When Rylee Jue first joined Associated Students, being elected its president was the last thing on her mind. Yet as she steps into the role this semester, she beams with excitement at the opportunity to represent the student body at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Jue steps into the role amid an era of transition and uncertainty at CSUMB, as AI debates rage across campus, graffiti incidents raise questions about safety and surveillance and students increasingly grapple with housing and parking issues. Interim president Carlos Vargas-Aburto, meanwhile, recently stepped in to hold down the fort while the school hunts for its next permanent administrative leader.
“The role of president is really intimidating,” said Jue. “With that said, I also understand that it is a platform that I can use to uplift other students’ voices…I’m really, really excited about being able to talk with students and not just hear what they’re saying, but actually bring it to people that can do something about it.”
Jue carries deep ties to the Monterey area. Yet despite those ties – or, perhaps, because of them – her sights had been set on more distant shores when it came to her college education.
“I wasn’t planning on going to CSUMB originally. I grew up in Salinas, went to school in Monterey. So as many high school students do, I was looking to get out, you know, broaden my experiences.”
Her plans changed when she was awarded the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Future Leaders Scholarship – a highly competitive program which provides financial support and mentorship to first-generation college students who enroll at CSUMB – in 2023. The scholarship also included opportunities to work with the Aquarium’s Conservation and Science team, an experience she says helped shape her career goals in public policy.
Not one to let the opportunity go to waste, Jue has dedicated herself to a particularly rigorous academic program: a double-major in social and behavioral sciences and collaborative health and human services with concentrations in political economy and public administration and nonprofit management, respectively.
As she enters her fourth year at CSUMB, Jue credits her previous AS role as vice president of external affairs for giving her the opportunity to connect with student governments at other CSU campuses through the Cal State Student Association. When she returned to CSUMB after a stint as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C. last fall, she was ready to put the skills and perspective she’d gained to use, advocating for students.
“When I was in AS before, I learned a lot about student experiences outside of what my friends and I personally were experiencing,” said Jue. “Sometimes those student stories, on-campus and systemwide, can be disheartening…but I think what’s really inspiring about being in student government is we’re all looking to find solutions to those problems, and we are in positions where we can actually say something about it.”
Experienced and eager as she may be, Jue emphasizes that her job isn’t one that can be done alone. Whenever possible, she urges students to reach out to her and her AS peers – whether by email, social media or visiting their office in the Otter Student Union – to communicate the issues most important to them.
“We can’t properly advocate for students if we don’t know how students are feeling,” said Jue. “So if there’s anything that students have, please tell us, or tell admin. Tell somebody, anybody. Don’t be afraid to speak up.”