Thanks to Anjanette Arnold, university departments easily can keep in touch with alumni and supporters. She joined the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Foundation in March, marking a shift from working in e-commerce and marketing roles in the casino industry.
Why 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ?
I moved here from the Los Angeles area in 2006 and worked for about 10 years in the casino industry, and I just wanted a change. I’d always thought it would be nice to pay it forward at my university, Cal State LA, but living here, I couldn’t quite do that. But then this opportunity came up and I’m able to show an appreciation for the education I received in a way, even though I didn’t come from this school. The environment is completely different from the casino industry. I like that it fosters growth and learning.
What do you do in your role?
As the web and e-communications manager, I handle electronic communication requests from the different colleges, and units like the Foundation and 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Alumni Association, using our NetCommunity system. These are typically sent to donors, alumni, and other supporters of each college or unit, or the university overall. NetCommunity is a platform that sends email communications, generates web pages for online transactions (for those who would like to make a donation) and event registrations, and hosts the Alumni Association and Foundation websites. It’s similar to the web and email marketing duties I had in the casino industry, but the audience is very different.
What do you do for fun?
Photography! I did study abroad in 2003, attending University of Virgin Islands for a semester. For my birthday, before class was in, I just went around and took a lot of beautiful pictures of the beach and of people. I wound up getting a lot of compliments on those. Since then, I’ve been doing landscapes and have received a little formal photo education as well. I’ve gotten more into portraits lately. Besides that, I’m also a pug enthusiast.
In addition to photos, you also have done some graphic design work. Do you have a creative side?
You know, it’s a little strange how I became more of a creative person over time. In school, I was a business major — a computer information systems degree in business. It was all very analytical. It wasn’t until I started my career, in this internship I had at a local chamber of commerce, where I learned how to do web design and graphic design.
Who inspires you?
Definitely my dad. He was born and raised in the Philippines and he grew up very poor. He’d always tell me stories about how he was the second oldest of six kids and he didn’t even have good shoes to go to school with. He’d get teased a lot. But he worked hard through college and managed to emigrate to the U.S. in the late 70s. He worked hard and worked his way up over the years. People in his home town consider him a hero. He’s really the epitome of the American Dream, I think.
Tell us about an object in your office that has special significance for you and why.
I have a small series of pictures mounted on my wall from my Rio de Janeiro trip, including the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Escadaria Selaron (the tiled steps). It has always been a "bucket list" place to visit that I finally checked off back in 2014.
