Michelle Hashemi, a public health graduate student, will hope to turn her accessible personality and a focus on the environment into a winning bid in the race for the Graduate Students Association presidency this month.
“I’m very approachable from what I’ve been told,” Hashemi said. “That’s been an asset in making constituents happy.”
The candidate said that if elected, she would actively seek out and utilize graduate student input in shaping GSA’s policies, a goal aided by her moderate stance on most issues.
“I’m not strongly affiliated with one political theory or mentality. I’m usually in the middle of things,” Hashemi said. “I’m always open to new ideas.”
In order to facilitate the inclusion of student opinion, Hashemi stressed that she would focus on more frequent communication between herself and the graduate student community, saying that she would enjoy corresponding with constituents about any idea or concern.
“There’s no way to accommodate every person, but you can always try,” she said. “I’ll make it as easy as I can for them to get involved.”
Those who know Hashemi well said that engaging others comes naturally to her.
“Michelle is very receptive to people’s suggestions, thinking about them and coming up with a way to make them happen,” said Van Pham, Hashemi’s roommate for the past year.
Hashemi, who held a number of leadership positions during her undergraduate years at UC Irvine, said her friendly manner would help her increase communication among students from different academic fields, one of her major goals.
“I want to increase involvement between different departments,” Hashemi said. “It’s easy to get trapped in your own department.”
She said she hopes to boost interaction among different fields by organizing more frequent and varied social events open to all graduate students.
Hashemi said leaders must acknowledge that graduate students generally feel a stronger attachment to their undergraduate institution and are hesitant to get involved in their new school.
She said graduate students need to become active in UCLA, especially because after graduation they may be working with one another in their careers.
“It’s a good idea to know each other now while we’re still here,” Hashemi said. “We’re all in the same place, and we’ll be stronger once we graduate.”
Another task Hashemi will take on if elected president is an integration of the various environmental groups on campus, as well as outside organizations, to create a stronger voice and increase the effectiveness of the cause.
“I think UCLA has the potential to be a top green university,” she said. “I want to make the campus more green-friendly.”
Hashemi hopes to take practical measures such as increasing the number of recycling bins on campus to make an impact, adding that being eco-friendly at school can continue as a habit for students at home as well.
Hashemi, who said that she will campaign mostly around graduate student housing units, is part of a newly created informal slate, or campus political party, that includes vice president of academic affairs candidate Myha Ngo.
Friends and supporters of the candidate said Hashemi’s greatest qualities are her amicable personality and her leadership style, which incorporates the opinions of others.
“Michelle is very personable,” said Marianne Cadiz, a fellow public health student who met Hashemi when they were both undergraduates. “She has the ability to joke around even under stress.”
Cadiz added that the candidate works well with a group, though she can work on being more authoritative as a leader.
“She doesn’t take (things) overboard, she’s not overbearing at all,” she said. “But maybe she could have her voice heard a little more.”
Others praise Hashemi’s diligence and willingness to work.
“She has a really strong work ethic,” said Laura Wiggs, who met Hashemi in the Community Health Sciences program and works alongside her at the Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center. “She will often stay late to finish something,”
Hashemi’s supporters agree that it is an integration of her many positive qualities that make her an ideal candidate for president.
“I have no doubt that she would be outstanding (as president),” Wiggs said. “Her personality, her work and academic ethic, it all kind of comes together into a nice package that would be really beneficial to the GSA.”