Case study spotlight
CAMPUS LEADERSHIP

Scaling Belonging: Strategic Advocacy and Leadership for 30,000 Students

Student Manager
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First Year Experience@UCD
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Sep 2023- Present
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The Analysis Breakdown

TL;DR: Directed student engagement strategy and team operations for UC Davis’s First-Year Experience (FYE). Managed a staff of 15 and served as a Cabinet representative to the Vice Chancellor to bridge the gap between institutional policy and the student "hidden curriculum."

How it began?

At a major research institution like UC Davis, the "student experience" is often treated as a series of administrative metrics—attendance, retention, and GPA. However, for first-generation and international students, a "hidden curriculum" of unspoken rules creates a barrier to true integration.The Pain Point: Administrators were measuring "success" through compliance (completing tasks) rather than "belonging" (emotional connection).The Constraint: Navigating the bureaucratic limitations and siloed departments of a large-scale university while managing a diverse student staff of 15.

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The Amazing Staff

Always focused on what people need, making products that feel easy and natural.

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The Highlights

The Majors Fair: I led the planning and logistics for this flagship event, coordinating with every college department. I shifted the focus from "handing out flyers" to "creating memorable moments," ensuring students felt seen by advisors and faculty.
‍Social Media & Digital Presence: I jumpstarted FYE’s social media momentum, transforming it from a static announcement board into a dynamic community space for transparency.The Ethical AI Webinar: Recognizing the shift in academia, I contributed content to an AI webinar focused on responsible use and student awareness. I framed AI not as a cheating tool, but as an emerging literacy that required ethical guardrails—aligning my CS background with my leadership role.

The Approach

I applied a Growth Mindset to my leadership trajectory, moving from executing tasks to architecting environments where others could flourish.

‍Research through Empathy: I conducted weekly 1:1 check-ins and "student concern" programs to gather qualitative data on student pain points. I realized that students didn't just need information; they needed a sense of agency.
‍Organizational Architecture: To manage the Majors Fair—a massive cross-departmental collaboration—I restructured our team’s delegation model. I acted as the "System Translator" between the high-level goals of the Vice Chancellor's Cabinet and the on-the-ground execution of my Peer Mentor staff.

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Impact & Reflect

My time at FYE taught me that Leadership is a design problem. It requires the same iterative testing, empathy, and strategic alignment as any software product.

‍Product Mindset: I realized that institutional change moves slowly, but "human-centered" leadership moves quickly. I learned that to be a leader at Berkeley and beyond, I must continue to be the one who asks the "bold questions" about equity and ethics, ensuring that our designed systems—whether they are campus programs or AI algorithms—always prioritize human dignity.

Record-Breaking Engagement:

Achieved 642 attendees at the Majors Fair, the highest turnout in the program's history.

High-Level Representation:

Selected as one of ~30 student leaders to represent New Student Programs at the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA) Cabinet.

Operational Scale:

Successfully managed and mentored a staff of 15 concurrently with academic and research commitments.

The Belonging Pivot:

During a strategic meeting, I challenged the status quo by asking: "Are we conflating compliance with belonging?" This led to a redesign of how we evaluate student success.

Institutional Trust:

Built a reputation among professional staff and peers for being "approachable, dependable, and collaborative," particularly through summer work that ensured program continuity.

Operational Scale:

Successfully managed and mentored a staff of 15 concurrently with academic and research commitments.

Leading cross-team sprints

Facilitated workshops to align design, dev, and business for faster, better launches.

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