That time I discovered I had value.
When I left home for college, I was fully aware that success was a choice. I could either spend the next four years of my life like I did the last four — as something I just needed to “get through,” OR I could do everything. I could be “Joe College.” I think everyone knows which path I chose. But, in reality, I was a first-generation college student trying to navigate this entirely new environment. An environment that felt like a completely different world to the one I was used to, and I struggled at first to find my people — to find my community.
But I eventually found a student organization to join, and then another, and another. I met new people, people different from me, but people who had a similar passion for changing the communities in which we lived. People who wanted to leave our communities in a better place than we found them. I was a Front-Desk Assistant in the residence halls. I became the Treasurer of our Residence Hall Association and Student Activity Board. I was a Student Senator, and eventually, I became a Resident Assistant in my junior year and was elected Student Government Association President my senior year.
Naturally, at this same time, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do after I graduated. I was about to receive my Bachelor in Business Administration degree from a top business school, but it was 2008. I don’t think I have to remind anyone of what happened in 2008. And if I was honest with myself, I never felt at home inside the classroom. Not as much as I did outside the classroom with my mentors, advisors, and fellow leaders across the campus. It’s hard to say this, but I think this was the first time I discovered I had value. That who I was and what I was passionate about mattered. That I could positively affect the lives of others. That I had power and could use that power to elevate, not my voice, but the voices of those not being heard.
When our local elected Councilman was running around the city saying how much of a nuisance we were as college students, I arranged a campus-wide initiative to get all of the students on campus registered to vote. We registered over 1,000 new voters, all of which resided in his district. Considering he won the election prior by only 200 votes, it was safe to say — we now had a voice.
After realizing how much of a full-time job certain student leader positions were, I fought for the heads of the Greek Council, Newspaper, Yearbook, Activity Board, and Student Government to be paid and receive a stipend — a stipend that took effect after my term.
After years of strained town-gown relations between the college and the community, my board and I, along with several other student leaders, launched a comprehensive RESPECT Campaign — getting our students to positively contribute to the communities in which they live. A campaign still going strong at my alma mater to this day.
College was when I discovered how much passion I had for making the lives of the people around me better.
But let’s be honest, I did not discover this power on my own. I had the best mentors — thankless professionals who invested every ounce of their time in me and my growth from undergrad to graduate school and still throughout my professional career. Many of whom are reading this email right now. They believed in me often more than I believed in myself, and I never said this enough — THANK YOU!
These amazing humans helped me discover what I wanted to do. I wanted to do what they did. Why wouldn’t I? So that’s what I did. I found my community. I found my people. So, I went to graduate school, earned my Master of Education degree in Higher Education Administration, and began my professional career working in Student Affairs. A decision and experience that serves as a cornerstone for my campaign for CU Regent. Every single mentor, colleague, and student I ever worked with — they are here with me.
I’m running to fight for them and those like them on all four of our campuses.
