Hi there!
My name is Yen-Chi (Justin) Liu, a third-year Economics student at SMC. I am honored to serve you all as the Associated Student Vice President for the term 2023-24. Before this, I was the 2022-23 A.S. Director of Budget Management - I oversaw the finances for A.S. and assisted all clubs and departments who sought funding from us. This year, aside from assisting with the duties directed by the A.S. President, one major part of my duties is to appoint students to campus-wide committees to represent student voices. Hence, my goal is to ensure students are given the opportunity to voice their thoughts/concerns and make sure they are heard at every level.
A little bit about myself -
Before SMC, I was a homeschooled student for nine years. I was fortunate to grade-skip to a four-year college to obtain a B.A. at seventeen. However, while some may think it is a major accomplishment of a minor, it was an arduous journey that I had to navigate on my own, which left me with a lot of scars to recover from. I am grateful for the opportunity, yet I know deep down that I was not well-supported, as every student should - this is the reason why I was inspired to join the student government.
Coming to SMC as a first-generation international student, I learned from my own experience again that, navigating through things when you first get into higher education can be exceptionally challenging and overwhelming. Thankfully, SMC has well-rounded student-support resources to ensure students' success. There are always aspects that can be improved/changed to be more aligned with student needs, nonetheless. That is why the Associated Student is here for you as the primary liaison between the students and the faculty, staff, and administration.
If you have any questions or concerns that you may want to share with your student leaders, or if you simply want to talk to a peer, please always feel free to join my office hours or email me any time!