By Emily Resnick

If you had told me when I first stepped foot on this campus that I would be involved in student government, I would never have believed you. My senior year of high school, I was the commissioner of spirit, but I thought that would be the extent of my involvement. Little did I know, I would serve not one but two years with UCLA’s student government and have a better time than I could have possibly imagined.

Serving as a general representative my junior year and as president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council this past year has been such an honor. I am beyond proud of the incredible work my offices have done, like founding the campus farmer’s market and bringing back Homecoming, and all the tangible achievements the USAC council has made as a whole by working together.

I want to stop and reflect on the amazing year we had as a USAC council: new and successful programs for students, more USAC visibility than ever before, co-programming and creativity like no other, respect from fellow councilmembers and all this in spite of budget shortfalls and the other obstacles we encountered. I am so proud of each and every one of my fellow councilmembers’ incredible feats and of the great work this council has done as a whole.

Next year’s council has some very big shoes to fill, but I can’t wait to see what they will accomplish. I encourage them to reach out and to co-program, be honest and transparent in their representation of all students and emerge from this year with more enthusiasm and passion to make change than ever before. Above all, I hope they too have an amazing experience.

I witnessed firsthand that USAC has the power to affect real and positive change on this campus and change lives of both current and future Bruins for the better.

People often ask if I’m excited to not be president anymore because of the insane time commitment, but, while I am enjoying more free time, I really miss it. I have never learned more about myself in a year and I was truly honored and humbled by the whole experience.

I am graduating with a major in psychobiology and considering either going to graduate school for physical therapy or throwing my pre-medical background to the wayside and going into marketing or public relations, since I absolutely love talking to and meeting new people! As president, my everyday routine was pretty hectic, so I put my future on hold. I am really looking forward to figuring out what I want to do next ““ but for now, I’ll start with my third summer at Bruinwoods.

I couldn’t be prouder to have served as your USAC President this past year. It was the best experience of my life, especially because I had the opportunity to work with so many of the amazing students, faculty and staff of our university. My sincerest congratulations to the Class of 2012, and go Bruins!

Emily Resnick was the president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council for the 2011-2012 school year.

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