Published: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Written by Alicia Casey, ASI Communications Assistant
The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Executive Board oversees student government, but beyond their offices, they are just regular Long Beach State students looking to get the most out of university life. Learn more about the people behind the positions and get some insight into their lives beyond the political sphere. Meet your 2021 through 2022 ASI President, Executive Vice President and Vice President of Finance!
ASI President Jesus Gonzalez’s favorite part about Long Beach State University (LBSU) is the students. Making friendships inside the classroom and within clubs has helped him discover new interests and hobbies. Gonzalez has been a student orientation tour guide, ASI Week of Welcome tabler, a member of For Undocumented Empowered Leaders (FUEL), a leader in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Dream Success Center. He also helped reinstate the Spanish Club at The Beach after its twelve-year hiatus from LBSU. In his free time, Gonzalez takes care of his pet parakeets, turtles, Russian tortoise, dalmatian and two cats. He also is an avid fan of “The Office” and often watches it to help him relax after a busy day. He is crossing his fingers to help plan the ASI Big Event before graduating from LBSU. Moving into this new academic year, he hopes to help students navigate the university experience just like Beach alumni and upperclassmen did for him.
The best aspect of university, according to Executive Vice President Lindsay Apaza, is the College of Business (COB). When not studying for exams or reviewing budgets, Apaza can be found hanging out at the tables by the COB food kiosk. At other times, she enjoys helping to organize interactive events for students with ASI Beach Pride Events (BPE) and volunteering with the creative side of ASI Communications. She also is a member of FUEL, Parents, Educators/Teachers, Students in Action (PESA), Spanish Club at The Beach and is a tour guide for new students. Before graduation comes around, Apaza’s dream is to step into the water fountain at Brotman Hall that is shaped like molecules. During this term, she plans to expand mental resources for students, increase diversity initiatives and increase ASI’s outreach efforts to new freshmen.
For Vice President of Finance, John Barcelona the most exciting thing about LBSU is that he never feels out of place. There’s always somewhere for him to go and someone waiting for him whether it’s in a campus community, club, cultural organization, or volunteer group. Currently, Barcelona is a member of BPE and EOP. When he’s not joining something new on campus, his favorite pastimes are going on walks with his corgi, Rufus, playing songs on his guitar, learning the piano and ukulele, and joining videogame tournaments for Apex, League of Legends, and Valorant. Post-graduation, he plans to take a break before tackling a new journey in life and travel solo across Europe. Looking forward to this semester, Barcelona is working to strengthen the communication between ASI and student organizations, especially with the scholarship and grant processes.
The ASI Executives are eager to learn from their fellow students and get more insight into how ASI can improve campus life and assist student organizations and clubs. For students looking to meet one-on-one with the ASI Executives, there are monthly ASI Take a Sec with Your Execs events scheduled throughout the year. To learn more about ASI student government or to ask questions, visit office hours Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with virtual meeting times on Fridays. For more information on scheduling meetings with the executives, visit asicsulb/gov/contact-us or email asi-studentgovernment@csulb.edu.
