Dalia Hernández, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math Science programs, was honored for her outstanding service by the Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel (WESTOP) Southern California Chapter.

“This award is a testament to the excellent work Dalia has accomplished in Upward Bound,” said   Brian Haynes, CSUSB’s vice president of student affairs.

Hernández, who has served at CSUSB’s Upward Bound program since 2015, received the Doreen De Los Santos Dynamic Service Award, which honors an outstanding TRIO professional who demonstrated extraordinary enthusiasm and commitment to the WESTOP Southern California Chapter, and has made outstanding contributions to the students, program(s) and the chapter, and exemplifies tremendous passion for WESTOP.

Hernández is the outgoing president of the WESTOP chapter.

“I am honored and humbled to have received this award,” said Hernández. “In my tenure as a TRIO and educational equity professional, I have seen the lives of many first-generation, low-income students transform through education, and having the commitment from an association such as WESTOP to advocate on behalf of TRIO and educational equity programs is critical to our work and the success of our students.”

Upward Bound is one of eight federal TRIO programs created to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.

CSUSB’s Upward Bound serves 200 students in ninth through 12th grade enrolled at Arroyo Valley, Carter, Eisenhower, Pacific, Rialto and San Bernardino high schools that are within either the San Bernardino City Unified or Rialto Unified School districts.

Recently, the CSUSB Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math programs were awarded $4,023,440 in federal funding for their programs to help students in San Bernardino and Rialto graduate from high school, and enroll and graduate from college.

Hernández has worked in TRIO and educational equity programs for the past 20 years. In her tenure in TRIO and educational equity programs, she has worked diligently to ensure that students are equipped with the tools and resources to achieve success.

Hernández has a bachelor of science degree in human services from Cal State Fullerton and a master of science degree in public administration from Cal State Los Angeles.