The Council

Our Mission
To support the development of a professional, scholastic and social community in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences. The GSA is a student-governed association supporting post-baccalaureate students in the scholastic and social experiences at USD.

Meet the 2008- 2009 Council

COUNCIL PRESIDENT Sara Headden sheadden-09@sandiego.edu

Sara is a second year graduate student in the Leadership Studies Program.  She is studying to obtain her MA in Higher Education Leadership, and hopes to continue working with university students after she graduates.  Originally from Texas, Sara is relishing her experiences in San Diego, happy to be in such a beautiful city everyday.  Currently, Sara works as a graduate assistant in the USD Women’s Center, where she helps to raise awareness about women’s issues on and off campus.  Outside of USD, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog, and jumps at the opportunity to travel and do anything outdoors.  Ready for an exciting year, Sara is looking forward to working with the SOLES community to bring people closer, both inside and outside the doors of our building.

SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR Willie Blackmon willieblackmon-09@sandiego.edu

Willie is enrolled in the MA program Higher Education Leadership and plans to be completed by May 2009. As a UC Riverside undergrad, he was involved in a number of organizations and majored in Sociology. Currently, he is a Graduate Assistant in the Student Leadership and Involvement Center, focusing on student involvement, advising the Associated Student Government and the Alcala Yearbook. As a member of GSA, Willie wants to establish a cohesive community among graduate students that will transcend to the bigger USD community.  Most importantly Willie looks forward to having an eventful year, full of nothing but laughter!

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Aimee Heytvelt aimeeh-07@sandiego.edu

Aimee was born and raised in Washington State. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washington State University in 2003. She is in her final year in the Master’s in Leadership Studies program and will graduate in May ‘09. Aimee is currently interning with the San Diego County Fire Chiefs' Association developing strategies and materials to recruit women and minorities to the fire service.  Aimee works full-time in the Dean’s Office of the School of Leadership and Education Sciences. As an employee of the University and member of GSA, she would like to improve the link between the graduate students and the larger campus community. This past summer Aimee had the opportunity to travel to South Africa on a study abroad class through the SOLES Global Center. In December, she will be traveling to Thailand, Cambodia and Hong Kong with another global study course. Her interests include traveling, exercising and watching college basketball.

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Natalie Pearson npearson-09@sandiego.edu

Natalie grew up in Arizona and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona, where she enjoyed getting involved in various programs throughout the campus.  She received her BS in Psychology in 2006 and knew she wanted to continue her education in this field.  Natalie is currently a Marital and Family Therapy student, starting her final year in the program.  She loves attending USD, gaining so much from her professors and fun classmates – not to mention enjoying the fabulous campus and SoCal weather!  This year she looks forward to contributing to GSA in hopes of connecting more SOLES students and providing a sense of community.  Outside of class, she interns at San Diego Hospice, loves to travel, and enjoys spending time with her fiancé, family, and friends.

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE Sam Chung chungs-11@sandiego.edu

Sam knows a lot about being a graduate student because he's been one for 7+ years at The University of Georgia, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and the SOLES Leadership Studies doctoral program. He's also been a key member of several student associations and two social fraternities. Sam works full time as the MSGL Assistant Director for Distance Education in USD's School of Business Administration. In the miniscule amount of free time he has, Sam likes to socialize, cook sometimes-edible meals, mix yummy cocktails, work out, watch movies/TV, and daydream about having more free time. He promises to use the full extent of his knowledge, skills, and experience to make sure that the needs and interests of SOLES students are well represented and advocated in the Graduate Student Council.

Program Representatives

COUNSELING REPRESENTATIVE Alisa Rowland alisad-10@sandiego.edu

Alisa Rowland is currently in her last year of the Counseling program, focusing on College Counseling and Student Development. She moved to San Diego from Orange County in 2002 and comes from a huge family with 50+ first and second cousins. Alisa is working as a SDICCCA intern for San Diego City College in the Transfer/Career Center. Her eventual career goal is to work as a counselor in a community college. Her former practicum training was at Mark Twain High School and loved her time there. She is passionate about helping underrepresented students transfer from a community college to a four year and beyond. Alisa loves music, dancing and eating home cooked meals made by someone else. She believes Stevie Wonder when he says "Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand, with an equal opportunity for all to sing, dance and clap their hands.”

DOCTORAL REPRESENTATIVE Pressley Rankin IV pressleyr-11@sandiego.edu

Pressley Rankin IV, M. S. is a 2nd year Doctoral Student in the Leadership Studies Program. Pressley is interested in studying the use of technology on the university campus. He comes to us after receiving his masters of science in marriage and family therapy from SDSU. He currently serves as the President of the LGBT SDSU Alumni Chapter as well as working and going to school full time. A North Carolina native, Pressley loves San Diego and the California lifestyle. He has found USD a welcoming university and is looking forward to serving the GSA as the Doctoral Representative this year.

LEADERSHIP REPRESENTATIVE Shannon Hutchison shannonhutchison-09@sandiego.edu

Shannon is excited to serve as the Leadership Studies program representative this year. She currently works in Higher Ed Administration as the Assistant Director of Undergrad Admissions at Point Loma Nazarene University, here in San Diego, and loves it. Shannon really enjoyed her first year in SOLES, but found that the non-USD employees/undergrads had to work hard to make sense of what was going on around campus, whether it was figuring out where to park, or finding bookstore hours online. She hopes to use her time in GSA making the program and grad student information more accessible to all students…even those new to USD!

MARITAL & FAMILY THERAPY REPRESENTATIVE Gina Bongiorno gina.bongiorno-09@sandiego.edu

Gina is an international student in her second year of the Marital and Family Therapy program. Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Gina received her BA in Psychology at McGill University.  During her first year as an MFT student at the University of San Diego, Gina worked as a graduate assistant in the Student Leadership and Involvement Center, helping in the growth and personal development of the undergraduate students she advised. She was also involved as a member of the Sexual Assault Awareness Committee and a Gender and Leadership panelist in the “Women in Politics Summit Event.”  This year, Gina is completing her practicum at San Diego Hospice-Center for Grief Care and Education and is a student member of the American Association of Marital and Family Therapists (AAMFT).  Gina is honored to be representing the MFT program and is eager to continue working in the USD community.

LEARNING & TEACHING REPRESENTATIVE Tim Rossi trossi-10@sandiego.edu

Tim Rossi is in his 2nd year with Learning and Teaching. He is interested in learning the impact our action research program has on our graduate and doctoral students. Tim has worked for a number of years in both public and private school classrooms as well as business. He currently works with Performance Solutions International, Inc. as their Manager of Communications and the San Diego Jewish Academy. Tim is affiliated with the University of San Diego's Upward Bound program. He is also a member of USD's SARG (SOLES Action Research Group). He will build connections between programs within SOLES.

FIRST YEAR REPRESENTATIVE Khalia Ii kii-10@sandiego.edu

Khalia is a first year graduate student in the MA Higher Education Leadership program. As an undergraduate she was very active as a student leader which prompted her career path to Student Affairs. Now at USD, Khalia serves as a Graduate Assistant in the Student Leadership and Involvement Center where she coordinates the Emerging Leaders Program and advises students on the Associated Students Leadership Team. As a first year student, Khalia hopes to bring a  fresh look on the university in hopes to assess the needs of first year graduate students. Khalia looks forward to having a great year and enjoying life in San Diego.