Former student leaders reflect upon their time at CSUCI - Channel Magazine

Rebecca Glazier, Ph.D.

’04 B.A. Liberal Studies

First ASI Student Government President, 2003-2004
Current Role: Professor, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment as a student government leader?
Starting the Multicultural Center and doing our best to begin building a student culture on campus are things I remember working on with my fellow students and the great staff at CSUCI.

How did your time at CSUCI make a difference in your life?
Neither of my parents have a college degree, and it was a professor at CSUCI who asked me one day, “Have you ever considered graduate school?? I literally responded, “What’s graduate school?” When I learned that I could keep going to school, I was thrilled! I started my Ph.D. in political science at UC Santa Barbara three months after graduating from CSUCI. I love that I have been able to build a career in higher education, thanks to CSUCI.

Sara Ruiz

’20 B.A. Political Science, B.A. Performing Arts

ASI Student Government President, 2019-2020
Current Role: District Representative for U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley

What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment as a student government leader?
My biggest accomplishment was getting students outside of student government involved in activities like Lobby Corps. Lobby Corps is a team of students who travel to Sacramento to lobby for student needs and issues with our state legislators. It is a wonderful and enriching experience, and we wanted to make students outside of student government aware of it. Our tabling and outreach efforts resulted in half the applications coming from students at large, and our final team was made up of equal parts student government members and students at large!

How did your time at CSUCI make a difference in your life?
Attending CSUCI allowed me the space to grow and try new things. My sophomore year I joined the Model U.N. team and learned so much about policy and the inner workings of governmental organizations. Additionally, I met former student leader Atticus Reyes, who encouraged me to join student government. Though I was originally apprehensive, I decided to serve as the senator of social justice, and it sent me down the path toward student advocacy and eventually the presidency. Without the numerous opportunities CSUCI has given me, I would not be the person I am today.

Atticus Reyes

’19 B.A. History, Political Science Minor

ASI Student Government President, 2018-2019
Current Role: Field Representative for Assemblymember Steve Bennett; Trustee, Ojai Unified School Board

What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment as a student government leader?
I am extremely proud that we registered the highest percentage of students in the CSU to vote in the 2018 midterm elections. CSUCI was officially recognized as a winner of the 2018 Ballot Bowl organized by then Secretary of State Alex Padilla. We also raised over $6,000 on campus for students facing food insecurity and planted over 20 trees for CSUCI’s first-ever Earth Week.

How did CSUCI make a difference in your life?
My time at CSUCI absolutely changed my life. I came in as a commuter student who simply wanted to go to class and then leave. I had no plans other than getting my degree. However, I was completely surprised by how much opportunity was available. I had the privilege of being a teaching assistant, participating in the Panetta Congressional Internship Program in Washington, D.C., competing on the Model United Nations team, and ultimately serving as ASI Student Government President. There is no way I would be where I am today, doing the things I have the privilege of doing, if I had not had those opportunities and experiences.

Sophie Nguyen

’21 B.A. Sociology, Minor Chicana/o Studies

ASI Student Government President, 2020-2021
Current Role: Commercial actor; full-time student pursuing a certification in Music Technology, Moorpark College

What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment as a student government leader?
The executive team and I served as the first 100% virtual administration. We successfully passed the credit/no credit resolution that students needed during this time. We lobbied our state representatives to secure funding for the CSU, and in solidarity, we raised awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement and Asian American & Pacific Islander community. Specifically, the unity and action that sparked following our AAPI solidarity initiative were extremely rewarding and special to me. Seeing an AAPI Faculty and Staff Association come into existence at CSUCI felt like a huge step forward and a catalyst for positive change and unity within our campus community and beyond.

How did your time at CSUCI make a difference in your life?
CSUCI was such a meaningful source of community belonging and empowerment for me. It helped me gain confidence in myself as an advocate and leader within my own life while holding close the values of social justice and equity at the forefront of any path I take from here on.