In celebration of their accomplishments in their respective fields and their service and support of the university, Cal State Fullerton isrecognizing five Distinguished Alumni on Feb. 28 as the 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Award recipients. Established in 1994, the biennial awards are the highest honors presented by CSUF to alumni and community supporters. Over the next several weeks, we will profile each of this year’s honorees, highlighting their achievements and contributions to their profession and the community.
Kristin Crellin’s higher education journey may have taken an unconventional path, but it led her to Cal State Fullerton, where she attended night school to complete her bachelor’s degree in history in 1995.
Crellin is in her 36th year with SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union and is the current senior vice president of Community and Membership Development. She is also an active alumna at both the CSUF and CSU levels, where she is a member of the CSUF Philanthropic Board of Governors and serves as the chair of the CSU Foundation Board of Governors.
Additionally, Crellin is president of the Education Foundation for California Schools, SchoolsFirst’s nonprofit she helped establish that supports education programs in California schools.
In recognition of her commitment to CSUF, the CSU system and the local education community, Crellin has been named a 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumni award winner.
An Orange County native, Crellin grew up in Villa Park and began at a community college out of high school before transferring to San Diego State to study history. Prior to completing her degree, she shifted direction, leaving SDSU for court reporting school and taking a part-time role at SchoolsFirst as a secretary to the president. Within six months, she knew the credit union was where she wanted to build her career.
“We say that we’re building the future for those that build the future,” said Crellin of SchoolsFirst. “I enjoy working with the educational community every day to see how we can help them and how we can make their lives easier so that they can go to work every day and do their job and not worry about their finances.”
While she had landed on her career path, Crellin still had a strong desire to complete her degree, and CSUF had the night class offerings she needed to make that happen.
At graduation, Crellin was nine months pregnant with her first child, and three weeks later, when she filled out her daughter’s birth certificate paperwork, she checked the “college graduate” box for the first time, a milestone memory that stays with her to this day.
“That was the first time anybody asked me if I was a college graduate, and that was the first time I was able to check that box,” Crellin said.
While her time at CSUF looked different from that of a full-time student, Crellin always felt supported. She recalls how the late Arthur Hansen, CSUF professor emeritus of history, gave his night class students the same level of attention as his full-time students.
“It meant everything,” said Crellin of the opportunity CSUF gave her to finish her degree. “I never felt that I was getting a lesser education than those who were there full time. The people that I worked with and went to school with in the history department were super helpful to me. They made me feel just as special.”
Crellin’s rise at SchoolsFirst began with several lateral moves that helped her find the right fit. She eventually became an assistant manager in electronic services, coordinating ATM placements across the community. It was work that gave her a sense of purpose.
“That was the first time I was ever out in the community, and I found that I really enjoyed that,” Crellin said.
Now in her sixth year as senior vice president, Crellin oversees all school and community relations, business development and membership departments at SchoolsFirst. Her efforts have been instrumental in developing products and services that meet members’ needs, including computer loans and classroom supply loans.
Crellin became an active CSUF alumna a few years after graduating, which gave her a new perspective on how the university supports its students. She first served on the Guardian Scholars Advisory Committee, a program that supports current and former foster youth in higher education.
“Coming back as an alumna, I learned of all the opportunities that the university gives to the students, and that really spoke to me,” Crellin said. “I wanted to help the university to help these students to be successful.”
Crellin has remained an active alumna, serving on the College of Education’s Dean’s Advisory Board and as a past president of the CSUF Alumni Association. At the CSU level, she represented CSUF on the CSU Alumni Council, where she also served as past president.
When CSUF President Ronald S. Rochon called Crellin with the news of her Vision & Visionaries Award selection, she was “100 percent surprised” and moved to tears.
“I know the people who have received this (award) previously, and to be in their company is such an honor,” Crellin said.
Crellin’s husband and son are both CSUF alumni. Looking back, she remains grateful for the foundation the university gave her.
“It makes me feel really proud to tell people I am an alumna of Cal State Fullerton,” Crellin said. “We are a very proud Titan family.”