The School of Public Affairs announces its 2024-2025 outstanding students

Nicholas Felix: Outstanding Undergraduate Student of Criminal Justice

Nicholas Felix, outstanding undergraduate in criminal justice with a certificate in public law, has gone above and beyond at SDSU, persevering through his disability and striving for excellence in his many involvements at SDSU.

Felix lives with an eye disease called Retinis Pigmentosa, which has rendered him legally blind, and said his resilience and determination to strive for excellence in other aspects of his life are his way of fighting against his condition.

Felix aspires to be a lawyer in the public sector and said his time at SDSU has motivated and inspired him to take action against injustices within the country’s justice system.

Felix was a member of Associated Students for two years, serving one term as a representative for the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts and the second term as a Board of Director, Student-At-Large, while also acting as the former Vice Chair for the University Affairs Board.

Felix also serves as a Community Service Executive for the Criminal Justice Student Association, Director of Membership Development for Tijuana Home Build, Recruitment Team lead for Dance Marathon at SDSU, Vice President of Philanthropy for Delta Upsilon Fraternity, and an A.S. Representative on the PSFA College Council.

Additionally, he has represented students through roles on the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Strategic Plan Implementation Committee, Campus Fee Advisory Committee, and the 2024 Homecoming Court.

Felix also interned for the San Diego County Office of the Public Defender, worked as an undergraduate research assistant for the School of Public Affairs’ Criminal Justice Department, served as a student judge at the 2025 Student Research Symposium, and has completed over 300 hours of community service.

Felix said his most influential faculty members were Dr. Kimberly Kras, Dr. Tereza Trejbalová, Dr. Konrad Moore, and Judge Blaine Bowman.

Felix’s advice to incoming SDSU students: don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone and get involved!

Saedy McCoy: Outstanding Undergraduate Student of Public Administration

Saedy McCoy, outstanding undergraduate in public administration with an emphasis in city planning, is passionate about city and neighborhood development and is considering law school. She has a deep interest in studying the specializations of environmental justice and housing rights and representing underserved or disadvantaged communities in land-development and land-use related cases.

McCoy worked at San Diego City College, where she cultivated a respect for public service and a love for and desire to serve the people of San Diego, creating a more sustainable and accessible city for all.

McCoy said her most influential faculty member was Dr. Jenna Dublin-Boc, who she said embodied kindness and stability, which McCoy hopes to emulate as a professional.

A piece of advice that McCoy offers to students is to think about how everything you learn plays into your life, and that college is what you make of it, and it can be extremely fulfilling and exciting if you are determined to experience it that way.

Jean Bartholomew: Outstanding Graduate Student in City Planning

Jean Bartholomew, outstanding graduate in city planning, aspires to support community needs and advocate for more equitable, accessible, and safer cities.

Bartholomew’s capstone project is a case study analysis of Ciclovía programs across the U.S. to determine the best practices for city planning and coordination of a self-sustaining CicloSDias program in San Diego.

Ciclovías, originating in Colombia, are community-focused events that temporarily close main streets to allow people to experience their local environment in a more walkable way. 

Bartholomew’s project will support a framework to reestablish a self-sustaining CicloSDias through identifying the best ways to meet the city’s unique needs, goals, and constraints. She seeks to contribute to projects that support public transit and transportation infrastructure to create safer streets for everyone.

Vu Hyunh: Outstanding Graduate Student in Criminology

Vu Hyunh, outstanding graduate in criminal justice and criminology, worked on a capstone project that examined resource allocation between the San Diego Public Defender's Office and the District Attorney’s Office.

Through the use of a mixed-methods approach, he analyzed budgetary data and survey responses to explore how funding disparities impact pretrial decisions, client services, and case outcomes.

The goal of Hyunh’s project is to shed light on systemic imbalances and support recommendations to foster a more equitable, community-centered resource distribution in the criminal legal system.

Hyunh highlighted how working alongside the School of Public Affairs faculty on a research project helped him discover a deep passion for research and critical inquiry and said that SDSU gave him the tools to produce meaningful, equity-driven work, affirming his commitment to using education and research to advocate for systemic change.

Hyunh aspires to pursue a Ph.D., continue researching, and eventually become a teacher in higher education.

Dustin Adkins: Outstanding Graduate Student in Public Administration

Dustin Adkins, an outstanding graduate in public administration, aspires to continue working in public service and advancing missions within higher education and beyond.

Adkins shared that when he first arrived at SDSU as a first-generation, low-income undergraduate student, he often felt uncertain about where he belonged. But through his work with the Associated Students food pantry, the Economic Crisis Response Team, and Aztecs Rock Hunger, he discovered a deep passion for supporting college students’ basic needs.

Adkins’ capstone project focuses on researching the SDSU Basic Needs Center and the various services and resources it provides to SDSU students.

His research is primarily centered around assessing which resources were the most impactful to student well-being and why. It also assesses how staff feel about the efficiency and effectiveness of the center’s operations and resources, and looks into holistic recommendations that can be made to improve the Basic Needs Center and its impact on students.