(This is the second of a two-part series profiling students taking part in California State University, Northridge’s 2026 commencement ceremonies.)
It’s easy to tell someone to follow their dreams. But the path is not always straight forward. Sometimes life happens.
Regardless of the obstacles or the time it took to navigate them, members of the graduating class of 2026 said California State University, Northridge was there when they needed it and made it possible for them to achieve their academic dreams.
An estimated 11,355 students are eligible to take part in CSUN’s commencement exercises this week. Each student has a personal story of hard work, perseverance and success. Below are just a handful of those stories.
Macy Varga, B.S. in Computer Engineering
It was 2021 and the entertainment industry was on hiatus. Macy Varga, then an established make-up artist working for an Emmy Award-winning company, said she was happy but feeling adrift in her career.
“I was 21 and already achieved a lot of my career goals,” Varga said. “Out of pure boredom of the hiatus and a little bit of feeling lost, I decided to take a few community college classes. That’s when I discovered I love math and physics.”
That love morphed into a decision to transfer to CSUN and study computer science. Once at Northridge, she discovered electrical engineering and decided that computer engineering was the right field for her.
“I liked computer science, but I knew I wanted a more hands-on approach,” said Varga, 25, of Santa Clarita. “Computer engineering is like the bridge between electrical engineering and computer science. I need to know what’s happening inside the computer hardware, but I also need to understand how the software can talk to it.”
Varga said transitioning from being a make-up artist to computer engineering is not as far-fetched as it sounds,
“I worked in making prosthetics and so on,” she explained. “I used to make a bunch of mathematical equations on how to mix the silicone together and everyone would be like, ‘No, Macy, you’re over complicating it.’ But it made sense to me. I am just using those equations to make sense of something else.”
Varga currently works for a startup building AI models that help copyright music for musicians.
“I would love to find the space between engineering and the arts,” she said. “AI can be a double-edge sword. It comes with a lot of cons, but there also are a lot of pros. It’s already here and it’s not going away. We need to try to work with it the best we can and create jobs and spaces where it can help artists develop art rather than taking art from artists.”
Varga admitted that being in a field where men outnumber women can be intimidating, “but I am not one for backing down.” She encouraged other women to consider studying engineering.
“Go for it! It’s really fun,” she said. “The other day I built a mirror with a screen in it. Nobody said engineering can’t be girly. There’s nothing masculine about math. Math is such a beautiful, beautiful thing. Being a woman is beautiful. You can make engineering a beautiful, beautiful, colorful place.”
Varga is scheduled to take part in the commencement ceremony for the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science on Friday, May 15. To see a full-length video of Varga’s story, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INtDly5XDQw.
Samvel Yengibaryan, B.S. in Business Administration, Marketing Concentration
Samvel Yengibaryan, 21, of Glendale, said he expects that the lessons he’s learned at CSUN will carry him to success the rest of his life.
“I’m part of the Armenian community in Glendale and, to be honest, we’re constantly talking to the same people with the same background,” he said. “But when I came to CSUN, I was on a campus with a lot of people from different places, with different backgrounds. Yet, once I took the step to say ‘hello,’ I realized that they were all easy to talk to. That regardless of where you’re from, regardless of your background, you actually share so much.
“Not only did I learn how to build and sustain a successful business in my classes, I learned how to work and earn the trust of people not only in my classes but by interacting with people from all over the world on campus,” Yengibaryan said. “We may come from different parts of the world and have different perspectives, but we can find common ground. CSUN is just such an amazing place, and I am so glad I came here.”
Yengibaryan has already started on his business journey. He co-founded a notary business while a freshman, interned with an Armenian law firm last summer and devotes his free time to advocating on behalf of America’s Armenian community, even travelling to Washington D.C. to lobby on foreign aid and human rights issues.
He’s currently in the process of applying to law school.
“I want to be a successful businessman,” he said. “But I want to do more than that. I also want to be able to advocate on behalf of my clients and my community. To do that, I want to go to law school. I want to be able to make a positive change in the world.”
Yengibaryan said his dreams wouldn’t be possible if it were not for his time at CSUN.
“I never thought of myself as a leader until I stepped onto the CSUN campus,” he said.
He hopes to return to the campus one day to share his experiences, both in business and as a community advocate, with future students.
“I would love to someday make a gift to the university that would ensure that future students have access to the latest technology — whether it’s AI or something else — and to have resources — supplies and funding — to launch their own business dreams,” he said. “I have law school first, but I’m looking forward to the future.”
Yengibaryan is scheduled to take part in the commencement ceremony for the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics on Saturday, May 16. To see a full-length video of Yengibaryan’s story, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHxq1Jt7xfA.
Jordan Young, B.A. in Journalism and Communication Studies
Jordan Young, 23, of Chatsworth, spent much of his senior year in high school ducking and dodging teachers and counselors who were urging him to apply to college. He was convinced that higher education was not for him.
“No. 1, I thought I wouldn’t be accepted into the schools and, No. 2, my original thought was I don’t have the money for this, and I don’t want to pull out any loans and put myself into that type of predicament,” he said.
Then a counselor at his South Los Angeles high school cornered him and, enlisting his mother’s help, convinced him that he could get into a CSU and financial aid, not loans, would be available to help him pay expenses.
He chose CSUN, in part, because, as someone who had spent part of his childhood homeless, he had “always dreamed of living in a community like Northridge.”
The transition to college was not easy. Young spent the summer before his first fall semester living out of his car while struggling in a preliminary math class. He was ready to give up until he attended new student orientation and was connected to a number of services that helped him find a place to live, provided tutoring and assured him that he would have support if he needed it.
“I was able to focus more and concentrate on my academic development here at CSUN, and the journey continued from there,” he said.
Young started his own freelance photography business, NasVisualsss, and was soon tapped to take pictures of CSUN’s athletics teams, as well as sporting events at local high schools, including Calabasas and Sierra Canyon.
He soon joined a number of campus organizations, including the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, for which he holds a leadership role for the organization’s western region. He mentored other students as part of CSUN’s Black Student Success Mentorship program. He completed internships with United Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport and the communications department of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Young, who has a three-year-old son, has dreams of building a real estate empire to ensure his family always has financial stability. His immediate goal, though, is to earn a master’s degree in public policy at CSUN.
“Somebody had to develop the policies and programs that made it possible for me to go to college and succeed,” he said. “I want to pay it back and do the same, just like the people who invested in me. We need more programs, scholarships, things like that that support college students and other people in general. Life is not always about money. It’s about giving that opportunity to someone who is trying to reach greater heights in their own lives.”
Young is scheduled to take part in the commencement ceremony for the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication on Monday, May 18. To see a full-length video of Young’s story, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfZ1Q0kHbVg.
Stacy Withrow, M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy
It was 2014 and, after almost nearly 30 successful years working in the beauty industry, Stacy Withrow decided it was time for a career change.
Withrow, now 50, of South Los Angeles, enrolled at Santa Monica College as a returning student and then transferred to UCLA to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She chose CSUN for her master’s degree because it had “one of the most well-respected programs for marriage and family therapy in California.”
While at Santa Monica, Withrow was diagnosed with breast cancer. It returned shortly after she graduated from UCLA and had spread to her bones. During the end of her first year at CSUN, she learned that it has metastasized to her brain. She stopped working as a beauty professional and instead concentrated on her health and studies.
“My cancer has gotten into my brain,” she said. “After brain radiation, you’re just a little bit more fatigued. It’s kind of hard to juggle both work and school. Up until two years ago, I worked through my entire journey coming back to school. I really needed something to focus on that made me feel like my life was still moving forward. School was that thing for me.”
She let her faculty and classmates know of her situation. They offered her encouragement and “were there” for her. She singled out professors Deborah Buttitta and Dana Stone and classmate Adrianne Biddle for “being the raft” that kept her afloat as she made her way through the program.
“In 2024, they gave me two to three weeks to live. I was like ‘Well, yeah, we’ll see,’” Withrow said. “I was able to take on that attitude because of these three women just reminding me that I’m the boss of me. I’m in charge of my life. The doctors don’t always know everything, so I stayed focus on my goal.”
As part of requirements for her degree, Withrow was assigned to work at the Ness Counseling Center in West Los Angeles with individuals — many of whom have been charged with sex offences, domestic violence and other crimes — who had been ordered by the courts to attend counseling. She was surprised at how fulfilling she found the work and at her ability to connect with her clients.
“When you think of sex offenders, murders and people who are committing domestic violence, you think of something scary, that they are monsters,” she said. “They’re not, you know. They’re just regular people who have their own life histories of trauma and conditioning that has brought them to the point where they found themselves in the criminal justice system. I found that even in those cases where the people really didn’t want to be there, I was able to find a way to connect with them and to provide that space for self-reflection. That really, really surprised me.
“Now, going into the world, I really feel equipped, especially after leaving this, to work with all types of people,” Withrow said, adding that she is in the process of establishing her own counseling practice.
Withrow is scheduled to take part in the commencement ceremony for the Michael D. Eisner College of Education on May 16. To see a full-length video of Withrow’s story, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGgE7yO2KVc.