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Latina Leadership Coalition La Fuerza
Our mission… …is to empower all women, cultivate strong leaders and encourage personal development. We are proud to be diverse and believe that together we can achieve academic excellence.
Our pillars Academics Leadership Sisterhood Multiculturalism
Strong Roots, Stronger Women
S ummer is here again! That means that it is time for pool parties, beach trips and vacations. For many of us it also means working hard in our jobs or summer school. We are all excited for this much-needed break from tests and classes, but time away from school does not stop us from learning and living out our values to become strong women. We want to take the time to share more information about our organization and also share a little bit about ourselves. Get to know us now so when the fall semester comes, you know you will have 11 ladies to show you around. For the mean time, HAPPY SUMMER! ☼
Join us this summer for some fun under the sun! We will be posting meet ups on our pages
Facebook.com/CSUChannelIslandsLatinaLeadershipCoalition @LatinaLeadershipCoalition
LA FUERZA
SUMMER 2015
Meet the Ladies 11. W e are a family of 11. W e are each unique and different and that is what brought us together.
Karina Gonzalez, President Hi ☺I’m Karina Gonzalez. I am very excited for the future of our organization! This is my third year at CSU Channel Islands and I have loved my journey so far here. I was born and raised in Lompoc, CA and I spent a year in Chile when I was two (I don’t remember anything). I am a Liberal Studies major and I am pursuing a career in education as an elementary school teacher. I take my academics and my priorities very seriously. I love to go running and just hang out with my friends and have a good time. I love going to the beach, eating out, shopping (it’s my weakness), listening to music, dancing, my two beagles ☺, my friends, family, God, and of course my sisters from LLC ☺! My sports teams would be the LA Galaxy (for soccer) and Denver Broncos (for football). I love going to soccer games and concerts. My favorite artist is SoMo (get to know:) and I pretty much like any type of music. I live by a lot of mottos but the one that has got me through a lot of situations was “Sometimes life has to get really ugly before it gets pretty.” -Shay Mitchell
Yosemite Olivo,Vice-President
HI! My name is Yosemite (yes, just like the National Park). I will be entering my Junior year at CI. I am a Nursing and Spanish major hoping to one day save many lives. I love helping people whether it is giving them a smile, motivating them, or providing medical care. I love doing anything and everything; I can stay home and watch movies or go out on a hike and explore the world. I enjoy going to Dodger games as well as dancing the night away. I really do love life and everything it has to offer. I also love to learn new things and read! Even though school stresses me out, I love the fact that I am learning. I live at home with my beautiful, loving, and loud Mexican family. They are my #1 fans and my world. I appreciate everything they give me so I work hard to one day give at least a small piece of it back to them. I like meeting new people, so say “Hi” when you see me around campus (most likely in the library!) I will always shoot a quick hello and a smile because as Vin Scully says ,“As long as you live, keep smiling because it brightens everybody’s day.”
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SUMMER 2015
Karen Moreno, Secretary & Marketing Co-Chair My name is Karen and I am a Senior. I am the first of four children to attend a University, pursing a Bachelors degree in Psychology. I am a transfer student from College of the Canyons where I obtained my Associates degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Along with school and work, I absolutely love to run. My Freshmen/Sophomore years of high school I ran Crosscountry and Track and began marathon training my Junior year. I continued to run cross-country and track at COC. I have ran two full marathons (26.2 miles), about 10 half marathons (13.1 miles), around seven 10ks (6.2 miles) and countless 5ks (3.1 miles). I have 3 siblings whom I love very much; I have two sisters and a brother, which we are all obsessed with the young one, Joanne.
Janette Lugo, Historian & Alumni Chair My name is Janette and I dedicate my time to my family and friends, academics, sports, and nature. I hope to go to medical school and achieve my dream of becoming a doctor. My main support system is my family and they mean the world to me. I love my baby dog Meeko and he helps me be happy. Sports have also made me who I am today; I dedicate my time watching and attending games. I have a passion towards my teams and I will always represent the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Oakland Raiders, and FC Barcelona. The one thing that keeps me calm is nature and I appreciate how beautiful mother Earth is. The redwoods are my home and bring me tranquillity. Life can be difficult, but I'm blessed to have my beautiful family and God by my side.
Rocio Nieves, Treasurer & Recruitment Co-Chair Hola! I am a 5th year student majoring in Biology and Psychology with the hopes of earning a career in Neuroscience. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, I have learned to adjust to the drastic changes in weather but most importantly, how to handle being far away from home. Friendly, fun, and outgoing, I know how to find the balance between staying focused while also enjoying all the new and diverse experiences encountered in college. I like being very involved on campus because it gives me the opportunity to meet tons of new people as well as have fun. During my free time, I love dancing or going to the movies. I will Redbox it any day. No Shame. I enjoy listening to most kinds of music but if you look at my Pandora list, you’d find mostly Banda, Cumbia, and Norteño artists. Something that makes me unique: I have a twin sister who drives me crazy but whom I can’t live without.
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SUMMER 2015
Lina Durazo, Social Co-Chair Hi, my name is Lina. I am a transfer student from Ventura College, majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology. I have a passion of helping others, as I recently volunteered in the maternity department at Ventura Community Memorial Hospital and was a mentor at Oxnard High School to help spread awareness of domestic violence, rape, drug and alcohol abuse. In my free time I love to bake, cook, do crossword puzzles, hike, play softball, go bowling, read books, scrapbook pictures, workout and most of all spend quality time with my husband, furbabies and family. This fall will be my last semester at CSUCI as I will go forth to volunteer in medical settings and study for the MCAT in hopes to go to medical school and become an OBGYN.
Jackie Montoya, Fundraising Chair Hello everyone, my name is Jacqueline Montoya and I’m currently a senior at beautiful California State University Channel Islands! I’m studying Communication with an emphasis in Business/ NonProfit with a Minor in Psychology. In the future, my dream career is becoming a sports broadcaster for the NBA, and reporting in the sidelines for my favorite team which are the Los Angeles Lakers, but to analyze and broadcast for any sport would be phenomenal! Also, in my spare time I enjoy playing basketball, eating in new places, going to the beach, spending time with my 4 brothers that I love very much, and I also enjoy competing in beauty pageants because I LOVE dressing up and getting involved in my community! Overall, I'm an outgoing, fun, funny, prankster, sushi-loving, family-orientated, Kobe-nerd, college girl! ☺
Cynthia Sillas, Social & Marketing Co-Chair My name is Cynthia Sillas, I'm 19 years old from Los Angeles, CA. I'm currently an undeclared major at CSUCI. I'm a total fan girl expert when it comes to any social media gossip or music. I love going to concerts, al types of award shows and the beach. I enjoy trying new things and I'm not afraid to go on an adventure. I'll get one any roller coaster any day no matter the height or the crazy loops. P.S. I'm allergic to seafood.
LA FUERZA
SUMMER 2015
Kyara Salazar, Community Service Chair Hi, my name is Kyara Salazar and I am currently a fifth year at CI. I am currently a double major in Sociology and Chicana/o Studies and plan on graduating in May 2016. My absolute passion is to be able to help others. I grew up volunteering at various homeless shelters and women’s center across Los Angeles County. My passion for helping others, especially women and children, has been able to take me to Guatemala with the Remar Foundation, to work with survivors of sexual violence. I also plan on working with the Remar Foundation again at their facility in Mozambique, Africa in Summer 2016. My plans for the future are to obtain a Masters in Social Work, with an emphasis in Human Rights and Victim Advocacy. Apart from helping out in my community, I love to spend time with my family and friends, they are my number one support system. I also enjoy spending time with my fellow LLC sisters! They have been a huge support to me throughout my college career and I am able to count on all of them at all times. I also love to travel to exciting new places, hiking, and going to the beach.
Stephanie Cruz, Educational Chair
Elizabeth Espino, Recruitment Co-Chair
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SUMMER 2015
What We Do During the school semester, we are busy completing extracurricular activities. We find it important to reflect the university’s mission statement in serving the community while also focusing on our mission statement to have personal development. Overall, we want to achieve academic excellence and represent CI well!
Study Hours
CI’s mission statement Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.
There is one thing that everyone in LLC has in common, we all put academics as our priority. We came to CI to get the degree that we all have dreamed of. We all dream of walking across that stage and saying “I DID IT!” The equation for this dream is simple, it includes dedication, coffee, a support system, and a lot of studying. To achieve this, LLC has mandatory study hours during the semester. It is two hours a week where we motivate one another and give off positive vibes. During this time, there is no social media and no cell phones, just simply studying. It may be done in study groups or it may be all of us in one room, depending on what is decided at the beginning of the semester. Bring your roommates, friends, significant others and have them join in on some focused studying.
Academic Success-KEY Card Since academics are very important to LLC, members are required our Keep Educating Yourself card otherwise known as the KEY card. This card is given at the beginning of the semester and it is turned in before finals. This KEY card includes attending a workshop sponsored by the career center, meeting with an academic advisor and with our advisor, applying to scholarships, and completing a resume. These are all activities to keep empowering yourself to take control of your education to be successful during the semesters at CI and after the graduation.
LA FUERZA
Community Service Community service is important not only for personal growth but also to make a difference.In previous semesters we have held a canned food drive, helped in the community garden, helped clear non-native plants to restore the wetlands among much more. A few times during the semester we will all join together and give back to the community. We know the time and dedication are worth it because it is for a good cause. The sense of accomplishment and serving others result in a priceless feeling that we experience together.
Meetings Meetings for LLC are run in a professional manner, therefore, require professionalism from its members. We use Roberts’s Rules of Order to ensure that the meetings run smoothly and that everything on the agenda gets completed. These meetings are once a week and will vary in style; some days it will focus on events that need planning while others will have workshops and learning activities. If for some reason a member is not able to attend, they will still know what occurred in the meeting since the secretary will provide these notes for everyone within 24 hours. The meetings are a great way to prepare everyone for meetings in the workplace but also to keep informed about what is happening with our sisters, organization, and campus.
Socials All week long we go to class, study, take tests and do homework. Sometimes a break is needed to get our minds off school even if it’s for a few hours. As they say, work hard, play hard. We are all very dedicated to academics, but we do want to make many memories with one another. A few times a semester we all get together to take a break from school. We want to get to know each other and create lifelong memories. In the past we have had picnics and scavenger hunts at the park, pool parties, painting party and much more. We create that home away from home atmosphere and make our time enjoyable.
SUMMER 2015
LA FUERZA Fall semester is right around the corner! There is so much to look forward to during your first year at CI. Take the opportunity to talk with us; we are always happy to show you around campus and go out and about. The summer is always the perfect time to make new friends . Stay tuned to find out more about our current and future events and about becoming part of LLC! We hope to meet you soon. Welcome to CI!
♼ Latina Leadership Coalition
President: LatinaLeadershipCoalition@gmail.com Recruitment: LLC.RecruitmentChair@gmail.com Marketing: LLCmarketing.CSUCI@gmail.com
SUMMER 2015