Beach Connection Spring 2018 Spring 2018 | Page 13

• Volunteer Spotlight
A MOTHER
AND
DAUGHTER
DUO AT CSULB
Monica Solis
Natali Villalobos
BY ELIZABETH ORTIZ
With the hope of making a positive impact on her daughter’s
life, Monica Solis searched for opportunities to make a
positive impact in her community.
Her hometown of Compton did not offer the sort of
atmosphere she was looking for as a stay-at-home mom,
but she was committed to finding that
perfect place where she could dedicate
her time, energy, and generosity for her
daughter Natali.
What she found was a beautiful campus
by the coast, and an environment of
educated and caring people who could
provide opportunities for her baby girl.
Monica’s best friend Lisa Mendoza had
a son attending CSULB in 2010, and Lisa
herself was an avid volunteer for the
Alumni Association. She encouraged
Monica to become involved on campus
because of the great milieu it would
provide for Natali.
The two see CSULB as a second home. Their conversations
are about sharing life and the people they interact with.
Monica even recruits her husband, Natali’s father, to
volunteer at Homecoming games from time to time.
On occasion, Monica and Natali do not see eye to eye, and
have learned that they do things differently
in a work environment. Both agree,
however, that volunteering has been a great
bonding experience, without having to
spend money shopping at the mall.
Natali has gained so much advice and
mentorship through volunteering that she
credits the Alumni of CSULB for molding
her to who she is today.
“I was able to naturally participate in other
places like my high school community
because of volunteering [with the CSULB
Alumni Association],” Natali said.
Monica and Nat al i at t h e Japanese
Garden , 2003
“Now we volunteer together with both of our freshman
girls that became friends at a young age,” said Solis.
“Along with paper cuts from stuffing envelopes and
late-night deadlines before events, Natali and I can laugh
over our differences.”
Being a mother-daughter team has helped
the two women grow closer together while
learning an invaluable lesson: giving is getting. Mother
Solis gave her daughter a gift of giving, and the intangible
rewards that present themselves are endless… like watching
her daughter see life in an unselfish and caring way.
SPRING / SUMMER 2018
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