Stronger, diverse community

Cal State Northridge is one of the most diverse institutions in the United States with a student body that is made up 44 percent Latino/a, 23 percent White, 11 percent Asian, 9 percent International, 5 percent African American, 3 percent multi-raced, and less than 1 percent Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

Challenge

With over 370,000 alumni, CSUN has a wealth of expertise and goodwill to help its students with insights and connections. But a new portal was not the answer when only about 7% of alumni sign up for engagement platforms. CSUN needed a solution that would let all Matadors connect especially during these challenging times.

Solution

CSUN launched Protopia in less than four weeks, giving all of its students turnkey access to thousands of alumni ready to help with advice & connections. Through Ask A Matador students simply ask and alumni answer.

Benefits

Thousands of alumni have been matched to volunteer opportunities to assist with career advice, job searches, and academic projects – with a 90% satisfaction rating from Matadors.

Creating happy, engaged alumni + students

Mark Chavez

CSUN'12

“Simple and effective way to communicate without having to login into another platform. Easy to use and think most users would engage given the ease of use/function.”

Michele Hampton

CSUN'85

“I enjoyed receiving a note from a student who studied in the same area as I did. I feel that networking and reaching out to alumni can help these young students connect to those of us in areas that they are interested in.”

Nicholas Corrado

CSUN'20

“I was very satisfied with the alumni feedback that was offered to me through this service. Overall, I feel that Ask A Matador is a great way for students from any major to receive sound advice from those presently working in the field. I have spoken positively of this service and have encouraged my classmates to give it a try. Nice going CSUN :)”

Rose Bonakdar

CSUN'19

“Very helpful and insightful. My alum has definitely been in the same position and has given advice that is inspiring, and also motivating. I really appreciate the feedback!”

“With Protopia it’s not only easy to ‘just ask’ for advice, but our busy alumni can choose to help and mentor or simply pass the baton to the next-best Matador – all without another app or login.”

Samantha Delagardelle Varner

Director, Alumni Relations and Engagement Cal State Northridge (CSUN)

Location

Alumni

Super Powers