In the third episode of “Going Back to College with Hengame Abassi,’’ Hengame talks to Fariba Novin, an extremely resourceful and resilient 56-year-old Iranian American in the interior design program at CSUN.

Novin immigrated to several countries before the U.S. and speaks multiple languages.

Her immigrant story begins at 14, when her father — afraid of the upcoming 1979 Iranian Revolution — sent her to live with her sister in England. Novin’s sister moved to the U.S. six months later and Novin had to be by herself. She finished her General Certificate of Education Ordinary Levels (comparable to high school diploma) and moved to Germany before she turned 18.

There, she enrolled in a vocational program where she immersed herself in the culture and could speak German after six months. Novin later returned home to Iran for 20 years before moving to the United States in 2007.

Novin says immigration has played an important role in her academic life. It has allowed her the opportunity to start fresh and go after career dreams she put aside earlier in life and that her culture would not allow a woman at her age to pursue.

At 46, she enrolled at a local community college. The initial reason she went to college was to learn about the community. According to Novin, going to college is the best way to learn the language and culture of the place you live in. At first she felt the younger students looked down on her but by the end of the semester they were best friends.

She enjoyed the college experience so much she decided to transfer to CSUN to pursue her dream of becoming an architect. After she completes her undergraduate program, Novin hopes to enroll in an architecture graduate program.

In the second episode of “Going Back to College with Hengame Abassi,’’ Hengame talks to James Hutton, a multi-talented 65-year-old veteran currently in the screenwriting undergraduate program at CSUN.

Hutton joined the workforce right after high school, worked many jobs — including aircraft mechanic for the military — and raised his son after his divorce.

Ten years ago, he took an Spanish class at a local community college and really enjoyed being back at school. Hutton, who is also a musician, decided to take up filmmaking after observing the making of one of his music videos.

Hutton and his son, who goes to Cal State LA, are set to graduate together next spring.

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Hengame Abassi is going back to college. She is non-traditional student: a student at the end of her 60s. Originally from Iran, Abassi was a nurse and reporter who had to flee political persecution while pregnant and lived in Germany for over 20 years before immigrating to the United States. She has hosted Iranian TV and radio shows in the U.S. and is currently a senior at CSUN, double majoring in linguistics and journalism. In “Going Back to College,” Hengame talks to other non-traditional students like herself.

In the first episode of “Going Back to College with Hengame Abassi,’’ Hengame talked to fellow Iranian American and classically-trained musician and multi-instrumentalist, Edris Foroughi.

Foroughi is currently a graduate student in the vocal arts program at CSUN’s music department and is the president of CSUN Iranian Student Association.

Foroughi, 35, went back to college because he did not pursue his passion for his first bachelor’s degree. He got a degree in accounting in Iran, as he thought a career in music would not be accepted in his home country.

Even after immigrating to the United States in 2014 and deciding to follow his musical dreams, Foroughi hesitated at first and enrolled in the computer engineering program, but dropped three weeks later.

On the second episode of Dialed In, Andres Soto sits down with Amanda Delgado, a sophomore all-conference goalkeeper at CSUN. They discuss Delgado's favorite TV show, bouncing back from two torn ACLs while in high school and the mental toll it takes on an athlete, and whether or not she felt snubbed for first team All-Big West.

On the first episode of Dialed In, Andres Soto interviews Mark Thomas, a recruiter for Elite Raw Talent. They discuss the state of recruiting in the wake of national signing day, advice on athletes who want to be recruited, and more.

Kobe Bryant's sudden death from a helicopter crash that killed eight other people, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, on Sunday shook Los Angeles to its core and brought the world to a standstill. Almost one week later, fans have come together outside the Staples Center to mourn the loss of an icon.

Audio by Andres Soto, assistant sports editor for the Sundial

Thumbnail image by Alyssa Durant

This week, CSUN communications professor Joel Lemuel talks about how flexible scheduling and adequate advising can help students with the graduation process.

Why did it take Bryan Zamora seven years to get a bachelor's degree? Tune in for an extra-length episode about one man's journey from the hospital to the graduation stage.

Also: be sure to check out bethematch.org after this and participate now!

Ivan Salinas, the Sundial's Arts & Entertainment editor, fills in for Madison Parsley this week and updates us on what’s happening in The Sundial’s issue on the Latinx community.

Produced by PJ Shahamat

How did a midwestern girl that hated sororities end up at CSUN... IN a sorority? Find out now on Sunspotting.