Major: Criminology and Criminal Justice, Psychology, Spanish
Why did you choose your majors?
I had originally applied as an Education major to Cal Lutheran but a month before school had started I decided to change it to criminology and criminal justice. I decided on criminology and criminal justice because throughout middle/high school I was very involved in my community as an advocate and I enjoyed doing that. I took my first Intro to Criminal Justice class, and I enjoyed it. It almost came to me naturally to understand these concepts.
While I was a big advocate in my community for advocacy I also at the same time was involved in mental health and awareness in my high school. I was involved in my school’s Health Science Academy, so psychology was something that also interested me, specifically mental health. I talked to my counselor in the spring semester about taking Intro to Psychology just to get a feel of the waters. Same as criminal justice I fell in love with the ideas and concepts we learned.
I thought for a short time to just drop criminal justice/criminology and just take up psychology as my only major but after talking to my counselor Katie Garza at Student Support Services she told me that I could graduate in four years and be a double major, I took it and ran with it. I enjoy both because they balance each other out. I can put into practice what I learn in my criminal justice classes and apply it to psychology classes and vice versa.
For my Spanish major, it was kind of a why not moment in my education career. I took the Spanish placement test my freshman year since Spanish is my second language and was placed in upper division classes. I decided to take a class just for fun with a friend and the professor in that class was Dr. Seales who truly pushes the Spanish major and minor. I only needed three Spanish classes to minor in it and I did and was a minor until spring of my junior year. That spring I sat down with my counselor and looked at my schedule and I asked if it were possible for me to add Spanish as my third major and still graduate on time. With her and my parents’ support, we made it possible (just needed to take extra summer classes). I decided to take it as my third and final major because the Spanish language applies to anything and everything. Especially here in California where it’s the second most spoken language. I thought why not benefit from something I already had in a way?
Would you recommend them to a future student?
Yes, I would 100% recommend a criminology and criminal justice major to students. It’s a major where you are well-supported by everyone in the department. Professors are always going above and beyond helping you and connecting you with internships and community services. I have met some of the best people in this major. All their classes are also tailored very differently so you can always take an interesting class. For example, some of my favorite elective classes were: Crime Analysis with Professor Karlie Lemon and Human Trafficking with Professor Helen Lim.
I would recommend psychology as a major because there are so many different areas in psychology that one can learn and study. It’s always something new. I personally am more interested in the research area in psychology and that’s something you can always do in this department.
Yes, I love the Spanish department. All the professors are super sweet and helpful no matter what your other majors are. Personally, my Spanish professors have always allowed me to tailor my assignments to my other majors. This past summer I took a translation class and was allowed to tailor it to my internship which was based in immigration law.
What are your future plans?
Currently, everything is up in the air, having three majors has its positives and negatives. Its positives are that it allows me to look at three different areas for graduate school, but the negative is that it gives me so many areas to look into that it’s overwhelming. I plan on going to graduate school, 100% in the fall of 2025. Where exactly and what for is what is up in the air? I did get a job offer as a paralegal in the immigration office I interned at over the summer also if I need a backup backup plan.
Are there any particular experiences — in or out of the classroom — that have helped you identify that path?
I think Student Support Services on campus and my parents are the main support that helped me achieve this. They never told me to stop pursuing all these different majors or told me to just not take up these experiences. They always told me I could achieve anything I put my mind to. I also tried my best to go to events that different departments would put on to learn more about them. I think if you enjoy doing something and find it in a department, you’re interested in a lot of things that overlap that you would never think of. Talk to professors and ask them about their experiences and their challenges. Talking and having conversations is what helped me identify my path.