Honored as this year’s recipients of Cal State Northridge’s Distinguished Alumni Awards, Hollywood producer Don Hahn ’75 (Music) proved dreams do come true; celebrated opera singer Carol Vaness MA ’76 (Music), Hon. D ’98 (Fine Arts) received rave reviews; and entrepreneur and business executive Irv Zakheim ’71 (Physical Education) attested that teamwork pays.

At a ceremony on April 16, all three alumni thanked California State University, Northridge for giving them their start on the journey to a successful career. Hahn said Northridge was the place that “welcomed” him even though he was “dangerously introverted.” Vaness credited an emeritus music professor with honing her talent. Zakheim said being a member of the Matador’s 1970 NCAA national champion baseball team changed his life.

“There are many ways to measure what a great university is but surely one of the most important ways to judge the significance of the university is to consider its alumni and their impact on their professions, on their communities and on the world,” said President Jolene Koester. “Through tonight’s honorees…we have the very best of California State University, Northridge.”

Master of ceremonies and CNBC commentator Bill Griffeth ’80 (Journalism) joined Koester and Alumni Association President Tammy Tolgo MBA ’02 in presenting the awards to the honorees before an audience of nearly 400 guests at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, Calif.

Tolgo welcomed guests on behalf of the nearly 12,000 Cal State Northridge Alumni Association members. She expressed the university’s and Alumni Association’s appreciation to the event’s sponsors: Northern Trust, Zak! Designs, Liberty Mutual, Capital One, and Debbie and Milt Valera ’68 (Journalism).

“By honoring me, you are honoring my teachers.”

I’m a big believer in the butterfly effect—the idea that an action that you take today has echoes throughout the universe.

One of the most satisfying things in my recent career has been lecturing at universities and having students come up and tell me that when they were kids they grew up on Disney movies and now they love musicals and are into film and music. These are clear echoes of my mentors and teachers at Northridge.

By honoring me, you are honoring my teachers. And I can still hear their words. They said: Good artists borrow; great artists steal—a phrase my art teacher stole from Picasso.

Your time on earth is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

You have 10,000 bad drawings in you and the sooner you get them out the sooner you get to the good stuff.

Their words still reverberate in my life everyday. When I do a drawing or paint or make a film, I hear their words and benefit from a university that has always done the arts right. This university knows how to grow students who give back to their culture. I am incredibly proud to be associated with this great institution.

Excerpt from speech given at DAA ceremony by Don Hahn, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker who produced Disney films including Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

— Shanté Morgan

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