Student Programs: El Centro, BSU, LGBTQ and ISA all have new directors for the coming year.
For El Centro, Victoria Sifuentes has taken the lead as director. Ron Rodriguez is the new director of LGBTQ, and ISA is now lead by Director Thao Pham. Leading BSU is Director Taylor Anderson, who describes BSU as “not only a program, but a community. Personally the BSU has been a home to me. I have met friends who have become family and I have been a part of a beautiful group of students who are all driven to do the same things as I. I want to be able to do the same for other students and allow them to have great experiences in the process. ”
Pham also has a sense fitting to ISA, which she said, “is a major part of my college life. ISA is where I belong, where I participate and where I find help and support. …ISA is very important to me and that’s why I am here, being a director, to develop ISA for the better and build up it’s reputation and recognition.”
New directors intend to continue what has worked for their programs while implementing new and creative ideas.
As director, Anderson will continue many of the events that BSU has held in the in past. She noted that there were many conferences that members attended in the past year. While continuing those, she would like to add a few more. “I would like to incorporate a type of student fair as a welcoming celebration and also a fundraiser. […]I had the desire to lead the BSU because I felt that I would be able to push the BSU to a higher potential. I have the passion, heart, and creative ideas to push the BSU forward. I am happy for all the things that the BSU has become, and even more excited for all the things that it will soon be. ”
In terms of outreach and new events Anderson stated her goals as: “I would also like to do outreach to high school and middle school. I would like the BSU to be the host of car shows, auctions, open mic nights, and many more exciting events for the members, students, faculty and staff at Bellevue College.”
ISA is also looking in a broader direction for outreach, with Director Pham hoping to reach outside BC for events and student participation. Pham said “We will obviously keep special events like Halloween Dance and International Night. More than that, I am hoping to create more events for international students to participate and also planning to do services outside of the school.”
Pham’s objective is to involve students who may not be international students thus empowering “ISA to be more diverse and have more people involved,” which would be a means to create support for international student voices and rights.
Directors look to previous leadership for examples and take their stead for the coming year with different energy and new ideas.
New directors intend to continue what has worked for their programs while implementing new and creative ideas this coming fall quarter.
“El Centro Latino has been a very successful program I want to keep the basic structure and really work with the members and the college to make education more accessible and bring more Latinos into this campus to add more diversity,” said Sifuentes.
This year will bring different energy and new ideas.