ASCC president letter

Hello students, faculty, and staff of Citrus College! My name is Sofia Guzman, and I am entering my second semester serving as ASCC President here on campus. So far, my experience being a Citrus leader has been insightful, rewarding, and I have gained so much knowledge. I have been involved in leadership since my elementary school days, but my position as president is an entirely new experience. I have had the pleasure to work with other amazing student leaders, friendly staff members, and made so many new friends who also share a passion for leadership.

My main goal as ASCC President has been to increase student participation, and slowly but surely, I have seen an improvement in student involvement on and off campus. I have had the pleasure of being involved in a few of the events we had during the fall semester such as the Halloween Spooktacular, the Resource Fair, and more! These events were highly successful, and students had a lot of fun. ASCC was also able to host a winter clothing drive, and we were blown away by the amount of donations we received. I am so proud to have been a part of such successful events, and there are more to come this spring semester!

I also had a vision of a campus wide Canvas shell specifically dedicated to increasing student participation by sending out notifications regarding upcoming events to all students. This has not yet been established, but it is in the works and will hopefully be up and running in the near future for Citrus students!

This leadership experience has been rewarding, but also has taught me significant life lessons through trial and error. I am lucky to serve on so many different committees here on campus, but with that comes a very busy schedule. I have had to learn to balance my schoolwork, committee meetings, ASCC meetings, stay on top of my emails, event planning, and more, but it has all been worth it. Despite the hectic schedule, I have had so much fun learning to balance it all because I feel more accomplished and organized.

To any students interested in student government and joining ASCC, I want to encourage you to join! There are so many great opportunities for leadership at Citrus, and this has been a learning experience that I will never forget. Although my term is not over yet and there is much left to do, I am graduating this spring and a new president will be elected. Do not be afraid to have big goals! I joined ASCC with no intention of becoming president, but things happen, and it has ultimately been an amazing opportunity. As we enter the spring semester, please consider joining ASCC during the upcoming spring elections. You will not regret it. If student government is not your interest, look for clubs that you would be interested in. Involvement makes college so much more fun!

Finally, I want to remind students that as we enter another semester, do not be too hard on yourself. School can be stressful and overwhelming but do your best and be kind to yourself and others. Make sure to make time for yourself in addition to making time for school and any other responsibilities you may have. Do not hesitate to reach out for help, we have plenty of resources here for you at Citrus. Good luck owls, you can do this!

Best, Sofia Guzman ASCC President