Name: Mariah Kala Watson
Year: Senior
Major: International Relations and Philosophy
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Mariah Kala Watson is a force to be reckoned with. In her first year as ASUCD president, she’s already worked closely with Governor Jerry Brown on a tuition compromise, and has come up with ideas to make Davis a more enjoyable place to live. Her motive is very clear: she doesn’t work for the sake of self-promotion and recognition, but rather to ensure that her fellow Aggies have the resources they need to succeed.
Although her executive role as ASUCD president suits her very well, Mariah never planned on becoming president. She joined ASUCD when she was just a freshman and worked as an Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commissioner. She dreamt of being a student assistant to Chancellor Katehi, working in the White House, and increasing accessibility of legal rights for those who have none.Mariah explained that even before she began her presidential campagin for ASUCD, her parents were certain that this was the path she would take. She speaks of them warmly when she says that, “There was no one more supportive in my run for president than my mom and my dad. No one.”
As she continued to work in student government, she became more motivated to take the next step. Mariah noted that, “Being in student government and seeing the critical role that we as a group played in academic affairs, student life, as well as in state and federal affairs, lead to my decision to run for senate. I saw the vision that we created and from there, decided to run for ASUCD president.” The first change she made as president was strengthening UC Davis’ representation in state and federal affairs. She made cuts, balanced the budget, and performed a financial audit to make this happen, and is happy to report that, “Within my first three weeks coming back in the fall, I definitely saw change,” she says. UC Davis students may not have immediately recognized these changes, but Mariah saw a vast improvement of the representation of the student body.
Mariah and her team went on to create the African Diaspora Student Success Center, a resource center that aims to decrease dropout rates in the African American community. In addition, they also sat down with Governor Jerry Brown to discuss the issues of “using the students as pawns” and threatening to increase tuition costs. This meeting, although not exactly glamorous, is deeply important to students since many are struggling to pay for their education. As if that isn’t impressive enough, Mariah also made it possible to access athletic facilities for free, lowered game admission costs, and worked on finding more venues for the 18+ crowd. More importantly, she made sure that projects like ASUCD’s Open House are not financially burdening any students.Mariah Kala Watson has definitely made sacrifices for the UC Davis student population. She has given up time for fun and family, working forty hours a week to accommodate everyone at our school regardless of their race, gender, or sexual identity. She speaks for those who feel as if they don’t have a voice, and about important issues that most people don’t want to talk about.
Her cultural and poltical awareness gives her the edge necessary in becoming a strong leader, explaining that, “Being black and being in this role has made me successful. It has shown me exactly what is necessary—what’s hard, but what is necessary. Maybe it wasn’t the flashiest administration, but it was the administration that was needed in order to make sure that we were completing our charter and our mission.” When it comes to making necessary changes in the UCD community, Mariah Kala Watson takes care of business by transforming pressing issues into noticeable improvements.