In Memoriam

SB Strong 

The values of a community are often determined at times of great hardship, tragedy and sadness. It is during these times that a community’s values are tested, as neighbors – from all walks of life – come together to comfort, support and lift up each other in the darkest moments. 

On December 2, 2015, the San Bernardino community was tested following the horrific terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center. Five alumni from California State University, San Bernardino – as well as alumni from Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona and UC Riverside – lost their lives. 

In the following days, weeks and months, the Cal State San Bernardino family came together to remember the victims, support their families, and unite under a common banner of tolerance, love and peace. The campus community led a powerful candlelight vigil, and a shared mantra of SB Strong united and inspired the region and nation. 

To memorialize the victims and support their loved ones, San Bernardino created the SB Strong Education Fund. The fund will establish scholarships for children whose parents were lost in the December 2015 attack. 

The SB Strong Education Fund was a major focus for the university’s Annual Faculty Staff Campaign in 2016. With $100,000 raised for the annual campaign from faculty and staff gifts and payroll deductions, over $16,500 was raised specifically for the fund, with average donations from faculty and staff nearing $100.

As the San Bernardino community marks the one year anniversary of this tragedy, is reaching out to over 15,000 alumni and friends to further support the SB Strong Education Fund – and honor the memories of fellow alumni while making a difference through education. 

Remembering a Shining Star 

The Nohemi Gonzalez Fund to Support International Study was established to honor the memory of Nohemi Gonzalez, the California State University, Long Beach design student killed during the November 2015 attacks in Paris. 

The university’s crowdfunding platform, Beachfunder, received a massive outpouring of support in memory of Nohemi Gonzalez, with donations coming from all across the university, California and the world. 

The fund – which raised over $100,000 in less than two months and surpassed its original funding goals by 400 percent – will assist ​Long Beach students with international travel and study-abroad opportunities. 

Nohemi — a Song for Paris