Key Staff Profile
Kay Lynn Ceja
Please tell us about your background and training. Where did you attend college?
I completed my bachelor’ s degree at UCLA, majoring in Sociology with minors in Educational Studies and Developmental Psychology. I was initially pre-med and double majoring in psychobiology and sociology, but I ended up having a change of heart. I happened to an education class just to fill space in my schedule one quarter and really fell in love with it. I went on and earned my teaching credentials and a master’ s degree in Education at Cal Poly Pomona. I also earned National Board Certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist and have been trained in multiple reading intervention programs. Currently, I am completing my PhD in Education with an emphasis in Disability Studies at Chapman University.
How long have you been a Learning Skills Specialist? What interested you about the field?
I have worked in the field of learning skills for about 15 years now. Prior to coming to CDU, I worked primarily with students that had learning disabilities, speech and language disorders and autism. Although I did not plan to go into education when I entered college, I ended up falling in love with it, and now could not imagine doing something else. I really enjoy helping students reach their goals, and seeing students have that“ a- ha” moment when something clicks for them. Often when a student comes to see me, it is because they are experiencing difficulty, and I am always honored and grateful when a student trusts me enough with their bad moments to open up about what the difficulty is they are having and allow me to try to help them.
How long have you been a member of the COM staff? Where have you worked besides CDU?
I have been part of the COM staff full time since summer of 2013, and I worked on a contract basis with CDU for a year prior to that. Before coming to CDU full-time, I worked as a classroom teacher for LAUSD, as well as at a private educational therapy clinic. I also worked as a teacher trainer, in both LAUSD and the private clinic I worked for.
Is there a high demand at CDU for Learning Skills help?
I work to support the students in COM in their academics. This includes helping organize our Pre- Matriculation Program, which is a two week course our incoming medical students complete prior to starting their classes at UCLA, as well as meeting individually with students during the two weeks. I work with students across all four years in terms of study skills, time management and test taking. I think there is always demand for learning skills help, as even students who may be passing their exams may want ways to improve upon their performance. I also help keep track of student exam data to help try to identify areas of need, as well as looking into resources that may be useful for our students.
Over the years, I have taken on overseeing some of our medical students’ co-curricular activities, such as Partnership for Progress, in which our medical students mentor local high school students interested in health careers; the Pre-Medical Mentoring Program, where the medical students mentor pre-med students in different programs here at CDU, as well as our annual Project Santa Claus event.
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 7