I have learned that one trustee can’t solve every problem. Good governance requires working with students, faculty, classified professionals, administrators, fellow trustees, and community partners.

What I can promise is that I will keep showing up, keep listening, keep asking questions, and keep pushing for solutions.

Our governing board represents the Southwestern College students. I promise to improve communication and collaboration between the governing board and student organizations by being honest, transparent, and caring.

I want Southwestern College to be a place where:

• A low-income student can afford to attend.

• A working parent can find the support they need.

• A student commuting across the border is treated with understanding.

• Students can actually get into the classes they need.

• A student struggling academically or personally knows where to turn for help.

• Students can walk onto campus and feel safe, welcomed, and proud of where they learn.

I am ready to continue the work.

I am running for reelection because I believe in Southwestern College, I believe in the power of community college, and I believe every student deserves a voice in the decisions that affect their future.

Students should not have to compete with automated bots or other technology that interferes with their ability to register for the classes they need. I was the first GB member to ask that the college address the issue of bots.

I will advocate for Southwestern College to examine its registration systems and strengthen protections against bots and other practices that make it harder for real students to secure classes.

I have had difficulty myself in trying to register for classes at SWC, and I was a counselor at the college for 32 years.

Students work, raise families, commute, and have limited time and resources. A registration system should work for students — not against them.

I will push for greater transparency around registration problems, waitlists, high-demand courses, and the steps the college is taking to make enrollment fairer.

Getting into the classes you need should not feel like a lottery. The District should never cancel an academic session/semester without getting the buy-in of the students and faculty first.

College can be overwhelming, especially for students balancing school with work, family responsibilities, financial pressure, and uncertainty about their future.

Students should not have to reach a crisis point before they can receive meaningful support.

If reelected, I will advocate for counseling services that are accessible, welcoming, proactive, and centered around the whole student.

That means supporting efforts to reduce long wait times, improve awareness of available counseling resources, and make it easier for students to understand where to go when they need help.

But counseling should be about more than responding to emergencies.

Students should have access to support that helps them build confidence, navigate academic challenges, manage stress, plan for their careers, and feel empowered about their future.

I will advocate for:

• More accessible and timely counseling appointments

• Increased awareness of counseling and mental-health resources

• Proactive outreach to students who may be struggling

• Academic and career counseling that helps students create realistic paths toward their goals

• Support for students balancing school, work, and family responsibilities

• Culturally responsive and inclusive student services

• Stronger connections between counseling, basic-needs programs, financial aid, and other student resources

• A campus culture where asking for help is viewed as a strength, not a weakness

Every student deserves to have someone in their corner.

Southwestern should be a place where students don't just receive an education — they receive the encouragement, guidance, and support they need to believe they can succeed.

Southwestern College serves a unique border-region community. For students who live in Chula Vista and surrounding communities near the border — including students who commute across the border — attending college can come with challenges that other students may not experience.

Long and unpredictable border-crossing times can affect students who commute to Southwestern. Delays can mean arriving late to class, missing exams, losing study time, or having to choose between attending school and meeting work or family responsibilities.

Students and families may also have concerns about:

• Border wait times and unpredictable commuting

• Transportation options

• Parking and getting to campus on time

• Understanding college systems and available resources

• Financial aid and eligibility questions

• Immigration-related uncertainty and fear

• Students who have family members with different immigration statuses

• Access to counseling and support

• Feeling safe, respected, and welcome regardless of where they live

Southwestern College should recognize these realities rather than treating every student's circumstances as the same.

If reelected, I will advocate for stronger communication and support for students affected by the border, including exploring partnerships and resources that can help students navigate transportation, enrollment, financial aid, basic needs, counseling, and other barriers.

Where a student lives should never determine whether they have a fair opportunity to succeed.

Students deserve to learn in a campus environment that is clean, maintained, accessible, and welcoming.

If reelected, I will advocate for consistent attention to:

• Restrooms and common areas

• Trash and litter

• Classroom and building maintenance

• Outdoor spaces

• Lighting and walkways

• Accessibility

• Parking areas

• General campus appearance

Campus cleanliness may sound like a small issue, but it affects how students feel about the place where they spend years of their lives.

Students should be proud of their campus.

A welcoming campus is about more than appearances. It is about creating an environment where students feel respected, safe, comfortable, and ready to learn.

SWC has had a lot of construction over the past four years. One of the most beautiful areas on the campus right now is the Landscape and Nursery Technology area. The flora, fauna and rock gardens are beautiful.

This landscape design should be brought around the block from the H Street entrance to the Otay Lakes intersection at H Street and all along the front of the college, including the campus exit across from the Jack In The Box.

H Street and the front of the campus entrances need updating. We should match the landscape design on the side (by the football field) of the college and the front of the college to what is found in the Landscape and Nursery Technology area.

Planting colorful succulents, rocks, and water-wise grasses campus-wide would make a big difference to campus branding. We need more seating with umbrellas that are in our campus colors.

Official campus branding such as colors and logos should be consistent throughout the college.

For example, the use of secondary colors like the browns, yellows, and orange/amber colors found on the Instructional Technology Hieroglyphics, the Performing Arts Building, and the Astronomy Building, should at least be in the same color families.