California State University, Stanislaus (Stan State), has its very own Wonder Woman. She spent her semester fighting for the California State University (CSU) system and the students who make up the CSU. Many students on campus know her by her true identity, Maggie White.
Aside from being a full-time senior at Stan State, working towards two degrees, Communication Studies and Economics, Maggie White holds the Government Relations Coordinator position in the Stan State Associated Student Inc. (ASI), and she holds the non-voting Student Trustees seat at the California State University- Board of Trustees.
As a Student Trustee, White has the duty to represent the students who make up the CSU System. During her Spring 2016 semester, White got to spend a big percentage of her semester fighting for the CSU system on a state and nationwide scale.
“I got to travel to Washington D.C. and met with The Department of Education, the Committee of Workforce and Education and with Congressman Denham. We were there to discuss PELL Grants – a major financial aid for students in California” White said.
Advocating for the CSU plays a huge role in being a Student Trustee, and it’s also White’s favorite part of the job. White feels honored to have the position and to be able to reach so many people and take the CSU’s message across the country.
“[Advocacy] is one of my favorite parts, to sit down with important people, and I start thinking how I’m just a student from Stan State and they are listening to me and I am able to get across messages from all the students and tell the student’s stories,” White said.
“I get to share the stories of first generation, low income, full-time students who work one or even two jobs and have a family at home, but they don’t get enough financial aid and are still working hard and still succeeding,” White said. “So what can we do to make their journey a little bit easier and less stressful… I think that is a powerful story I get to take to the legislators.”
Aside from fighting and advocating for the CSU students, White was also involved in the salary agreement between the California Faculty Association and the California State University- Board of Trustees that took place during the 2015-2016 school year.
“The faculty salary negotiation has been a huge thing for us this semester… the Board of Trustees will be voting for or against the salary agreement soon and there is a really good feeling around the agreement and should be a very productive meeting,” White said. “I am really excited to get that all finalized and complete with to move forward with all our other issues.
Somehow, with all the hard work White does on and off campus, she still has time to maintain her 4.0 GPA.
“It has been tough, but not as hard as I thought. I have gotten really good at teaching myself the material and my professors have been pretty great and I try to keep in constant communication with them,” White said. “With blood, sweat, and tears I have kept my grades up with straight A’s.”
The hard work never ends for White and will only become greater next year, when she takes the voting Student Trustee seat.
“[This semester] has been hectic but really amazing. I feel like a lot has been accomplished but as you accomplish things you see more work has to be done,” White said. “I will be the voting member as of June 30 and I have been inspired by our Stockton Center to look into how we allocate funding and resources to the eight off-campus centers in the CSU system.”
We may never understand how Maggie White handles it all, but we can be sure she will continue working hard for the students and the CSU System.
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Stan State’s very own Wonder Woman: Maggie White
Oscar Copland
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April 30, 2016
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