Cal State Fullerton computer engineering alum Austin Murrell had a special message for the youth at his church: “Your college experience is what you make of it.”
Murrell, who graduated in 2021, addressed the congregation of Friendship Baptist Church in Yorba Linda during CSUF’s “Super Sunday: Faith in Our Future.”
“Attending college was one of the best decisions I made for my future, but I didn’t appreciate that when I first started,” said Murrell, project management specialist at Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing Company that specializes in manufacturing space satellites.
Murrell, who aspires to become a program manager, said what made his undergraduate education rewarding was finding his campus community.
He joined the Black Student Union, served as president of the National Society of Black Engineers student chapter and was a member of the Black Campus Ministry.
“What makes your college experience is how much you invest in yourself, in your experience, and how much you are willing to grow,” said Murrell, who made lifelong friends and mentors.
For Super Sunday, held during February’s Black History Month, the university partnered with Friendship Baptist Church and Second Baptist Church in Santa Ana to promote higher education among African American and first-generation college students.
University leaders, alums and staff members shared the value of a college degree, the importance of college preparation, the accessibility of higher education, and their experiences navigating the path to higher education.
Staff from the Department of Outreach, Recruitment and Orientation offered resources to prospective students and their families, including application and admissions support, financial aid information and scholarship opportunities.
CSUF President Ronald Rochon shared the story of George W. McLaurin with congregants at Friendship Baptist Church.
McLaurin, who Rochon said had “a love of education,” earned a bachelor’s degree from Langston University — Oklahoma’s only historically Black university. But he was denied admission to the University of Oklahoma’s graduate school because of his race.
After suing the university, he was the first Black man admitted — under one condition. On the church’s big screen, Rochon showed the congregation a photograph of McLaurin, who sat separately from his counterparts in a classroom.
“Being denied the opportunity to pursue our dream is unacceptable,” Rochon said.
Rochon challenged the congregation to help enroll more African American students at the university while photographs of CSUF Black graduates smiling in their caps and gowns beamed on the big screen.
“At Cal State Fullerton, we want to increase the number of students who look like this beautiful congregation,” Rochon said. “This is a public institution, this is your university — please come and take advantage of your campus. We’re so excited to serve you.”
Gwendolyn Carol Webb, CSUF’s director of community engagement and retention, who is a new member of Friendship Baptist Church, also encouraged churchgoers to join the Titan family.
Webb quoted one of the founders of the NAACP and civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, who said in 1905: “‘We want our children educated. They have the right to know, to think and to aspire.’”