Lysette Johnson & Irma Valverde
Name:
Irma Valverde
Lysette Johnson
Age:
Valverde: 20
Johnson: 21
Graduation Year:
We are both a part of the Class of 2018!
Hometown:
Valverde: Long Island, NY
Johnson: Castle Rock, CO
Major/Minor:
Valverde: Dual Degree in Business Management and Political Science
Johnson: Applied Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science and Engineering
UConn Involvement:
Valverde: My college experience would definitely not be what it is today without all of the organizations I have been involved with and the people I have met through them. My freshman year, I was involved with PRLACC, Habitat for Humanity, SUBOG’s Major Weekends Committee and a USG Senator. My sophomore year I was an FYE Mentor, and served on two Executive Boards as the Vice President of Campus Affairs for Alpha Phi and the Student Development Chair of USG. Last summer I was also an Orientation Leader where I was able to connect with hundreds of students (shout-out to my E-Squad), and it was one of the greatest things I have done in my entire life. This year I am currently a Programming Intern for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, a Husky Ambassador Coordinator for Admissions, Co-Senior Week Chair for Alpha Phi, and of course the Vice President of USG.
Johnson: The reason I keep coming back to UConn even though it is 2000 miles from home is because of the people I have met through my involvement on our campus. Besides USG which I have been involved in for about a year now, I have been a competing member on the UConn Dressage team and have taken lessons through the riding practicum here at UConn. Horses and all things equine are a HUGE and essential part of my life and I am so happy and thrilled to have met my amazing teammates and fellow equestrians through my involvement with the horses here at UConn. Another reason for why I am still here is my learning community WiMSE, Women in Math, Science, and Engineering. I lived in the learning community for 2 years and all of the wonderful ladies I met through living there are what inspired me to continue to pursue my STEM major. Similarly, there are other student organizations such as STEMTalk magazine (shameless plug here, but look out for our first magazine coming out this week!!) that have enriched my undergraduate experience here and have helped me become the successful student I am today.
Three words to describe you:
Valverde: Optimistic, Driven, and Compassionate
Johnson: Enthusiastic, Level-Headed, and Rational
Quote you “live” by:
Valverde: “There is no such thing as a ‘self-made’ man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the makeup of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.” – George Matthew Adams
Johnson: “She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings.” -Atticus
Who inspires you?
Valverde: My parents have always been my greatest inspirations in life. They both came from Ecuador over 20 years ago with nothing to their name. All of these years they have sacrificed so much and have worked extremely hard to provide my siblings and I with a life full of opportunities. All of their actions both professionally and personally have inspired me to dream big and work hard, to love and respect others, and to give back.
Johnson: My younger sister is one my absolute greatest sources of inspiration. Her drive and focus amaze me every time, as she is always fully invested in what she does, 150%. Normally I feel like it is the older sibling that has to be the role model (and my sister wouldn’t agree with this), but she has always been my role model and she pushes me to be the absolute best I can. I know that what I achieve and accomplish inspires her while her achievements and accomplishments in turn inspire me.
What are your plans for after college?
Valverde: This summer I will be doing a management internship at Geico in New York, so I am looking forward to the opportunity working there full-time after graduation. I also plan to continue going to school, as I am considering a JD/MBA joint program.
Johnson: So the current plan is to go into corporate finance and work in the financial engineering field. I want to work with quantitative finance and help build the mathematical models and algorithms that support today’s technologically driven finance world. I hope to eventually go back to school and get my master’s degree in Financial Engineering/Quantitative Finance. If that doesn’t pan out my back-up plan is to hopefully work in the high-performance automotive industry or maybe cybersecurity.
What is your leadership style?
Valverde: I would say I am a participative leader because I accept input from many people and enjoy working in teams when making decisions and solving problems. As a leader, I make sure that I provide direction when needed and always offer my support and feedback. Ultimately I think my leadership style also allows people to realize their potential by being actively involved in initiatives and decisions. With all the experiences I have had, I really understand what it means to not just be a leader, but an effective one.
Johnson: My leadership style is definitely very affirmative and directive. I am very goal-driven and as a result I try to inspire and push everyone to achieve their full potential and in-turn, achieve our mutual goals. I am very comfortable with making tough decisions and try to make sure I handle any problems that arise efficiently and effectively for all parties involved.
Favorite part about UConn:
Valverde: My favorite thing about UConn is our school spirit. I always say it, but I really did fall in love with this school because of the amazing school spirit and great academics. I feel so proud to say I attend a top 20 public university, but I feel even more proud always supporting our Huskies out at games and at campus events that student organizations put on.
Johnson: Besides the basketball, my absolute favorite thing about my school is the people. I have never met so many interesting and amazing people in all my life, and I am so proud to watch all them be able to grow and flourish in the amazing culture/community. Besides that, it is an indescribable feeling to know the pride everyone takes in being a Husky and that connection you instantly have with someone you never met before all because we are all Huskies.
How did you get involved in student government?
Valverde: Back in high school, I was Class President for 4 years, so I always knew that I really wanted to get involved in Student Government when I got to UConn. I remember I was so nervous to go to the USG table at my first Involvement Fair, but luckily I ended up grabbing an election packet, running, and then winning the Freshman Class Senator seat. Since then it has had such a huge impact on my life, and being able to serve on the Executive Board for two years and as Vice President has been really rewarding. I can’t wait to see what senior year has in store!
Johnson: I came into USG as a treasurer for a student organization who dealt with USG funding on the regular and saw the holes and issues within it that I felt needed to be fixed. As a result, I applied for the Funding Board Chair position and was luckily granted the chance to chair the Funding Committee for the 2016-17 year and have worked tirelessly to improve the funding process for student organizations. We are still working on this ever-evolving process, but I am excited to continue to work on these issues and hope to continue to bring stability to the funding process.
What is the most challenging part about your involvement in USG & the most rewarding?
Valverde: I think one of the most challenging things is realizing that things take time to change and that it isn’t always necessarily possible to work on everything you have in mind. At the end of the day, we are students, and a lot of us have jobs and other commitments, so it’s challenging to be so passionate about something and not always have enough hours in the day to get it all done. But then on the flip side it’s such a rewarding feeling when you are involved in the process of these changes and see those results whether it’s with events, initiatives, or meetings with administrators and student groups.
Johnson: One of the most challenging aspects of my current position is the time commitment, similar to Irma. With my position as Funding Board Chair, it took me awhile to just be able to handle the volume and workload, and it was a new challenge in balancing the position as well as being a student with academic and other organizational commitments. I had to figure out ways to best adjust myself and my schedule so as to be able to fully invest myself in my position but also continue to fully invest myself in my academics because after the position is gone, I am still just a student trying to graduate in four years with a successful degree. The most rewarding part is to be able to see the change and improvement my hard work has brought forth in improving the transparency and relationship between USG and student organizations. There were so many days where I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide out from all the difficult decisions and demands on me, but I am so happy I had the support system of the current administration in helping me to handle everything and ultimately bring about change. I am also pretty proud of the fact that I managed to sleep during my position as Funding Board chair too.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get more involved in USG?
Valverde: If you have the desire to help others and to make UConn a better place than definitely just go for it! Don’t be nervous to walk into our office and talk to our members about their experiences. Check out our website and learn about what our committees and branches do. The great thing about USG is there really are so many ways to get involved, and make a difference.
Johnson: Committees are huge in USG! They are great way to get involved with this organization as I feel that the position as committee member best allows someone the chance to do hands-on work in changing and bettering the UConn community for everyone. Our committees this year have accomplished some amazing things and I am continuously impressed with everything the committees’ members do to make these goals a reality.
Why did you decide to run for USG PRES/ VP this semester?
Valverde: All of my time at UConn I have found my passion and happiness in being part of organizations that help all types of students. Everything I do all boils down to “am I doing something for the greater benefit of people”. Being in USG I have realized that I am able to actually create change, bring students together, and inspire people to see their potential to create their own change. I feel attached to the staff, the students, and the initiatives we are currently pursuing and I know that I could never walk away from it because it has become one of the biggest parts of my life. I want to leave this university in a better place than I left it in when I came here in 2014, and being able to do that my senior year with Lysette is all I could ever want.
Johnson: I decided to run with Irma in order to support her in achieving our mutual goals in being able to help USG become an organization that can continually work towards supporting the Undergraduate Student Body at UConn.
Overall goals that you’d like to accomplish if you win the election:
Valverde & Johnson: Our motto is “Building a better UConn with you”, and the reason I asked Lysette if we could stay with this motto that was a part of my campaign last year. It’s really important to recognize that progress takes time and that the work that President Byrd and I are doing now needs to continue. We also have our own new ideas that we want to work on as well. We definitely want to continue working on open source textbooks, fighting for money from the State to keep tuition low, and making our campus safe for all students. Dan and I have done a lot for these goals, but Lysette and I want to continue working on these issues since they are extremely important. Our new goals include fixing parking policies, connecting students with administrators, and fixing funding policies for student groups. A lot of students struggle a lot with our parking policies, so this is one of our main goals. We want students to also be able to utilize USG as an organization they can go to when they have ideas and need to know who to go to, to accomplish these things. Lastly, funding policies since we want to focus on continuing to improve the policies and process for student organizations. Lysette and I will be working on continuing to develop transparency with student fee money and the funds student organizations receive.
Why did you decide to partner up with your running mate?
Valverde: As the current Vice President I know best what qualities it takes to take on this role. A great Vice President is kind-hearted, organized, patient, and welcoming. Lysette has been the epitome of what it takes to be a wonderful Vice President, and she has shown it through her commitment to help students as the current Funding Board Chair. The Vice President looks more internally at how USG can be a more inclusive environment and as someone who spends 40+ hours a week in the office doing work for USG she knows exactly what it takes to foster that environment.
Johnson: Irma’s experience with USG and her experience with already having been the Vice President made my decision really a “no-brainer” as she has already done an amazingly FANTASTIC job in those previous roles and there is no doubt in mind that she will continue to infuse her compassion, drive and inspiration in all things she does in continuing to work towards USG being able to better serve the student body, especially during the challenging times we are now facing.
Anything else you would like to add about your campaign:
Valverde & Johnson: Through our passion and dedication we know that we will be able to improve the lives of students, which is the core of what our campaign is about. We hope you got to know us a little better through this article, but please feel free to learn more by liking and checking our Facebook page “Irma Valverde and Lysette Johnson for USG President and Vice President.” Voting starts midnight of March 1st and ends at 11:59 on March 2nd. If you have any questions feel free to message us on Facebook or email us at irma.valverde@uconn.edu and lysette.johnson@uconn.edu.
For more information on how to vote in the UConn USG election, visit Vote @ UConn’s website.
Photos provided by Irma Valverde & Lysette Johnson.