COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOLARSHIP PORTFOLIO (2013) | Page 83

Born in the Philippines, Marilyn Bunag grew up in poverty in San Francisco,
helping to raise five siblings. She attended City College before transferring to
SF State. “I realized the only way for me and my family to get out of poverty
was through education,” she said. “But more than that, school just made me
feel good about myself. It made me see the world through a different lens.”
While pursuing a degree in sociology, Bunag developed a strong interest in
studying the poverty, inequalities and power structures that she had lived
through. In addition to raising her four children, who range in age from 8 to
19, Bunag now works as a case manager at a vocational training nonprofit
in the Mission District and serves on the Board of Directors for the shelter
and family services program where she was once a client. After graduation,
Bunag plans to apply to graduate school and continue doing social work
in low-income communities. She received a symbolic hood at the 2012
Commencement ceremony to represent Undergraduate Distinguished students
in the College of Health and Human Services.

Richard (“Tad”) Isaacs’s SFSU GPA was 3.97 when he completed his B.A.
in Sociology in May 2013. He is now starting a Masters Program in Political
Science. Richard came to SF State with the goal of becoming a social
worker, but he soon grew “more and more excited about scholarly research”
and shifted his focus to political sociology. He flourished in the Sociology
program, distinguishing himself as one of the cohort’s most outstanding
scholars. One of his professors wrote, “He is a brilliant student, one of the
most enthusiastic and inspired people I have met, and has had a very difficult
life including [periods of] homelessness and addiction.”

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DEPARTMENTS

Ruth Kuntzman has spent the majority of her life taking care of children.
Her desire to create a safe and healthy space for children led Kuntzman
to the Sexuality Studies Master’s Program at SF State, where her thesis
project addressed the lack of inclusivity in the school through the creation
and execution of a gender and sexuality workshop for K-12 educators, with
the goal of providing them with the knowledge necessary to create more
inclusive classroom environments for sexual minority and non-genderconforming youth. As a result of her thesis project, as well as academic
excellence in the graduate program, Kuntzman earned the Sociology
and Sexuality Studies Department’s Distinguished Achievement Award.
Kuntzman will be continuing her research at the PhD level before pursuing
a job as a professor in a university Education Department, where she will
be able to educate teachers about gender and sexuality before they enter the
field.