Q: What is your educational & career background?
A: I went to Southwestern College in Chula Vista. When I got out of highschool I obtained an Associates of arts in economics. I was originally studying political science but I ended up getting married and I wanted to start a family so I thought economics would be better. Then I had a couple kids and then I went to University of Phoenix. I continued to my Bachelor’s degree in accounting, which was something I could do with a family and it wouldn’t require too much time away from them.
I worked retail for about ten years and then I transitioned to the field of accounting. I’ve been in the accounting industry about 18 years, doing credit and collections and accounts receivable and different implementation projects for companies that want to convert their data from one system to another system platform.
Q: Why are you running?
A: I’ve always been super involved in my kids’ lives, their friends, what they were going through, their developmental process and now both of my kids are college age. I figured this would be kind of a good way for me to get to know what they’re going through and what they’re facing. The different decisions they’re needing to make and what’s being presented to them, so that I could have a better idea of what they’re going through.
Q: What is your ultimate campaign promise & goal?
A: I don’t really have one. I’m absolutely new to this entire process. I’ve just been a hardworking individual my whole life. I’m not the political type of person. I have my beliefs definitely, and I vote them, but I’ve never been one to really think of myself as someone that had political motives or and end game.
I just basically like doing the right thing, that I think is ethical and moral and good for the benefit of the people. The purpose of the Board is to help the students achieve their goals, and help the faculty achieve their goals, and I don’t know what those are right now, so if I was elected then I would pursue that. I would want to find out from the people most affected by the college. What their goals are and then I would want to support them. Because I feel like that’s what the Board is for.
Q: What separates you from other candidates?
A: Well, considering that I don’t know the other candidates and I don’t know what they stand for, I don’t really know the answer to that. I just know that I am genuine … I know that I don’t have any ulterior motives, and genuinely I just want to help people. Bottom line.
Q: What is your history with Palomar, and why is the college important to you?
A: I don’t have history with Palomar College, but both my kids go to Grossmont-Cuyamaca and I don’t live in that area so I can’t run for that Board, so I’m running for this one.
Q: What is the biggest problem facing Palomar, and how would you help fix it?
A: I feel like sometimes the leadership is a little disconnected from the people that are being affected by the decisions being made. So I like doing my own research, and doing my own forums, and involving people that want to be involved, and not people that don’t want to be involved and I like involving people that don’t really have an end goal – they just want to be honest and sincere in their expressions.
So, that’s what I would do. I would just want to sit and chat with people that are affected by decisions that you have no control over.
Q: How will you help improve Board relations with faculty?
A: Well, I can only speak for myself and only control my own actions. I definitely have responsive time at work. Currently, I have a responsive time of two minutes to emails and requests and if it takes me longer, I just respond saying that I’m going to work on this and it’s going to be my priority.
I’m transparent as an individual, just my whole life. That’s how I work. I don’t know any other way. So I definitely would be transparent and if there was something that people didn’t want to know, I would let them know that too, because there is a reason for whatever results there are, and if we can alter them then we need to go that route and not hide it.
Q: How much time do you spend talking to students, and trying to understand their needs through your conversations with them?
A: Well, this is my first time running so right now, zero. But I would dedicate a substantial amount of time, because that would be the point of the Board.
Q: What do you believe students’ biggest problem is, and how would you help fix it?
A: I don’t know what students’ biggest problems right now, but I would learn them. Typically, people that are struggling have ideas of the solution. Whenever there is an issue, the people that are being affected usually have an idea of what solution they want, they just don’t know how to implement it or how to get it to the right people.
So that would be my position on the Board, to match up the issues with the solution. Not necessarily my ideas, but I feel that as students, you know the issues you’re facing and you kind of have an idea of the solution you would like, you just don’t have the power to implement it.
Q: Do you plan on maintaining a strong relationship with the student body after the election, if so, how?
A: Definitely would, because that would be the point of the Board. So I like conducting forum and it would be, obviously conducive of my time, but also to the student’s time, their availability and I would sit here and ask what are concerns, what are issues, what would you like to see the Board act on, what is the Board doing that you just think is nonsense?
I would get your feedback and I would take it to the Board and [say] ‘this is the feedback that I have, can we work on this or what are the obstacles to working on this.’
Q: What do you believe the role of The Telescope is on campus, how is it important to the community?
A: I think that The Telescope is a great informational tool to cascade information to the student body in a rapid form. I think that written word is critical to society, and I know we get away from it. I think that the role of newspaper and media is critical and people don’t give it the credibility that it should have.
Just to make sure that the information is disseminated and that there is nothing hidden and everyone knows the same thing and that everybody has the same information at the same time.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to add?
A: I don’t think I do, no.
