Mt. San Jacinto College in Menifee, California, isn’t your typical campus. While across the nation, women make up only 47 percent of student government association (SGA) representatives, Mt. San Jacinto women hold 75 percent of SGA seats, and four out of five leaders on the executive board are women! On Saturday, March 12, I had the pleasure of collaborating with the student and community leaders of MSJC for Elect Her–Mt. San Jacinto Women Win.
From beginning to end, the training was an interactive, collaborative, and empowering effort. Between exercises on defining the issues most important to MSJC and building a dynamic campaign team, participants got to hear from experts in the field about running successfully for office as a woman.
Former mayor and current Lake Elsinore, California, Councilwoman Melissa Melendez spoke candidly about the challenges of running for public office — from the negative stereotypes women face to the struggle to raise campaign funds as a little-known candidate. She discussed her efforts to balance personal, professional, and community commitments as a means of better serving her community and family and encouraged Elect Her participants to reach out to her about their own political aspirations.
From a student perspective, Ana Moreno, SGA president; Ashley Cooke, SGA vice president and Intersegmental Coordinating Committee president; and Tammy Jimenez, former SGA president, all shared their experiences. All three spoke of the self-confidence and networking skills they have developed since running for office, and each shared personal stories of growth and inspiration. For Jimenez, the biggest change was between her first official presentation to the board of trustees and her last: shaky hands and a nervous voice at first but self-confidence, ease, and accolades from board members by the end of her term.
As a side note and a source of pride for AAUW, Moreno credited last year’s campus training for giving her the information and encouragement to run for office! Perhaps this is the start of an Elect Her trend on campus!
When it came time to run the campaign simulation, the MSJC participants were more than prepared. While some took time to form a campaign team to divide and conquer, others hit the streets immediately. Despite a rather sparse crowd on campus that day, the candidates garnered support, shared their messages, and collected a substantial number of ballots. In the end, Daniel Tripp, aspiring SGA president, won the Elect Her campaign simulation with an overwhelming majority!
All in all, Elect Her–MSJC Women Win was a huge success and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon! Be sure to keep an eye out for these vibrant candidates in the future.
This post was written by AAUW Grassroots Leadership Coordinator Wendy Matheny
That makes a lot of sense. It’s important to get people to focus on self improvement to get them started.
Wow!
I just searched for myself on Google and this was the top result. That event was a lot of fun and, I will definitely attend next year!