{"id":64613,"date":"2025-11-22T01:58:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T01:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/64613\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T01:58:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T01:58:32","slug":"coming-full-circle-at-csub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/64613\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming Full Circle at CSUB\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a> <\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy of Professor Rhonda Dugan.<\/p>\n

For Professor Dahna Stowe, becoming a sociology lecturer at CSU Bakersfield is more than a career milestone: it\u2019s an embodiment of coming full circle. The proud CSUB alumna earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in 2011 and her masters in 2013 from the very department she now teaches in, sociology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt feels good,\u201d Stowe said. \u201cBecause I know the expectations of the [sociology] department. I know what the rigor of the curriculum did for me as a student, and now I have the ability to teach it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Her academic journey represents what she proudly describes as a \u201cfull-circle\u201d experience. Today, she stands at the front of the same classrooms where she once sat, teaching courses like Introduction to Research Methods, the same course Dr. Rhonda Dugan taught her as an undergraduate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her journey back to CSUB was inspired by the deep love she has for the university community and by the gentle hand of the mentor who guided her, Dr. Dugan, professor and department chair of sociology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe genuinely took me under her wing,\u201d Stowe said. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for my relationship with Dr. Dugan, I wouldn\u2019t have even thought about teaching here\u2026 I tell students to develop relationships with their faculty. Those mentors can guide you both professionally and personally.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The experience of being mentored by Dr. Dugan influenced Stowe\u2019s teaching philosophy and how Stowes approaches her own students. She believes mentorship can not only benefit a student\u2019s academic pathway but also support their sense of belonging in higher education.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Stowe, teaching sociology is more than explaining the dynamics of society, it\u2019s about showing students that they have the power and the ability to create change. Stowe\u2019s teaching philosophy centers on the belief in transformation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often think issues in society are too big for one person to change\u2026 all great social change has somehow started with young people,\u201d Stowe said. \u201cYou are a legitimate member of this society, and you have the right and responsibility to be engaged in it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a first-generation college graduate who grew up in poverty, Stowe understands the significance of opportunity and representation in higher education. Stowe knows firsthand the various social and academic barriers students potentially face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like me and you weren\u2019t supposed to be here,\u201d she said. \u201cSomeone fought for our right to be here, and we need to honor that sacrifice by doing our best and helping others come after us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stowe\u2019s pride in CSUB is deeply rooted, not only is she a faculty member but also the proud parent of three CSUB alumnae and a donor who continues to give back to programs that align with her core values.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the first in my family to graduate from college,\u201d she said. \u201cNow my daughters have master\u2019s degrees, and another is close to earning one. Education changes families, it changed mine.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Stowe and Dugan relationship developed from mentor-mentee to colleagues, their friendship only deepened.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe [Stowe] is a friend now, a really good friend,\u201d Dugan said. \u201cShe is very considerate, generous, and supportive in thinking about how she can help students in all sorts of ways,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Stowe, teaching sociology at CSUB is more than a profession, it\u2019s a way to give back to the community that continues to shape her while inspiring the next generation of students. \u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Courtesy of Professor Rhonda Dugan. For Professor Dahna Stowe, becoming a sociology lecturer at CSU Bakersfield is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[38804,38805,151,153,152],"class_list":["post-64613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-csub-features-profile","tag-csubalum","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}