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Student Life staff member honored by national organization

Clarissa Mae Calimbas

Clarissa Mae Calimbas, assistant director of student involvement at 糖心vlog鈥檚 Stockton campus

Clarissa Mae Calimbas, assistant director of student involvement at 糖心vlog鈥檚 Stockton campus, has been named the recipient of the 鈥淰ery Involved Participant鈥 award from (NASPA).

Calimbas has served as the co-coordinator of the Asian Pacific Islander Knowledge Community within NASPA since 2019.

鈥淚 started in the NASPA Undergraduate Fellow Program when I was still an undergrad student at San Jose State,鈥 Calimbas said. 鈥淎t the time, there wasn鈥檛 really a structured program, and I was just meeting with other administrators and doing informational interviews.鈥

As NASPA grew, Calimbas continued to evolve with the organization. She attended her first national conference in Philadelphia while she was in graduate school.

鈥淚t was in the middle of a winter storm,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚 knew I was in good hands and these were people that would mentor me and want the best for me in my personal and professional life鈥.

Since joining Pacific, Calimbas has integrated her work with NASPA with her dedication for student involvement initiatives.

鈥淥ne of my favorite things about NASPA has been the relationships I鈥檝e built with colleagues from different institutions,鈥 Calimbas said. 鈥淧acific is a unique campus in itself, and one of my favorite things is hearing what things other campuses across the country are doing鈥.

Calimbas is using these connections to further her work both at Pacific and NASPA.

鈥淚 hope to continue to be involved with NASPA Asian Pacific Islanders Knowledge Community鈥檚 Leadership Team,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y other goals include working closely with graduate students and the undergraduate fellows, as well as being on the region and national leadership teams one day.鈥