By Quinton Wood,
Editor in Chief
SOAR’s own Samuel Zhu made history this November when he became the first SOAR student and the first high school student elected to Antelope Valley College’s Student Trustee position. Being the youngest student to ever be elected to this position, Samuel’s new responsibilities include representing both AVC and SOAR students at AVC school board meetings.
The SOARce caught up with Samuel to talk about his plans as the newest AVC Student Trustee.
“I’m going to make sure that they don’t pass anything that would hurt SOAR … to make sure that SOAR’s interests aren’t being compromised in any single way,” he said, adding that part of his role is to examine how money is used, what activities are planned, and the direction the college plans on going in the future. That future includes plans for a new campus for SOAR, which has been a row of portables behind the tennis courts for much of its existence.
Although a SOAR senior, Samuel said he will represent both our interests and AVC students. He attributes his ability to navigate between both worlds due to his active involvement in high school and college leadership roles.
“For SOAR, I plan on participating through student site counsel and getting insight from our Class President, Rachel Mobaraka, who is also in SCC. “For AVC students, this would happen through ASO, as their president, Cameron Zappetta, has a very close relationship with me and I’ve been attending ASO’s meetings,” he said.
ASO, otherwise known as Associated Student Organization, is AVC’s form of student government and represents the college’s 14,000 students.
Samuel concluded by expressing his gratitude to all of the people that helped him get elected. “I want to thank everyone who voted for me and I really want to thank Mrs. Schaeffer. She always supported me and always told me what a good leader I was. I want to thank all the SOAR staff for encouraging me.”
Hoping to pass this encouragement on, Samuel also wittingly remarked: “I want more students to run for this position. I was the first. I set the precedent, so I’m the coolest. But, I think that more SOAR students should follow in my footsteps. I think they should because this is a good position and you really do get a lot of experience.”
And, finally, Samuel set his hopes for the future, explaining what his next plans are and his career goals. “Samuel Zhu is now an official politician. Next for me is a four-year college, then to take over the college, run for mayor, senate, congress, and president—that’s the ultimate goal.” And then, he took a step back, ending the interview by stating “But for now, Samuel Zhu is heading off to college.”
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