those of the past four years, we face them head on because we are capable, we are adaptable, we are strong, we are Titans. Although we may be leaving the college itself, the lessons that we’ve learned at CSUF have allowed us to come out of our college experience even stronger and ready to take on the world.”
Meet Rita Boyle
One of many re-entry and first generation students at the College of Business and Economics, Boyle worked as an office manager for 13 years before becoming a Titan accounting student. In 2015, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The news was devastating to her, but her nurse revealed that she had MS herself and had managed to have a successful career while raising several children.
Boyle says this changed her perspective and gave her more drive to achieve her educational goals. She went from taking one course at a time, in pursuit of a vocational certificate, to earning an associate degree from Golden West College, and then pursuing a bachelor’s degree at CSUF.
The former Fountain Valley High School junior varsity swim coach served as a BICC representative, Accounting Society membership chair and member of the Business Data Analytics Club.
Boyle encourages her fellow Titans to stay on track toward their goals, regardless of their circumstances. “My age didn’t hold me back and neither did my diagnosis. So, I moved the goal post, and I started using affirmations,” she says: “‘You are enough.’ ‘You can do hard things!’”
“School is hard. But here we are. We did it. We did the hard thing. Which means we can do other hard things. If we work hard, we can succeed. We can succeed in our careers, in our relationships, and in life. If I can give one piece of advice, it would be to never doubt yourself. Look at what you’ve already accomplished. You can do it all. Don’t be afraid to fail; try it – even if you think you can’t – because sometimes you can! And sometimes failure is how we learn to succeed.”
Congratulations, Rita, Vivian and all of our class of 2022 graduates.
