In high school I was consumed with ballet, but when I entered college, I decided to make the most of my stay.  As soon as I found out were the Associated Students were I signed up to participate in anyway I could while being guided by a six foot tall red-bearded man named Steve Robison, the student advisor

Student senators had the option to participate in a number of committees for students only and they also had the option to attend meetings that concerned the whole college, the district, and the state. Some of the college meetings that the senators where invited to attend were: CDAC (College Diversity Advisory Committee), KCSM advisory board (the college’s radio station), DASCC (District Auxiliary Services Advisory Committee), the Academic Senate, and College Council.

I decided to attend College Council when I became a senator. The meeting required “shared governance” meaning that a few individuals from every department needed to be represented for this committee. I must confess that I was encouraged to attend for solely selfish reasons, but I quickly came to appreciate the importance this committee for the whole college, and I decided to continue to attend when I was elected as the Associated Student Vice President. 

College Council opened my eyes to all the people and institutions that make a college work.  The council discussed such issues as enrollment, funding, facilities maintenance, and security.  The Associated Students were not stuck in the back of the room only to observe the workings of the college administration; we were encouraged to sit at the big, rectangular table with Rick Ambrose from the Academic Senate, Pat Griffin the Vice President, Shirley Kelly the President, and many more wonderful people.  The student senators where continually asked to give their insight when drafting a mission statement and deciding how to improve the college’s facilities to better serve students.  When the senators reported neglect or oversight in certain areas the other members did not nod their heads and then just move on to the next item of business. The whole committee discussed ways that we could solve such problems.

When the Associated Student President, Allan Young, and I presented his idea to create a new program to help students transfer to private and out-of-state universities, we were delightfully surprised to see how receptive and excited the council was.  I could see that they genuinely wanted to give the students of College of San Mateo as much support as possible.  The senators who participated in College Council constantly reported to the rest of the senators who  also worked with faculty and administration to bring about the ambitions of the college.  Hopefully, with the help of the senators who are now in office this new transfer program will become a reality for students at College of San Mateo.

It has been a whole summer since I graduated with an Associates Degree and I am still benefiting from the relationships I gained with faculty, staff, and administration.  Currently I am attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I am still majoring in Anthropology/ archaeology while participating in the honors program here.  What advice could I now give to other future college freshmen? First, attend a community college!  Involve yourself and take full advantage of your classes. Secondly, don’t hesitate to get involved with student government, and don’t be afraid to acquaint yourself with faculty and administration. Most truly care about student’s concerns and want to see you succeed at their college. And thirdly, share your insight, concerns, and ideas.  If you don’t, you and your associates will never know what you are missing.

To all students, faculty, administration, and staff I wish you good luck and hope that your experiences will be as wonderfully enriching as mine were!

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