Steven Graham
Year Graduated
BA 1988, MA 1992
Degree and Major
BA Organizational Communication, MA Interdisciplinary Studies
Occupation
Professor of Communications at Delta College
Hometown
Half Moon Bay, CA
Current City of Residence
Ripon, CA
Career/Life Achievements
My greatest career and life achievements have been graduating with my bachelors and masters degrees from CSU Stanislaus, raising my children, and helping people make the transition from high school/community college to CSU Stanislaus and then from college to postbaccalaureate programs during the 13 years that I worked at the University.
Passions/Interests/Life Goals
I want to reach my full potential as a person, and I have recognized my passion is service to others. Whether it be as a parent, spouse, manager, teacher, coach, or any other role I take, I want to make a difference in individual lives.
I chose CSU Stanislaus because...
After playing basketball at MJC in 1986, I started looking for a school to transfer to. I visited several schools, but each one seemed wrong for one reason or another. At San Francisco State, I felt like I was a small fish in a big pond. I remember being in the bookstore and seeing hundreds of people in line to buy books. I don’t like traffic, and I don’t like long lines…they stress me out. So I headed up to Chico for a campus visit. I stayed the night with a couple of friends and found out that I would never graduate from there if I stayed...I get distracted easily. :)
I knew Stanislaus had a very good basketball team, so I decided to visit the campus. The campus was completely different from the beautiful place it is now. It was really small, no ponds/lakes, the dorms were across the street and were horrible. But the people who worked here were friendly and wanted to help make my experience all that it could be. I could tell they loved being Warriors and that sold me.
How CSU Stanislaus helped prepare me for my career
I have spent just about half my life at CSU Stanislaus, so the majority of my success can be directly attributed to CSU Stanislaus. Whether we are talking about my experience as a student, staff, manager, or instructor I have learned something from each experience that has prepared me for my career. I have had some outstanding professors, who were not only teachers inside the classroom, but mentors outside of it. Everything a person needs for success in their career can be found at CSU Stanislaus, the question is are they looking for it or do they expect it to find them?
Most memorable experience at CSU Stanislaus
I’ve had so many memorable experiences while at Stanislaus it’s hard to pick one. I enjoyed swimming in the reflection pond during Warrior Day, winning the first basketball championship, and working on campus for 13 years. But the one thing I will always remember is hanging out in Mom’s. “Back in the day” it was a pizza/pub hang out spot. It also had a big screen TV and this was the place to be on campus. Everyone, including professors and college staff, would hang out with the students, have a beer, and talk about subjects ranging from sports to J. Jackson’s Return Potential Model. This is how I remember CSU Stanislaus.
E-mail Address: SGraham@deltacollege.edu
