I am Austin Benjamin Alfieri, a Political Science Major, and a member of the class of 2019. I am running for student body Senator to represent the students of Loyola Marymount University. As a student of Saint Francis High School, I represented my class as a Student Body Representative. Being organized, determined, and driven has helped me to accomplish the goals that I set for myself. In my day to day life, I carry with me the virtues of the Jesuit philosophy.
When elected as Student Senator, I hope to expand the “Feed the Hungry” program that LMU started. I work with both Meals on Wheels and The Saint Francis Center that feed the homeless and elderly of Los Angeles. LMU is doing a great job supporting the homeless of Santa Monica, but that is not enough. This is a terrific program that I would like to expand to the greater LA. My first accomplishment is to put together an advisory group which will include the founder of Meals on Wheels, Sister Alice Marie Quinn. This advisory group will also include business leaders from the community in order to enhance our financial wellbeing. As we have been taught, “Charity Starts at Home.”
My name is Sara Blagojevich, I’m a freshman Communication Studies major.
In high school, I was an ASB Cabinet Member - responsibilities included making posters to publicize events, working the student activity office counter, organizing spirit week, etc. I was a House representative for my class where I presented and discussed monthly pre-made survey questions, then shared the student’s comments/concerns at House Meetings. LMU Senators take on similar responsibilities – voicing student’s opinions, helping with school events, etc.
Some of my accomplishments include maintaining straight A’s throughout high school, being a CSF Sealbearer and a JAMZ National Cheerleading Champion. This Fall 2015, I was named to LMU’s Dean’s List.
I’m currently an LMU Cheerleader and love it! I’m hoping to become more involved around campus, and make a positive difference through ASLMU. I want to be YOUR voice in LMU’s student government. We all have changes we’d like to see at LMU, let me be your outlet to voice your thoughts and turn your ideas into action.
One issue I believe needs to be addressed is encouraging greater participation/involvement in school events (athletics/games, club fests, etc.) thus improving the campus spirit and community atmosphere.
Thanks for your support & Go Lions!!
I, Ned Gresham, am a Marketing major in the class of 2019 and currently a First-Year Senator in ASLMU. This past year as a First-Year Senator I started the Special Olympics Club on campus and wish to initiate the “End the R Word” Campaign. The “End the R Word” Campaign is a national movement which asks individuals “to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people. I believe this movement will help initiate positive social change and will not only put this school in better light, but also give the students and the community around LMU something to stand behind. Together we will all help to spread a positive atmosphere across campus, and by extension, be a pillar for the other Southern California schools to follow. I am also working with Natasha Gunasekara on her safe rides initiative and hope to continue this project further next year. This past year on ASLMU has strengthened my communication and leadership skills to help represent our student body even more next year.
My name is Gabriella Kreutzelman and I am freshman here at LMU. Throughout high school, I was involved in leadership and philanthropy organizations such as National Charity League where I held the role of treasurer. I was also elected Class President my senior year. The experience that I gained from being class president has prepared me for the ASLMU Senate because I have all the right background and knowledge for what makes a great school leader. During my class presidency I planned several events including a rummage sale, senior ball, baccalaureate, senior breakfast and graduation. One thing that was very important to me during high school was having lots of school spirit and I feel that is one of the biggest things lacking here at LMU. I was elected onto the ASLMU Senate, I would make it my priority to increase school spirit and bring together our community as a whole.
Hello, I am Sabrina O’Mara. I will be graduating in 2019 as double major in communication studies and philosophy. I previously worked with a Chicago-based non-profit organization as a member of the relation’s board, which consisted of working with a team to coordinate fundraising and handling logistics. I have had a job since I was 15, and after gaining experience with non-profit work in my hometown in Chicago, I found my passion of advocating for change through non-profit work. I came to Los Angeles and began working in the outreach unit of two local non-profits. I have been fortunate enough to accompany these organizations to expos and forums around the greater Los Angeles area. Through this I have learned so much about myself, as well as, how I plan to continue serving the community. As the students of the school, you are my agenda. If I am your senator I want increase the transparency, so when you have an idea or an issue we can work together in order to see effective changes.
LMU Community Involvement:
-First-Year Resident Advisor
-LMU Eucharistic Minister
-Vice President of College Republicans
This past year I served on ASLMU Senate and gained the experience necessary to thrive in student government. The connections and skills that I have gained, I believe, have made me more equipped to aid the students of LMU. As a first-year senator, my goal was to intertwine service to reach out to the student community. I feel I truly accomplished this through the organization and execution of Serve LA 2. For the event, LMU students were transported to the LA Regional Food Bank to perform a day of service. If reelected, I plan to make Serve LA 2 an annual event.
The most rewarding part of being a Senator was having the ability to take the concerns that students brought to me and seeing them through. Throughout the year, I came to the understanding that many students on the LMU campus feel that they have no voice; they feel that the university can be detached. While conversing and interacting with my constituents I have realized that some students even consider ASLMU to be detached. This saddens me because; ASLMU was established for the students, to serve with and for all students of LMU. If reelected, I promise to continue solidifying the important relationship between ASLMU and the student body.
As a senator, my foremost priority would be turning students’ opinions in to change. My name is Katie Porter, a freshman psychology major with a political science minor. Being a part of the ASLMU programming committee has allowed me to understand how to best represent LMU students in campus activities, and being the president of a club in high school taught me how to communicate with constituents. As captain of both my swim and basketball teams in high school, I was the mediator between my coach and players, and learned how to convey needs. I received the Leadership Award for my work as captain, and obtained the International Baccalaureate diploma and All-League Scholar Award for my work in academia. Being involved in Greek life, mass choir, and political and sports clubs, I have a sense of some issues that LMU students value. As a senator, I will pursue increased democracy on campus, which includes a student polling system. I will focus on key issues, including increased quality of food and choices, and reformation of public safety lock-out policies and sexual assault education. I will also initiate a mental health awareness campaign to encourage discourse, as no student should struggle alone.
Hey Lions! My name is Katie Schembri and I am in the class of 2018. I am currently an English Major and looking to add a Philosophy Minor.
Leadership has played an instrumental role in my life. In College, I have had the opportunity to serve as the President of Del Rey North and the Vice President of Activities for the Residence Hall Association. Not only have I been able to plan programming on campus, I have had to opportunity to work with building councils, be a team member on an executive board, and represent student concerns to all the department heads on campus including the Department of Public Safety, Hospitality, and Facilities Management to name a few.
On campus, I started a Change.org campaign due to student concerns renewing Sodexo’s dining contract. Overnight, there were over 400 signatures. This petition sparked change to implement new vendors on campus. Senate would be a great opportunity to continue to represent students and present initiatives and perspectives in front of departments to assure our students are being heard. I cannot wait to get your input. Thanks for reading!
A junior English/Pre-Law major, and I am running for a second term in your ASLMU Senate! After transferring to LMU, I eagerly became a part of our LMU community in various ways. In the past year, I have held the following roles around campus:
-ASLMU Speaker of the Senate
-Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity - Media Chair
-Founding President of the Italian American Student Club
-Phi Delta Phi Law Society Member
-Senior Vice President of Student Affairs - Student Worker
I ask for your vote to allow the continuation of the excellent work I have done as Speaker of the Senate and allow me to continue to provide the student body with my leadership on ASLMU Senate. If elected, I will continue the following initiatives this upcoming year:
-Diversity within ASLMU Events by Collaborating with EIS
-Improvement of Dining Services through the Sodexo & Students Committee
-Mental Health Awareness by Facilitating Programs with SPS
-Transfer Student Incorporation through a Mentor Program
-LMU Transparency in Los Angeles through Mass Marketing
I believe my confidence, diligence and experience will enable me to achieve my platform, which altogether will better the incredible place we call home, Loyola Marymount University.
Go Lions!
While life on the bluff is truly spectacular, there is room for improvement. As an ASLMU senator I want to facilitate those advancements and initiate change beneficial to the undergraduate student body. Some changes I want the opportunity to fight for include upgrading student services, particularly financial aid offerings, improved customer service in the cost and quality of food, increased student support through academic resources and enhancing LMU’s overall reputation as a top-tier university on the local, national and global level. On a smaller scale, improvements like digital parking signs to save students time will be equally valued and pursued. Collaborating with students, representing them and advocating for their needs and interests will be my responsibility and my priority. I’m a freshman Film and Television Production major from Denver, Colorado, and throughout high school served on student government, NHS, Jefferson County Youth Leadership, the National Youth Leadership Conference, Relay for Life and founded CSH Film Club, which won the 2014 Day Without Hate national video contest under my presidency. At LMU I am a student ambassador, and recently accepted member of the service organization Ignatians! I hope to use my skills and experience to further serve as an ASLMU Senator.
I’m a freshman in the Honors Program, currently undeclared but considering majoring in Political Science or Marketing. I’m also considering pursuing law school after graduation. I am very interested in student government and representing my peers, and in the past this passion has led me to a few activities and accomplishments which I believe make me qualified to be an ASLMU Senator. I served as a member of my high school’s student council for four years, spending one on the executive board as Senior Class President. As a junior, I was chosen as a delegate to represent my school at Harvard Model Congress. Currently, I serve on all three ASLMU committees (Affairs, Communications, and Programming) and have worked to plan on-campus events such as Title IX Week. I have real experience working in student government, representing my peers, and drafting legislation, and I plan to use that experience to voice the concerns and desires of the LMU student body. As senator, I commit to holding weekly office hours during which any student can come to me and discuss issues that he or she feels are important to the community so that we can work to resolve them.
My name is Geornay Willis and I’m currently a sophomore and a business major at LMU. During my time at LMU, I was apart of two committees in ASLMU and I was also a representative for my floor in RHA. I am currently Director of Campus Involvement in Alpha Phi. Throughout high school, I had an internship with Senator Mimi Walters, where I worked with her on multiple issues and assisted her in day-to-day tasks.
Since getting to college, I have become very involved with the LMU community. I am a member of the sorority, Alpha Phi, and freshman year I did RHA, and ASLMU. That being said, there are so many clubs and organizations that LMU offers, but I think there needs to be a correspondence somewhere along the way. We are all connected because, we are all LMU students trying to reach a common goal. But, currently I feel like there is a sense of separation between groups on campus. By being a part of multiple groups, I have seen that there are actually many similarities between organizations. If these groups worked together, there would be no limit to what could be achieved.
My name is Mateen Zarekari and I am currently a sophomore biology major here at LMU. I have held numerous leadership positions during my time as an undergraduate, such as serving on RHA and ASLMU Events Committee my freshman year, followed by serving as Historian for Phi Delta Theta and the President for Pre-Dental Society during my sophomore year. However, I feel as though it is now time to play a more prominent role in ASLMU in order to make sure that the students’ concerns are accounted for. My experience in being involved in the many different subsections that exist on campus, such as greek life, service organizations, student housing, and other associations, has not only given me the ability to gain much experience in countless different areas on campus, but it unfortunately has also emphasized a sense of division between the many different organizations at LMU. Our campus is much more diverse than we realize, and being able to hold a key role in unifying the countless students and organizations on campus would allow for endless possibilities for LMU’s future.