Agoura Hills resident overcomes the odds to earn college degree

When Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) officials hand diplomas to new graduates soon, they’ll recognize more than academic achievement. They’ll also honor the tenacity and dedication of people determined not to let anything stop them from achieving their goals, including Cynthia Olson, 49, of Agoura Hills.

Olson had married right out of high school and worked through much of her young adulthood while raising two children. When she had the time and the resources, she decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and return to school. She enrolled at CSUN in spring 2000.

But injuries she suffered during a traffic accident while working as an ambulance attendant in her 20s came back to trouble her, leading to four surgeries on her right rotator cuff during the past few years.

Being right-handed, the injury hampered her ability to write and take notes. She postponed her studies for a semester last year when she had a three-level lumbar fusion in her back. The fusion had to be repeated this year.

"It was an incredible struggle at times—the pain was so bad sometimes that I couldn’t think," said Olson. "But I didn’t want to give up my goal."

Olson was unable to use her right arm at times, so professors came up with creative ways to accommodate her. One taped a test to her desk to make it easier to write, while another arranged for her to take an essay exam orally. This past semester, professors in three classes modified their curriculum so she could do most of her work online.

Despite her disabilities, Olson still managed an internship at the David Gonzalez Correctional Camp in Calabasas, tutoring young men for their GEDs. She said she would like to continue her relationship with the camp once she graduates.

Olson will receive her BA in sociology at 8 a.m. Fri., May 30 on the Oviatt Library lawn at the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences commencement.