The elections to determine who will represent San Jose City College students through the Associated Student Government (ASG) will be held from April 23rd to 25th.
Students will receive a link emailed through Canvas where they can vote.
Candidate Overview
Student Trustee: Maria Chavez, Zachari Magas, and Pratham Tated
President: Priyam Tated
Communications Director: Sharon Cabello
Student Resources: Kiana Bakrani. She currently holds the position
Vice President of Marketing: Hazel Tran and Ganna Zgama
Vice President of Finance: Bryan Castillo and Enkhjin Ochirsuren
Director of Student Engagement: Sergio Aguilera and Cheue Nyinyi
Director of Justice: No candidates running
Here is a voting guide that highlights the 12 candidates and their key proposals.
Student Trustee
Maria Chavez
Major: Business Administration
Maria Chavez is running for Student Trustee. She hopes to secure the position that she has been diligently working toward. For Chavez, this opportunity represents a chance to engage fellow students in understanding the workings of ASG, and the position will enable her to acquire additional experience and step out of her comfort zone. According to her, she is prepared to handle any situation that may arise. “I am going to try my best to represent the school district, while always bringing important information to the school (…) I want to be more involved,” Chavez said.
Zachari Magas
Major: UX/Interaction Design and Graphic Design
Zachari Magas is running for Student Trustee under the vision to drive positive changes for all students at SJCC. He has had leadership experience since high school and is currently an active collaborator in ASG. He aims to promote an inclusive environment and enhance campus accessibility. Magas said that his role as a student ambassador allowed him to interact daily with students, giving him a unique perspective on the needs and challenges faced by SJCC students.
Zachari deeply values teamwork and collaboration. He witnessed the internal workings of ASG during his participation in the SJCC assembly.
One of Zachari’s main priorities is to improve accessibility at SJCC. As a UX Design student, he has a special focus on designing inclusive and accessible solutions that benefit the entire student community. Describing himself as “perseverant”, Zachari promises to work hard and “initiate positive change one solution at a time.”
Pratham Tated
Major: Computer science
Pratham Tated aims to be an accessible and representative voice for all students on campus. As a final year Computer Science student, he sees this position as a valuable leadership opportunity that will enrich his professional experience and allow him to make a positive contribution. Beyond personal enrichment, Pratham values the opportunity to address and propose changes to student policies for the benefit of the academic community.
“I envision myself as the bridge between SJCC Students and the SJECCD Board of Trustees. I commit to amplifying student voices, by gathering and relaying information in regard to events, policies, resources, and initiatives. My goal is to make this campus more affordable and to bring more awareness to create an informed and empowered student community, forging a brighter future together.”
President of Associate Student Government (ASG)
Priyam Tated
Major: Computer Science
Tated is running uncontested for President of ASG in this year’s election. After transferring to SJCC, he attended an ASG meeting he was immediately impressed with the professionalism which inspired him to, “want to be a part of it.”
Before running for ASG president, Tated founded and served as president of the Salaam Namaste Club and the Computer Science Club. Tated credits this experience as one of the main preparations for ASG president. Tated said the main issue he would focus on is increasing food options on campus. “I know we have food here but the options are quite limited, so I think I will be trying to see how that sector can be improved or what changes can be made so students will not face any difficulties.”
Vice President of Finance
Bryan Castillo
Major: Business Administration
Bryan Castillo is campaigning for Vice President of Finance. His experience in finance comes from courses he has taken for his business major and his experience running a vending machine business. One of the biggest fears of Castillo is the management of the budget as he admits he does not feel strong with his finances; he hopes to be better in this position.
“I spend a lot of, not a lot, but I just spend a little bit of money irresponsibly. So I don’t want to do it. I know I’m not gonna do the same here.”
Castillo believes that it is important for whoever wins this role to have mathematical skills to distribute the assigned budget, maintain good communication with the ASG members, and know how to allocate resources for the benefit of the students. Castillo also has the opportunity to meet people from METAS, which is where he works on Campus, and he believes that in his position he can help students with struggles to reach their educational goals.
“I know there’s like a lot of our undocumented and international students. I feel like they should get a little bit more attention,” Castillo said.
Enkhjin Ochirsuren
Major: Business Administration
Enkhjin Ochirsuren is a 21-year-old business administration major and international student from Mongolia. Her dream is to one day own and operate her coffee shop. She’s running for the position of Vice President of Finance because it will put her major into action and prepare her for her career in business.
Enkhjin believes that students should vote for her because of her experience as a club treasurer, including the National Society of Leadership and Success. If elected, she plans to expand food options within the cafeteria and hopes to introduce a dedicated room with beanbags where students can nap between classes away from the noise of the Student Center.
Vice President of Marketing
Hazel Tran
Major: English Literature
Hazel Tran is an international student from Vietnam majoring in English Literature. She has experience creating marketing content for other clubs and volunteers for district events.
Tran’s main campaign motivation is because the position “will allow me to quickly deliver positive messages and announcements about the school and its activities to all students.” She believes students should have more knowledge about events around campus and that an informed community has more opportunities. “Your voice deserves to be heard and your ideas deserve to shine. As VP of Marketing, I want to turn your passions into action, creating campaigns that resonate with you and amplify our school spirit,” Tran said.
Ganna Zgama
Double Major: Graphic Design and Communication
Ganna Zgama is an international student and a refugee from Ukraine. She wants to make a positive impact on student campus life and improve how they receive information about events around San Jose City College.
Zgama has experience in marketing for a nonprofit organization called Nova Ukraine, where she creates videos and develops marketing strategies. She also administers the San Jose City College TikTok and Instagram accounts. She has increased the school’s Instagram follower count by 600. With these skills she believes, “that we can improve our communication between clubs and students,” Zgama said.
Director of Student Engagement
Sergio Aguilera
(Unavailable for interview)
Cheue Nyinyi
Major: Biology
As an international student from Myanmar, Cheue Nyinyi is motivated to run for Director of Student Engagement because she wants to help students get more involved in school activities and to help build an academic community where students can find support.
She is the president of the Burmese Student Association, where she has familiarized herself with the dynamics and policies of ASG. Nyinyi also served as a student leader in Myanmar for over five years. One of the issues she is most passionate about solving at SJCC is the lack of interaction between clubs, faculty members, and students. She plans to use her role to connect these groups and facilitate more dialogue between them.
“One of the responsibilities of student engagement, [is] connecting the different communities, different networks, decentralized social groups, and different backgrounds into one thing. We are all here to strive for our academic journey and our future goals… So I would love to have all the students engage and participate on our campus,” Nyinyi said.
Director of Communication
Sharon Cabello
(Unavailable for interview)
Director of Student Resources
Kiana Bakrani
Major: Biology
Kiana Bakrani, a Biology major, is the sitting Director of Student Resources. She is running for reelection. Bakrani works in the Student Center as a Tutor.
During the last election cycle, she highlighted the importance of access to student resources on campus.
“There are good resources from laptops and hotspots from the Learning Resource Center and libraries like SparkPoint (…) but what I believe is that many students do not have enough information about them,” Bakrani said.
The SJCC Times tried to contact Bakrani for an interview but she did not reply. She is running uncontested.
Correction:
- Photo of VP of Marketing changed to include an image made by Syed Ahmed instead of a similar photo by an ASG candidate Hazel Tran.
- Ganna Zgama is a Double Major: Graphic Design and Communication, previously the article stated only one major, Graphic Design.
- Cheue Nyinyi’s name was misspelled in an early version.
