Marian Last Endowed Student Award

Ms. Marian Last (1980, MS Educational Psychology) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has held leadership positions on various boards and task forces during her career. She served in roles such as Chair of the California Commission on Aging, Community and Senior Services Manager for the City of El Monte, Co-Founder of a family services and sexual assault center, and Congressional Delegate to the White House Conference on Aging.

The CSULB Gerontology Program and its students met Ms. Last in Fall 2015 through the California Commission on Aging (CCoA), an advisory group appointed by the Governor of California to advise him on issues regarding aging Californians. The CCoA Operational Plan states, “Since 1973, the California Commission on Aging (CCoA) has proudly served as the principal state advocate for the issues and concerns of older Californians.” At this meeting, our Gerontology students and Ms. Last developed a meaningful relationship as they discussed issues affecting older adults.

Since then, the Gerontology Program is very fortunate for Ms. Last’s continued involvement with CSULB. She decided to contribute to student’s success through the creation of the Marian Last Endowed Student Award to support students in the Masters of Science Gerontology Program to develop a pipeline of leaders in that field.