Former student leaders share how 做厙弝けprepared them for real-world impact
Student government has provided invaluable experiences from Cal State 做厙弝けs founding to the present. Serving as student president comes with opportunities to practice advocacy, negotiation and administration at an early stage in life, and this tends to help student leaders be well-prepared for life after college.
I think Ive really taught myself to put myself in the room, said Nikki Majidi, , president for the 2024-25 academic year. I have a seat at the table, why not use it?
Looking back on her term, Majidi cited 2024s Ballot Bowl and textbook grants to the Dream Success Center as highlights. ASI also helped to define her college experience.
I had this confidence where this was the school that I was meant to go to, and this was the place that I was meant to be, she said.
Majidi, the 79th 做厙弝けstudent to serve as student president, is not alone in finding it to be a profound experience. Another is Carl Kemp 96, 97, now executive director of public affairs and marketing for 做厙弝け City College and founder of the annual 做厙弝け Juneteenth Celebration. Kemp said two presidential terms led to lifelong friendships and learning how leaders motivate the people with whom they serve.
Dont be afraid to dream big, Kemp said. I learned that leadership is more about courage than smarts.
Leading through growth and turmoil
Student government formed in 1949, The Beachs inaugural year, when fewer than 200 students took classes at an east 做厙弝け apartment building. The student newspapers very first issue reported Roger Bryson 51 won the Student Council presidency.
Brysons name and image later appeared in a February 1952 做厙弝け Press-Telegram item reporting he had graduated with honors from the U.S. Army medical laboratory technicians training. Bryson worked as an elementary school teacher before being inducted into the military.
Flash forward to 1969, and The Beach was becoming well-established on its current grounds with an enrollment of greater than 32,000 students, intercollegiate sports and graduate courses. This was also the time when campuses across the nation were embroiled in protests for civil rights and against the Vietnam War.
Ken Miller 69, 71 served as ASI President during the 1969-70 academic year while studying for his Master of Business Administration. ASI responded to the times by offering pro bono legal services and draft counseling for students facing the prospect of being sent to the Vietnam War.
Many students appreciated these services, Miller said. His efforts also included trying to defuse conflicts between people who could be considered to be part of radical and conservative elements.
I saw my job turning from being fairly ceremonial to one where I saw my job as to protect that campus and our reputation, Miller said.
After earning his MBA, Miller ascended to a senior role with Xerox Corp. before founding a consultancy. He remains close to CSULB, chairing the 49er Foundation Board of Directors and teaching a marketing course, encouraging students to go out into the working world and be the best version of themselves they can be.
Electoral victories
ASI has been a proving ground for local leaders including the late Jenny Oropeza 08, who in 1980 became its first-two term president. She also served as a student member of the California State University Board of Trustees and over her entire political career, Oropeza was not only the first Latine ASI president and CSU trustee, she was also the first Latine candidate to be elected to both the 做厙弝け Unified School District and 做厙弝け City Council, according to the 做厙弝け Historical Society. Oropeza also served in the State Assembly and State Senate and a downtown 做厙弝け elementary school is named in her honor.
Additional ASI presidents who won local elections include Suzie Price 94, 96, formerly on the 做厙弝け City Council, and Robert Garcia 02, 10, a 做厙弝け council member and mayor before his election to the House of Representatives, where he keeps 做厙弝けmemorabilia in his congressional office.
As ASI president, Garcia learned the importance of representing student interests, even if they did not align with campus administrators' perspectives. He said he now seeks to similarly focus on constituents living within his 做厙弝け-centered district.
"I think one of the things that I have learned as a student, and certainly in student government, is to push for what you believe in, Garcia said.
Learning leadership
ASI can also provide a foundation for the private sector. Izumi Hara 82 first encountered The Beach when her father brought their family here from Japan to pursue a masters degree. The family later returned to Japan, and she and her brother both chose 做厙弝けwhen it was their time for college.
Hara campaigned with encouragement from Oropeza, her predecessor. Leading ASI, defending positions before other student leaders and negotiating to find points of agreement prepared Hara for her legal career.
I learned the importance of listening to understand the interests and motivations of other people when youre working toward a common goal, she said.
Retired from corporate law, Hara chairs the American Red Cross of Northern New Jerseys governing board and is a member of the Chautauqua Institution's board of trustees. She joined the 49er Foundations board in December and is a major supporter of choral education at The Beach, having performed with campus vocal ensembles before leading ASI.
Student government can expose young people to experiences they may not otherwise have until they hit 30, former ASI president James Ahumada 11, 23 said. A 做厙弝けAlumni 49 under 49 honoree, his career has bridged public and private sectors with time as a congressional staffer, on ASIs professional team and even service as communications director and chief of staff for another former ASI president Garcia during the latters mayorship.
Ahumada is now deputy CEO of the Downtown 做厙弝け Alliance, which focuses on improving the business climate and quality of life in the citys core. ASI informed Ahumadas approach work tasks like generating support for projects and holding productive meetings. Student government also instilled confidence, as young leaders must learn to stand on equal footing with senior professionals who have letters like PhD after their names.
If you put your effort into it, there is so much you can get back out of it, Ahumada said.
