June 30th marked the last official day of my term as President of the Graduate Student Government (GSG). In the past couple of months, many have asked whether or not this was what I had expected heading into this role. I can concretely say that it was certainly not.
When I decided to run, I knew I wanted to develop more catered programming for graduate students in order to give them a supportive environment where they could thrive. I wanted to provide the same activities and opportunities to graduate students that the undergraduates have, and to show them what being an integral part of the Trojan Family was like. Although the GSG team was able to move the needle on these broader goals this past year, we ended up spending most of our time with the more complex, bureaucratic issues of USC.
I could not have navigated the larger university problems and coordinated our existing programs simultaneously if it wasn’t for the people around me. The students involved with USG and GSG, as well as those pushing for change on the ground level, constantly reminded me of why USC is here in the first place – to develop the next generation of leaders, researchers, and genuine human beings. The faculty, staff, and leaders I partnered with gave me energy and hope. Many people here are still willing to serve on behalf of the entire USC community and restore trust.
Although it’s been a sigh of relief to no longer be “on-call” and ready to leap into the fray at every cause for alarm, I’m already missing the many meetings and calls where I got to solve difficult problems with my friends across the university. However, I’m starting to transition into my new role as Director of Community Service, where I’ll be focused on programming and advocacy initiatives around sustainability! Make sure to keep an eye out on our social media pages and newsletters for some exciting upcoming events. 2019-2020 is already off to a great start!
Published on July 23rd, 2019Last updated on April 1st, 2021