Name: Hayden Willis
Position: Vice President of Financial Affairs
Year: Junior
Major: Finance
1.Why did you decide to run for Associated Students Vice President of Financial Affairs?
I decided to run for this position because I thought this was the best opportunity where I could serve the student body. Growing up, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do with my career, or what I wanted to do in college. When I came from San Diego State I started joining student organizations, I found out pretty quickly that finance was my niche and so as I started to get more involved. I realized how much I liked it I and figured I could use that passion to really serve the university in the best interests of the students.
2. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish?
If elected, I hope to accomplish a few different goals. One goal is to increase the clarity of A.S. funding to the students. I think one of the biggest problems that the students have with A.S. banking is that people aren’t fully aware or informed how it can help them and benefit their organizations. A goal of mine is to really increase that clarity and bridge the gap between the students and A.S. banking. I’m also hoping to break the record of the Aztecs Rock Hunger campaign, and raise 500,000 pounds of food, but I also want to increase the allocation from 20 percent to 25 percent to the Economic Crisis Response Team on campus. If we raise the bar for Aztecs Rock Hunger, but also increase that donation, we can benefit the community around us and also the students here on the campus.
3. What areas does SDSU need to improve most on?
I think in terms of how A.S. can improve with SDSU, the biggest thing we need to do going forward is increase the engagement with students and the student body. Sometimes I think students aren’t fully aware how it can help them, and a goal that I have going into the position is really bridging that gap and making sure know they’re aware of what A.S. can do for them. A.S. consists of a large group of students, and I think that’s great in representing the student body, but it’s also very important to remember A.S. isn’t just to represent the students that it’s composed of, its for the whole student body. In terms of the university as a whole, I think improving on the things we’re doing really well right now – our GPA is getting a lot better and I want to continue that trend going in, I think the university should prioritize that, as well as making this campus a home for its students. With everything going on now, nationally, I thinks it’s more important now than ever students can feel comfortable on this campus, and they can know that they’re welcome here, and that they have an opportunity to excel in their collegiate experience.
As V.P. of Financial Affairs, how would you help improve those issues?
I think one of the biggest things is distributing funds efficiently and effectively to give equal opportunity to all student organizations and college councils. When I look at these organizations on campus and the students they consist of, a lot of their goals relate around how financing can help them do that. And I think that given my experience and expertise in finance, I can help really drive home that positive change and create those opportunities students deserve to have.
I also think my experience can be extremely valuable for the university. Being the vice-chair of the Financial Affairs Committee right now and the vice commissioner for the Aztec Student Union Board, I’ve been able to see first-hand what problems we are having and I’ve been able to brainstorm how we can solve those problems. Something that we’re trying to figure out is how we can streamline the A.S. banking system or possibly come up with a organizational debit card to increase accessibility of funds for A.S. so I’m excited about the opportunity to possibly put those motions forward in the position.
4. What do you like and dislike about A.S.? What would you change about it?
I dislike the fact that many students don’t feel like A.S. is welcome to them, or they feel like A.S. can’t provide the opportunities that would necessarily help them in their collegiate experience. That’s something that I’ve grown passionate towards changing in my experience being involved in A.S., and I think that really starts with getting the student body involved in important conversations that we’re having and understanding the initiatives that are being put forward in A.S. because at the end of the day, this whole student body is being represented by the organization. If they don’t feel their message or they’re being represented by A.S. then I think that’s a big step we need to take next year to improve A.S. What I do like about it is the opportunities it can offer for students, both from an organizational standpoint as to how A.S. can improve the experience organizations have on campus as well as personally getting involved in A.S. I’ve learned a lot about myself, and how to be a leader in this organization and I think that’s a great aspect of A.S.
5. What’s one thing people don’t know about you?
One thing people don’t know about me is that I do have experience in journalism as well. My freshman year I was in the journalism living community — shout out to Olmeca Three — and that gave me a good glimpse into the media side of the professional world. It taught me how to write and convey a message to a group of people, and I think that can help in the job as well in terms of increasing the transparency of the position as well as improving clarity between the students and the organization.
