Two Women Honored For Academic Achievement At CSUSB Palm Desert

A single mom from Indio and a substitute teacher in the Morongo Unified School District were honored today as outstanding students at Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus.

Rebecca Scull, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in nursing with a 3.87 GPA, was named Outstanding Undergraduate Student, according to CSUSB spokesman Mike Singer.

Tina Wilcox, who entered the master’s degree program in reading and language arts at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus in spring 2009, was honored as Outstanding Graduate Student.

Scull, a full-time student, works part-time on campus as a student assistant with the department of nursing. Her many activities included started a mentoring program for incoming nursing students, according to Singer.

Scull, who has plans to go back to school and become a neonatal nurse practitioner, hopes to work in a neonatal intensive care unit or in labor and delivery after graduation.

Wilcox, a Yucca Valley resident, graduated from Cal State Bakersfield in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

As a long-term substitute at Morongo Valley Elementary School, Wilcox “played a critical role in giving students there the opportunity to receive early intervention in both language arts and math,’’ according to Singer.

He said that during her graduate program, she visited Amman, Jordan, to observe elementary schools, take Arabic language lessons and volunteer at a graduate school. She also traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, to assist teaching English to speakers of other languages.

Wilcox will graduate with a 4.0 GPA in her graduate education program with a concentration in reading and language arts.

Both will speak at commencement ceremony at The Show at the Aqua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage on Thursday, June 16.