During last Thursday’s meeting we had the pleasure of being visited by some of our alumni. The message of their visit: FAMILY.

They came to remind us of the importance of family, unity, and the utilization of our resources. Each of them shared their stories from when they were in PhiDE, and how PhiDE helped them get to where they are now.


From left: Oswaldo Rivas, Diana Naderi, Bianca Rivas and Kevin Guillen
Bianca, a member of the Gamma Class and our 2009 VP of Programming, graduated in 2011 majoring in Biology and minoring in Central American studies. Her involvement in PhiDE came from her desire to become more involved on campus. As a member of PhiDE, she learned how to work as a team, built management skills and met lifelong friends.

Since early last summer, Bianca began the application process to medical school. After having gone through the process, Bianca shared some of her tips for doing well on interviews. In her opinion, the best advice is to be yourself and to market yourself. During the interview process you are, in a sense, selling yourself to your medical schools. You have to condense yourself and everything you did in your undergraduate career into a small package, and show your medical schools your best side. To do that, Bianca made a theme for her interviews. That theme was serving the underserved Chicano community. Being Central American played a big role in her success, and looking back at how her ethnicity influenced her community service made everything click and come together.

Bianca ultimately gave this piece of great advice, “You are in one of the best organizations here on campus. Don’t be afraid to get out of your shell, and get out there.”

Diana Naderi, a founding member of the CA Theta Chapter, is currently a second year medical student at Chicago Medical School. Diana gave a presentation last semester on her experiences applying to and surviving medical school. She has since become the godmother of this fraternity, and has emphasized the importance of friends, family and the numerous resources that PhiDE has brought to her. She is a great role model for many of us that are currently undergoing the struggles and hardships she faced during her undergraduate career. She emphasizes that no one can tell you when to give up but yourself. Her motto is, “Don’t give up until you know you don’t want to do it anymore.”

Kevin Guillen, another founding member, graduated in Business and is now helping his father start a health clinic in Palmdale. He had no problem showing off his fun and quirky personality as he cracked jokes and gave everyone a good laugh. Kevin has a lot of insight in the medical field. He stressed the importance of not only knowing the scientific side of medicine, but the business side as well. Having a father that has studied and graduated in so many fields within healthcare has come with its benefits. One of the most important messages he delivered was to remember to take things lightly, “Yes you are all pre-med, and yes you are all dressed up nice. But it’s not all business. Enjoy your time here and enjoy PhiDE. This is what makes it fun and what makes it worth it. It’s the backbone of this whole college experience.”

Oswaldo Rivas graduated in 2011 with a major in Spanish. During his undergraduate years, Oswaldo did more exploring than Lewis and Clark made in their Expedition. Oswaldo changed his major 5 times, and battled himself over all the options he had to choose. For him, while “going through this roller coaster [school], my best choice was joining PhiDE. My initiation was more exciting than my graduation.” In the end, he learned that one-on-one patient care and interaction was his passion. He graduated from UCLA’s post graduate program, and is now pursuing a career as a Chiropractor. He is expecting to hear back from the D.O. schools he applied to soon. The only thing he regrets about his college experience was not joining PhiDE sooner. With all of the support and connections he made, Oswaldo managed to find his way.

These four alumni are perfect examples of the people you come to meet in Phi Delta Epsilon. We see our members grow from the time they join up until the time they graduate. That is the beauty of it all. We have all been in the same boat, we have all had tough classes and impossible professors and we have all spent long hours in the lab and long nights at the library. Although we are all from different backgrounds, the drive to, one day, become physicians brings us together and makes us a family.

All of us decided to take a big step in our undergraduate careers and rush Phi Delta Epsilon. We have all been nervous, and, at some point in our lives, naive. With induction coming up, we should prepare ourselves to welcome the new Mu class and remember that, not too long ago, we were in their shoes taking that giant step forward that has led us to where we are now.

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This article was authored by Phi Delta Epsilon Technology Committee Member, Edward Hernandez. If you would like to contact Edward, you can reach him at edward.hernandez.511@my.csun.edu.

Over the years, Phi Delta Epsilon CA Theta has grown into a bigger, better, and greater chapter. With that said, our older members, the ones who established our fraternity and contributed so much, have since graduated and truly began their pursuit into their respective fields. In this blog segment, Alumni Committee has reached out to one of our graduated members, Yasmin Nadershahi, and asked her what has she done since graduating and to reflect on her experiences in PhiDE.


Yasmin Nadershahi
Major: Biotechnology/Medical Technology, B.S., 2010
Minors: Chemistry and Women Studies
Delta Class - Fall 2008
Vice President of Programming - 2010
Miss PhiDE - 2009 and 2010

1. What have you been up to since graduating from CSUN?

Since graduating CSUN, I have begun working as a flavor chemist. It is one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had because it allows me to be creative! As a flavor chemist, I experiment with different chemicals to create formulas for people to consume in beverages/foods. I have also been in touch with CHLA, and I still find ways to contribute to my community.

2. How is it like working for CHLA? What is your position there, and what is required of that position?

Those of PhiDE CA Theta chapter who know me are well aware of my passion for CHLA. As VP of Programming, I tried to create as many fun and social events to fundraise for CHLA. I helped pave the way for us to host our first CHLA Blood Drive, and I hosted our first club event fundraiser. All of the money raised from the club event went directly to CHLA, and it was, by far, one of the biggest fundraisers we’ve ever had.

Working with CHLA is honorable and amazing. I am a founding member of CHLA’s Junior Advisory Board, and I get to work with passionate individuals interested in giving back to the community.


From left: Jasmine Moore, Lauren Michaels, Yasmin Nadershahi, Bianca Rivas, Sofia Radillo and Karen Rivas at our first CHLA club event fundraiser at Club Kress.

3. What are your plans for the future?

For the future, I would like to continue supporting CHLA and to keep in touch with PhiDE CA Theta!

4. What advice can you give to current members of PhiDE?

My advice to the current members of PhiDE is to ALWAYS work as a team and a family. Help each other out with homework, study in groups, go to places together outside of school and represent your letters on campus! Don’t isolate yourself from others! Have fun with PhiDE!

You only gain what you put in. The more involved you are, the more fun you will have.

5. Do you know of any great opportunities or programs, medically related or not, that current PhiDE members can benefit from or would be interested in?

During my undergraduate years, I shadowed in the Klotz Student Health Center at CSUN. The program I was in is called CASE, which stands for Clinical Access Shadowing Experience. In this program, you experience the basics of working directly with patients and have the opportunity to shadow in the field you are most interested in. I shadowed in the pharmacy, and earned a certificate of completion. If any PhiDE members need help or have questions regarding this program, contact me or call the Klotz center at (818) 677-6328.

Another opportunity I know of is provided by one of our founding members, Kevin Guillen. He has helped create a clinic called Clinica Medica Mi Familia de Palmdale, and is offering a Summer Shadow Program (SSP). For those who care about the community and want to see what it's like to work in a clinic that mainly provides for the underserved, contact Kevin for this awesome opportunity…and tell him Yasmin sent ya! From my understanding, the program is still in development and will encompass the practice of medicine, preventative healthcare through community service, and the business of running a medical practice. At the end of the program you will also earn a certificate of completion.


Yasmin with the PhiDE family.

6. Give us some insight into your contributions and experiences with PhiDE.

My biggest contribution to PhiDE was turning our chapter into one giant family. I wanted to create as many social events so that our chapter could see each other outside of class and meetings. These events allowed us to get to know each other better and make our bonds stronger. 

I think the event that brought everyone together the closest happened the year I hyped everyone to go to the 2010 PhiDE Winterball. That event is one of the best memories I have of PhiDE. We were THE biggest, united chapter, and WE brought the party to the ball!  I remember thinking, "I wish we could all go together…how about a limo?!" So, we also became the first chapter to roll up in a limo! 

As I mentioned previously, I put together our first club event, which we hosted at Kress in Hollywood. This event became one of the largest fundraising events we've ever held for CHLA. We raised, approximately, $1,300. I also helped pave the way for us to host our first Blood Drive with CHLA.

While serving as Associated Students (A.S.) Senator for the College of Science and Math Seat 1, I served as a liaison between A.S. and PhiDE. This position helped me find many opportunities for PhiDE to join and become more involved and recognized on campus. For example, I signed the fraternity up for our first, on-campus Earth Day event, which was hosted by A.S. 

My experience in PhiDE was great and will always be special to me! 


Yasmin helping out at PhiDE’s first Earth Day event with A.S.

7. What did you learn/gain from being in PhiDE?

PhiDE helped me find myself and realize what direction I wanted to take with my degree. I will always support those who aim to pursue careers in any professional healthcare settings, as well as those who have decided to go down another path. PhiDE is a growing and learning experience with a variety of individuals. We started as a family at CSUN and hopefully it will continue to flourish in this way. 

8. What is the one thing you love most about PhiDE?

All of the friends that I’ve made that have turned into family, and that special bond between us that exists even after graduating.

9. How do you think CSUN’s PhiDE chapter can improve?

I think CSUN’s PhiDE chapter has been very visible amongst all of the PhiDE chapters. However, I think that CSUN’s PhiDE’s visibility to the rest of the campus and community can be improved. The chapter ought to be more involved with other organizations on campus and host more events for us alumni to join! =)



Yasmin, thank you for your valuable insight and experiences with Phi Delta Epsilon. The entire fraternity has benefitted from hearing you. We wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors, and we hope to see you at our events!
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This interview was conducted by Melissa Vallin, Phi Delta Epsilon’s Alumni Committee chair. If you are a past Phi Delta Epsilon member who would like to be interviewed, please contact Melissa at melissavallin@hotmail.com. Thank you.