On the first day of freshman orientation, I sat with my brother and dad while I listened to President Gann’s address to the class. Eventually, Dean Huang stepped to the podium.

“We have great leaders in the Class of 2011,” he began. My brother nudged me. Not being particularly good at any sports in high school, I had thrown myself into extracurriculars and held a few leadership positions by graduation time.

“There are club presidents,” My brother nudged me.

“Class presidents,” Again, a nudge.

“School presidents.” Another nudge.

“One third of your class held a president, captain, editor-in-chief or other leadership position in high school.” …No more nudging from my brother.

CMCers are dynamic. It should come as no surprise that so many members of my class were actively involved in everything from debate to lacrosse to student government, but the thought of being with so many other big fish--no longer being in a small pond--kind of frightened me.

I found out really soon, though, that it is still possible to find your niche at CMC, not despite of, but because of, the many other amazing and qualified CMCers. It’s a supportive community of students. Since that day of orientation, I’ve been involved with ASCMC and was elected Junior Class President last spring.

As 2011 president, I have the opportunity to bring the class together. Sometimes campus life gets crazy with everyone’s classes, practices, meetings, and conferences. It's easy to fall into a routine with a group of friends and get lost in the cycle of day-to-day work. I try to make unique events that deviate from the norm in order to connect the class. Like last month, we went to a filming of the Price is Right, and the other weekend there was a class brunch. Last semester, as many CMCers were abroad, we mailed them letters overseas so juniors could have a taste of CMC wherever they were, all the while remembering what they were coming back to. Being class president also allows me the chance to create new CMC gear. As a fundraiser, I sold customized CMC wayfarer sunglasses--and all 600 pairs sold out within 10 minutes!

As Class President, I serve on the Executive Board of ASCMC. I work with a group of dedicated people that do the behind the scenes efforts to ensure that we're meeting the needs of the student body. Sometimes we might fall short, but major events for the student body (like our upcoming Lupe Fiasco concert) run smoothly. We approve club requests and fund many of the CMC and 5C organizations, proving that it's really easy at CMC to find what you love and create a club for it. ASCMC works to enrich the quality of student life. A never ending task, we're always looking for ways to improve CMC.

Class bonding events, matching sunglasses, letters, or television filmings may not seem huge, but they're important. Sometimes, all the little things add up and you realize you have something amazing. ...Like classmates whose friendships will last long beyond the four years of college. I've appreciated the chance to help bring my classmates together through my work with ASCMC. We're all different. Divided by dorms, majors, hometowns, clubs, and sports, I think we should celebrate our individual talents and interests, but focus less on those things that separate us, and instead search for the things that bring us all together: the fact that we're the Class of 2011. The fact that we're CMCers.

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