Fall — 2004

Lillian Cavalieri

Economics & History, Associated Students, Alpha Gamma Sigma

“Cecile Hanrahan, the AS advisor, is also the best counselor I ever had. She helped me make a great outline for my course schedules and taught me how to avoid overloading myself.”

When you want to learn how to ski, you find the best people on the hill and follow them downhill. This rule, for Lillian Cavalieri, proved equally true when she joined SMC’s honors society, Alpha Gamma Sigma. “If I hadn’t joined AGS, I’d probably have still been in my second year and still totally confused. And I wouldn’t have learned about all the programs that I’m now part of,” she says. “AGS is a really good mix of international and American students who are really smart. We all interact and learn a lot about each other’s cultures, and it’s a great way to get involved.”

Lillian reports, “When I first got to SMC, I didn’t know anybody and I was like a fish out of water. But then I got involved with AGS and quickly moved into student government, where I’m now the AS Treasurer. And I feel it’s really unfortunate how many people don’t realize what student government is all about,” she says. “I’m working to decrease student apathy and get students to come join with us, because it’s a really great organization. But all the clubs, really, are something that people should check out because they’ve got the best counselors, the best information, and there’s just a lot of ‘circuitry’ that you can link up with. You’re just pretty much gonna get smacked in the face with a whole bunch of knowledge,” she adds with a laugh.

Lillian plans to carry her double major on to UCLA and then into a career in law. “I’ve talked with a lot of my friends who transferred over there, and they’ve told me that SMC got them totally prepared.” She says that “ten years from now, I’ll be fighting for the underdogs and, hopefully, paying my bills! I don’t have any huge expectations of what I’ll be doing in the future, really. I just wanna make sure I’m not selfish, and that I’m doing the best I can to help others.”

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