Branson hopes to help transfer students adjust, succeed
On Oct. 26, third-year communication major Shaniah Branson was sworn in as the third ASUCD interim senator. Branson is a transfer student from Huntington Beach, Calif., where she attended Golden West College.
Branson was an active student leader at Golden West College and took on various roles within her community, including her position as president of the California statewide Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society and vice president of the Peace and Leadership Club.
“My community college experience was amazing, and I was honored as the Student of the Year at graduation,” Branson said.
Branson was interested in the interim senator position because she wanted to continue her leadership development and contribute to ASUCD’s mission of creating a fulfilling and comfortable experience for every student at UC Davis.
“During my time as interim senator, I want to focus on increasing the efforts of transfer and reentry student outreach and engagement,” Branson said. “I believe that the transfer and reentry student community needs more consideration, as the spotlight is not equally shared with the incoming freshman every year. As a transfer student, we have to overcome social and cultural barriers, get accustomed to a brand new environment and ensure our transition is constructed properly so we may attain our degrees within the two years many of us plan to be here — this transition is not seamless.”
To better ensure that the needs of transfer and re-entry students are met, Branson discussed the need to initiate early identification via social media, email or in-person tabling.
“We need to figure out what students need before they arrive here; students do not have the same accommodations from year-to-year, and we need to ensure that this is the case,” Branson said. “There also needs to be a stronger safety net of resources and overall accessibility [as well as] other ways to inform our students of campus resources and events.”
After her term as interim senator, Branson plans to run for a full term as an ASUCD senator to continue her efforts of helping the transfer and reentry student community as well as improve the overall transparency and accessibility of ASUCD.
“Students need to know more about what ASUCD is up to,” Branson said. “But, first things first, we need to make the ASUCD floor of the Memorial Union known. I am excited to be representing the student body and to be an Aggie.”
Written By: Clara Zhao — campus@theaggie.org
