Meet the AS Candidates for 2018-19!

AS President

Millka Solomon
What I am most excited to bring to this position is my commitment to transparency and passion for ensuring accountability from everyone involved in student life. The interests of students needs to be more than just considered, but actually carried out. I’ve worked with various clubs in the ESC and through that involvement, I’ve learned that WWU is admitting an increasing number of students of color without increasing the support offered at the same rate. Access without support is not opportunity. There are a lot of programs that already exist but need so much more support. I plan to prioritize these programs every chance I get. Representation in the AS also matters, and I plan to bring all my identities and knowledge to make sure that marginalized people are represented and to amplify the interests of other marginalized identities that I do not hold.

VP for Governmental Affairs

Alexis Venable
[No photo]
Hello, I am Alexis Venable and I believe I am the best candidate for the Vice President of Governmental Affairs position.  I am a political science major and government has always been a passion of mine. Politics and the conversation of basic human rights has been up for conversation in my household. Since I grew up in such a rich city such as Olympia it really helped me to be more open to all different kinds of viewpoints. I was very active in high school and was in multiple leadership positions in clubs in my community college since I did running start in high school. Currently I am the Vice President of Finance for the Beta Gamma Kappa community on the ridge and represent the residents that live there in hall council. So, I am familiar with how to reach out to my peers to get their opinions and help them get their needs and wishes fulfilled.   

Natasha Hessami
Hello Western! My name is Natasha Hessami and I’m running for ASVP for Governmental Affairs because I’m passionate about ensuring student voices are heard on policy and legislation issues. I will represent WWU by advocating for increased funding to the State Need Grant, a tuition freeze, and promoting a free college model to the state legislature. A bit about myself and my experience; I engage in biochemistry research, work as a tutor, and serve as an officer for WWU’s Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Native Americans in Science club. I’ve lobbied on behalf of WWU student interests in Olympia, supported the AS REP, and I currently sit on the Legislative Affairs Council; this engagement ensures my familiarity with this position and the legislative process at WWU. I look forward to representing your political interests at a local, state, and national level as your future ASVP for Governmental Affairs.

Hunter Eider
I am Hunter Eider and I am running for the position of AS Vice President for Governmental Affairs. Mental wellbeing is vital to making sure that we are all our best selves in and outside of the classroom, and that is why I would like to prioritize funding for counselors on the legislative agenda. In addition to this, I will work to incentivize coming to the polls and giving your voice in creative ways. Change happens not only on the large scale, but also in the local communities that you identify with. I am involved with the Ethnic Student Center, serving as an officer on the board for the Filipino American Student Association. I was also involved in ResLife from 2015-2016, and I am currently serving on the AS Board as the VP for Academic Affairs.
I hope to be the change you wish to see on this campus!

VP for Activities

Ama Monkah
I have had leadership experience working through the Ethnics Students Center as the public relations officer for African Caribbean Club in the 2016-2017 school year. This position allowed me use social media as a platform to spread the word about events we were hosting and outreach to gain new members. In addition, I was involved in planning and budgeting for our annual heritage dinner. In the past, I have attended president’s counsel and steering meetings to approve ESC club funding. I understand the importance of budgeting and providing funds for clubs in order to have successful events and for community building. Inside the classroom, I have worked alongside my marketing professor and took leadership in connecting with a local dairy farm for an onsite class tour. This position will allow me to be a voice for my peers to communicate and create effective conversations

Jarrod Stambaugh
Hi, my name is Jarrod Stambaugh. I am running for Vice President for Activities, a position which acts as a liaison between the clubs on campus and the AS. I have experience in several clubs including Drama, DECA, Debate, Digital Media Production, and French. There are a lot of students that find it hard to connect to the clubs offered at Western. With rising tuition costs forcing many students to work while studying, compounded with college workloads, living away from campus, and other personal obligations, being a college student comes with stress that can make participation in campus life seem like a daunting commitment. In this position I want to reach out to those who haven’t found a place in the student body and help to connect them to the 200+ clubs available on campus. I also want to empower established clubs to help increase their membership.

VP for Student Life

Anne Lee
My name is Anne Lee and I’m running to be AS VP for Student Life. My two years as a RA and involvement in the RA movement exposed me to issues of safety and inequity, and how advocacy falls on students to seek change institutionally. As your VP, I will hold administrators accountable in their statements by ensuring student feedback is transformed through open forums with administrators, expanding the UHRAC to streamline student concerns, and implement training opportunities on advocacy and social equity. I want to expand and ensure gender inclusive housing and address the disparity in secure communities on and off campus, while continuing current efforts to redefine sustainability, making it more representative and holistic for all students. In all this work, I strive to center the voices of marginalized folks while owning critical consciousness of my identities in this work. Together, we’ll mobilize to achieve collective goals.

Brendan O’Neill
My name is Brendan O’Neill and I am running for AS Vice President of Student Life because we can no longer be blind to the fact that discrimination is still present here on campus, we must give a voice to the voiceless. As President of the Residence Hall Association, I have been able to interact with Western’s community on all levels. Working with students, administrators, and RA’s has taught me different approaches to solving problems. I have had the opportunity to serve on nine committees, including the AS Structural Review and the Community Development and Learning Grant Committee. The safety of our fellow students is at risk. I will continue to push for stronger security on campus with hope to prevent future crime. We must strengthen Western’s community across campus, including and especially those who have typically not felt that way. It’s time to get real and vote Brendan O’Neill.

VP for Diversity

Camilla Mejia  
I want to run for AS VP of Diversity because as a womxn of color, diversity, inclusion, and equity are concepts that I am familiar with and are of importance to me. Through my experience in the ESC both as a club member and employee, I know how important our new multicultural center is and what it means to us as students of color with many intersecting identities on this campus. I have also worked in the AS for two years as Coordinator for the SIRC and Cultural Education Coordinator at the ESC. This has given me the opportunity to become familiar with how the AS works and how to best advocate for students in this space. I want to serve as your AS VP for Diversity to ensure a smooth transition into this new center and to advocate for all marginalized identities in the capacity I can.
Thank you!
Camilla Mejía

VP for Business and Operations

[No Photo]
Genaro Meza
Do you want change? Then vote for it. Genaro Meza for Vice President of Business and Operations, the leader Western needs. Vote for change. Vote for a better tomorrow.

VP for Academic Affairs

Kyle McCaffery
Hi, I’m Kyle McCaffery – a Computer Science major who is also working on two minors; mathematics and psychology. I am an avid hiker and camper (Eagle Scout) and a part of the WWU Fencing Club. In this position of the VP for Academic Affairs, I would like to provide fresh insight to the Academic Technology Committee and the Academic Fee Committee, balancing a reasonable price for tuition with the needs of our students via our Student Technology fee. I would also like to help find solutions to the bottlenecking which is occurring in undergraduate courses via the Committee on Undergraduate Education and the University Planning and Resource Council. Finally, the misalignment of class start times compared to finals start times is something that I would like to improve. So that students who have classes which begin at 11am aren’t booked for a final that begins at 8am.
Thanks
-Kyle

Levi Eckman
Hello!
My name is Levi Eckman, and I am a junior at WWU. I am incredibly interested in running for the position of ASVP for Academic Affairs 2018-2019 because of the strong connection to academics I feel at WWU. I currently am a political science major, with a double minor in Arabic and Islamic studies, as well as in the study of religion. I am the Secretary of the Arabic Language and Culture Organization, and am deeply engaged with the Model United Nations club. As the ASVP for Academic Affairs, I would like to work towards better inclusive dialogue between the AS and minority groups on our campus moving forward, as I believe representation is essential for progress. I look forward to acting as a liaison for students to the Academic Affairs division of our university, as all voices at our institute must be equally appreciated and heard. Go Vikings!

Jacob Molloy
My highest priority as VP will be creating powerful student organizations which can dynamically and continuously fight for what students need most. My main goals will be to create a student union, continuing work on an ethnic studies department, and reforming the math department at Western. These are key academic struggles at Western, as the failure rate for the introductory math classes is very high and ethnic studies are sorely lacking across campus. People need the opportunity to learn about their cultural history. These goals will require consistent and powerful organizing. We must build a strong student union to advocate for student interests along intersectional lines. A march should not be the end of student activism, but a part of ongoing, powerful student organizing. Creating this union will not be a simple process, we must all work together to achieve such an end.

Noble Solana-Walkinshaw
My name is Noble Solana-Walkinshaw, and I am running to be your AS VP for Academic Affairs because I love the AS and I love Western. I spent this last year working in the AS Board Office and being inspired by the work being done there, and I want to run so that I can continue helping Western. The AS needs to work harder to get students involved and participating on campus, and that is what I want to do. Too few people that go to Western even know what the AS is. I want to increase student outreach and get opinions from all students who go to Western and bring that input to the administration. Help me help you and vote Noble! I look forward from hearing from every one of you about how to make our university better.

Photos by Hailey Hoffman// AS Review