Vice President of Communications

Statement:

My name is Naja Christmas. I am running for VP of Communications, and I am a doctoral
student in the Department of History. I am running to be of service to all graduate Gauchos!
I have twelve years of corporate experience, and I have served in the University of California
Student Government for five years. I am the current Graduate Representative for the History
department. Previously, I was the VP of Administrative Affairs for the University of California,
Irvine. Before that, I was elected as the Graduate Representative for Humanities. During
Undergraduate, I spent three years as the Student Equity Advisory Director, overseeing nine
identity directors. I worked in the Senate for two years, of which I was the Rules Chair for one,
and in the Office of the President for one year.
I am extremely well-versed in the inner workings of the University of California system. I am
engaged at UCSB, and with other UC campuses, I will represent the Gaucho Graduates diligently
and treat this position with respect. I have served on a variety of committees related to student
government, from the Budget Committee to the Academic Senate graduate representative. I am
organized and meticulous in the completion of my designated duties. I genuinely care about
every single graduate student on this campus, and I want us all to be successful while at UCSB. I
am confident in my ability to grow and assist my fellow graduates. I will be present in all GSA
meetings and will disseminate information to all graduate representatives, so that they can relay
it back to their individual departments.
Commitments:
- Streamlining all graduate events sponsored through co-sponsorship to Shoreline, this will
assist graduates with making new connections and networking.
- Meeting Agendas will have the meeting breakdown and be posted before the meeting.
- I will thoroughly document all meeting minutes, and this document will be posted on the
Graduate Student Association website.
- I will be present at the meetings that require the Graduate Executive Cabinet and keep the
minutes of those related meetings.
- I will maintain strong structural knowledge of the Graduate Student Association By-laws
and Constitution.
- I will assist with meeting integrity by maintaining the Roberts Rule of Order structure.
Initiatives:
- I want to host a Graduate Student Association End-of-the-Year Celebration to celebrate
the successful completion of the year.
- I want to improve the nutrition of the meals served at the Graduate Student Association
meetings.
- I want to work with the VP of Events to host events that focus on the social needs of
graduate students.
- I want to host parent and international student-specific events, while offering
communication assistance through Shoreline and a newsletter.
- I want to disseminate all event information through strengthened communication
avenues.
These are my goals for my first term as VP of Communications. I request your consideration, and
I am grateful for the time you took to read this statement.
Be safe and well,
Naja S. Christmas
(I have no conflict of interest to declare)