Takahiro Aono / Roundup
With a brilliant smile on her face and with a clear voice, Cindy Gerges expressed how she was excited as well as was relieved by the result of the Associated Students Organization executive election on April 13 and 14 at Pierce College.
A single word, “happy,” described all her efforts and preparations she made to run as a candidate of the new club council president.
“All the work was paid off,” she said.
Cindy Gerges, an 18-year-old English student, ASO senator and a home cooking lover, was elected club council president by collecting 559 votes out of the total of 818 votes. Her tenure will begin in the Fall 2009 Semester.
She said her motive for joining the race of the club council presidency was from her belief that an involvement in the school was “very important.”
“It’s a very important position, and you have a lot of opportunities to socialize with other students and other clubs,” she said.
When asked to introduce herself, she described herself as very friendly, determined and energetic.
“I am really determined personally and try to get along with others. I do everything in my power to achieve,” she said.
Also, Gerges’ personality an also be seen from her passion.
“When I need to do something, I do (it),” she added. “I don’t put it offI stick to my rule.”
Gerges, a pre-law major, hopes to transfer to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles in where she wants to study law.
Gerges’ wants to do an advanced legal degree such as a Master of Laws (LL.M.). This degree can lead to a number of opportunities in the legal profession. The University of Southern California has a lot of different legal choices to choose from and is renowned for their graduate prospectives.
Katie Rope, current club council president, expects Gerges to go beyond the foundation with her creative ideas, which Rope does not make.
“I believe Cindy was an excellent candidate who was extremely motivated and wanted to do what’s the best for the clubs,” Rope said.
ASO senator Victor Garcia portrayed her as a very positive person who wants to be involved in helping the ASO and students.
“She brings good points on the table, and she keeps herself open so that thousands of works work better and efficiently,” he said.
The position as club council president is not her first involvement with the ASO. She has also been a senator. She, however, had not participated in a student organization before coming to Pierce.
“I wasn’t interested in being involved in high school,” Gerges explained. “When I got interested in being involved, I just never really thought that I had an opportunity because it wasn’t really publicized. But, I thought the ASO really did give everyone equal opportunities to be on.”
Her task as club council president throughout the one-year term is to chair the bi-monthly club council meetings and to oversee the council to make sure it runs properly.
Rope pointed out that the difficulty of the presidency is to organize people who come from 33 different clubs.
“My biggest piece of advice for her would be to stay to organized without any biases and to learn how to work with a lot of different types of personalities,” Rope said.
Gerges’ main goal is to put clubs’ schedules, such as their meeting time, in the Schedule of Classes so that club activities become more accessible to students.
“Every time I look for anything I go to the Schedule of Classes. So, inter-agreement is important,” she said.
In reference to the club council budget, Gerges said that her job is to disperse funds equally.
“You can’t really favor a club to give them more money,” she said.
In addition to publicizing more events, she hopes to work with the department chairs to help out the clubs.
“I know some of the professors are really willing to help out the clubs and I think that’ll be awesome to have committee chairs help with the clubs,” Gerges added.
Believing in her possibilities and dreams, Gerges, a people person and an achiever, will be a bridge to connect students to the clubs.
Cindy Gerges, an English major, became the new club council president after the recent ASO elections. (Arash Akhtari-Rad / Roundup)
