Adams State College Student Body Elects New Student Government President (05-23-05)
Adams State College students elected Corrine Padilla as president of Associated Students andFaculty, the student government. Padilla, the first Hispanic female president at the college, said she hopes to accomplish many goals during her presidency.
"I see this leadership position as an opportunity to improve the campus, student safety, student awareness, and student involvement," she said. Padilla said she looking forward to fulfilling her job as president.
"I am really excited and nervous about becoming the president," she said. Padilla said she also views herself as competent and dedicated.
"I'm a very task-oriented person," she said. "I think she is going to do an excellent job," said Tiffany Jensen, a senior at Adams State. It's great that we elected her, because she is going to do so much for our campus."
Padilla said she wants to improve the campus by updating Carson Auditorium and the Rex Activity Center.
"I want to give Carson a facelift, including new seating, new paint, and maybe a new sound system," she said. "The Rex needs new exercise equipment. Students, faculty, staff and the community use the facility. I believe it needs to be updated."
Because student safety is a campus concern, Padilla said she believes installing blue (emergency) phones on campus would improve student safety and security.
"With blue phones located throughout campus, students can access public safety just by lifting the receiver," she said. "This will give prospective and new students a sense of security about the campus environment."
Padilla said she plans to boost student participation by increasing awareness of the student government.
"People don't know what AS&F does," Padilla said. "I want to promote AS&F so people know what's going on by posting an agenda in the student newspaper. I believe that the students need to become aware of AS&F, because it is the decision making body for the students. People need to take notice of AS&F because it controls a lot of funds for the school. Students should get active and challenge us to do a great job."
During her high school career, Padilla was the student body president, the vice president of the student council, and a class representative for student government. She also worked with the school board as a student representative for Santa Fe High School.
"Student government was the best opportunity for me to develop and fulfill a leadership position," she said.
Along with her involvement in the student government, Padilla was actively involved in other extracurricular activities such as softball, chamber choir, the speech and debate team, a member of the National Honor Society, and the yearbook as senior editor during her senior year.
Padilla was awarded the Royal Blue Award. This is the highest honor one can receive at Santa Fe High School for community service, club participation, and a high GPA. Although Padilla was so active, she said she views her high school years as valuable.
"Looking back, I would do it all again," she said.
Just as she did in high school, Padilla has become actively involved in Adams State's community. "I participated in mock trial my freshman and sophomore years," she said. "I have been a resident assistant since my sophomore year. I've served as an AS&F justice. And I was a student ambassador for three years. Because of the presidency, I decided to resign from student ambassadors. I didn't want to over-commit myself during the presidency."
Padilla is from Santa Fe, N. M. She is the first in her family to attend college and she is an only child.
"A teacher encouraged me to go to a small school. I really had my heart set on a bigger university, but I came for a campus visit and decided to stay because Student Ambassadors made me feel welcome and I fell in love with the campus," she said.
Padilla said she has enjoyed her time at Adams State College. She said she believes that Adams State has a welcoming environment for students.
"It's scary not knowing what to expect in college; this is the perfect school for students because everyone is so willing to help you," she said. She said a smaller school was the best choice for her.
"I have been able to grow and get a sense of who I am, without the chaos and animosity of a huge university," she said. After graduating in May with a degree in history and government, Padilla plans to attend law school at Colorado University and receive her juris doctorate. With this degree, she says she hopes to become a judge.
"I believe that the courts hold the power within this country," she said. "I would like to make decisions and have the power to affect change, and being a judge would allow me to do so."
"I believe that Padilla may just be the person to break the politics as usual pattern and get kids riled up," said Stuart Hilwig, associate professor of history.
Being a full-time student, student government president, and continuing an education in criminal law could be daunting, but Padilla is ready to face what lies ahead.
"I like being active and staying involved in my community," she said. "It may seem like a lot, but I like challenges."
