Since graduating from UCLA in 2006, I have been a full‐time staff member. The majority of my professional experience at UCLA resides in HR, where I worked as the Training Representative in the Training & Development department. I was responsible for coordinating and scheduling the 100+ general training courses offered to the campus. This past December I accepted a position in the Undergraduate Education Initiatives office as the website content manager, where I coordinate program information that I then add to our websites. In addition to my professional experience, I am very active in the UCLA Alumni Community. I was a Recent Graduate Ambassador for the Alumni Association, who was responsible for marketing events to the alumni population to keep them engaged. Aside from coordinating and marketing experience, I am also a writer by hobby. I wrote the T&D newsletter that went out to the campus and was an assistant editor for the UCLA Student Affairs publication, InFocus Magazine. I truly bleed Blue and Gold. As my alma mater, I try and be as involved as possible, as a current staff member and an alumnus; doing what I can to give back to this amazing University. The position of Vice President of Programs would be a great next step for me professionally as well as an opportunity for me to continue to be engaged and use my energy and enthusiasm to get more staff members as excited about working at such an amazing place.

In both my professional and volunteer experience at UCLA, I have gained strong skills in project management and event coordination. This experience will be integral in the planning and coordinating of the learn‐at‐lunches. Additionally, I bring with me two different perspectives that I have been fortunate enough to have of UCLA ‐ as a former student and now a staff member ‐ that will allow me to be creative in picking departments and programs of interest to the greater UCLA staff community. As a natural born leader, I love interacting with people and getting them excited about things that I am excited about. I am interested in the position of VP programs because it will allow me to use my energy and enthusiaum to help engage and connect staff to the bigger picture of the University by educating them.

If I were to be elected as the Vice President for Programs, my goal is to get staff at UCLA as excited about working here as I am, by educating them. I would do this through the various learn‐at‐lunch programs. The programs throughout the year would be an opportunity for me to help staff feel like a part of the UCLA community and not lost in the vastness of this university. By introducing staff to the unique and innovative programs and research that is going on at UCLA as well as teaching them about the various departments and schools on campus ‐ that they may not have had the opportunity to learn about otherwise ‐ staff will feel more connected. Through these programs, they will build relationships and make connections that will provide them with more resources to turn to than they had before. Overall my goal would be to educate and excite staff about UCLA as a whole, teach them about the various departments around campus and on an individual level, help them recognize the significance of each staff member’s role, including their own, and how important it is to the University as a whole.