Pronouns: she/her/hers

Slate: Our SDSU

Year: Third year

Major: Interdisciplinary Studies: Business, Psychology, and Criminal Justice

Why did you decide to run for this position?

“The position of Vice President of Financial Affairs is something I decided to run for because I had the opportunity through my time at SDSU to work with my skills through our philanthropic and service oriented way such as with my positions of Vice President of Philanthropy is Alpha Gamma Delta, Vice President of Service for Rotaract SDSU and President of Food Recovery Network. I have also had the opportunity to increase knowledge in how students can utilize funding to their fullest potential through my experiences with being President of Club Lacrosse and being the Representative of the Aztec Student Union Board. I have a deep understanding of the economic crisis response team as well as many of the other resources that are offered on campus. So, I decided to run for this position because I feel as though I can bring all of those different experiences together into the position of Vice President of Financial Affairs to really make a deep impact our students and help them with their funding and with the Aztecs Rock Hunger campaign in the fall and increasing engagement through that.”

What makes you qualified for this position? What is your history with A.S.?
“I am most qualified for this position because I have had the opportunities to work in philanthropic ways with the Vice President of Philanthropy in Alpha Gamma Delta and Vice President of Service for Rotaract SDSU. I also have the knowledge to increase student funding through my experience as President of Club Lacrosse and the representative of the Aztec Student Union Board. So, in order to really bring together all these roles I feel as though this position is the next key stepping stone in order to really bring together multiple different communities on campus throughout my positions within Associated Students and outside Associated Students so that all students know what is going on and how they can be impacted.”

What would you like to change at SDSU?

“One of the main issues that faces San Diego State students today is the inaccessibility to highly demanded and needed resources to those struggling with finances, housing or food insecurity and I feel as though being able to work with the economic crisis response team and the SDSU Cares program, I will be able to shed more light on to how to positively impact those students who are going through those struggles and help them with their physical and mental health with these insecurities.”

Can you name something you like and something you dislike about A.S.?

“Within A.S. I enjoy feeling as though students are actively creating and having a say in events that occur on a daily basis on campus. Having the student voices heard and be listened to is imperative to ensure this school is providing resources that are relevant to those who are coming to SDSU for their education. 

One thing that I dislike about Associated Students is how inaccessible it may seem at times. There are so many different avenues for students to be involved in A.S. and we within Associated Students need to increase our outreach and show students that there are multiple different avenues for them to get involved and feel as though they are welcomed and have a safe space for them within Associated Students. 

What will be your top three priorities in this role?

“As chief financial officer my goals is to increase educational opportunities and access to available funding for students. And I plan to do this by working with Carlos Careaga, director of finance for Associated Students. I think there are pools of funding which are going under utilized and finding ways in which I can bring this funding to the forefront of student organizations and how they can make the most of their available funding. The goal I have is to collaborate with the economic crisis response team to increase visibility to basic needs programs. We need to acknowledge that the ECRT has a lot of resources available to us but one of the biggest barriers at times is the visibility and marketing to students. So, I would like to work with Chelsea Payne, the director of the economic crisis response team in order to expand our marketing and allow students to engage in the resources that we have available and under utilized for them. And my third goal is to restore campus connections for service and philanthropy. I want to reintegrate student completion into the Aztecs Rock Hunger Campaign in the fall, in order to foster healthy competition and bonding for a common philanthropic goal so that all students are feeling affected and are enjoying their time at SDSU.” 

Why do you think so many positions are running uncontested this year?

“This year has been incredibly hard for students to adjust back to in-person responsibilities and handle all of the loaded stress that comes with that in coming back to in-person. So, many students are struggling to go to classes on a day-to-day basis. With that responsibility in itself, how are we all expected to take on extra roles when even classes may seem daunting at times? We see this all the time, not only within A.S. but many organizations who are struggling across campus to fill their executive boards. That’s why my slate, Our SDSU is running, is to bring the spirit back to campus and give these students a space to feel as though they have a space to run for these positions in the future.”

This interview was edited for brevity and clarity. 

Editor’s note: An previously published version of this article cited Koch as the “Vice President of Financial Service for Rotaract and President of the Aztec Student Union Board.” The correct titles are “Vice President of Service of Rotaract and Representative of the Aztec Student Union Board.” The correction has been made, The Daily Aztec regrets this error.