ASUC Senator Jenny Kim

 

Jenny Kim is a third-year undergraduate student studying Economics with a double minor in Music and Public Policy. She currently serves as one of the CalSERVE Senators. Jenny focuses on mental health advocacy, the Korean community, as well as the performing arts community. She currently sits on the Wellness Committee and UPP (University Partnership Program) Committee.
In the fall, Jenny hosted mental health workshops and aggregated ASUC resources for leaders in the Korean community. This semester, Jenny is planning to continue her workshops, get students certified in Mental Health First Aid, and is hosting the first ever Fresh Check Day – a mental health awareness event.
Make sure to say hi when you see her! She loves to meet people!
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Platforms:

1. ASUC Outreach Towards East Asian Communities

Having been involved in the Korean community for the last 2 years at Cal, I’ve observed the continuous lack of ASUC outreach towards East Asian communities. Accordingly, I’ve discovered severe discrepancies of knowledge amongst various East Asian student organizations with respect to resources.

Outreach Program for East Asian Communities
I will bring my experiences as staff/Assistant Director in the Student Organizational Services (SOS) Department in the EVP Office* to address the current deficits. I’ve worked primarily with budgeting and space allocation for student organization and, in return, became well-versed in such resources that continuously impact RSOs (Registered Student Organizations). As a Senator, I will expand my work towards the East Asian community and institutionalize an outreach program that teaches organizations what ASUC resources exist and how to efficiently use these resources.

Student Leader Board
Having been involved within the Korean community I’ve observed through the Korean community an ethnic dichotomy between Korean American and Korean International students. As such, my hope is to create a board of student leaders and develop a space that truly represents the widespread community.

The board will be in active contact with its constituent organizations and manage programs that allow for financial, social, and emotional support for one another. The Korean community at Cal is large, but most importantly, diverse. Each students’ stories manage to thread together a commonality in struggle. As such, I will work to provide Korean students with more support and to provide more exposure for my community for the Berkeley campus at large.

2. Mental Health Awareness and Education in Student Orgs

In the recent UC Student Association Mental Health Evaluation, Berkeley was noted with an overall C- grade. This report was derived from specific components: accessibility, diversity of staff, and outreach to students. Undoubtedly, UC Berkeley demonstrates a need for continued work towards mental health and wellness resources. As an ASUC senator, I will continue to supplement the work of many past elected officials and student leaders.

Mental Health Initiative Program Continuity
In my work in the EVP Office*, I’ve worked on a year-long Mental Health Initiative that received $15,000 in funding. With this grant, we created multiple Mental Health Workshops in partnership with Tang and LEAD Center to educate students on the existing mental health resources on campus. As a senator, I will continue my work with the EVP-SOS Department and further extend the Mental Health Initiative to create more workshops for students to discover what mental health resources exist on campus. Additionally, I will like to create a long-term solution of certifying professionals to provide more accessibility for student leaders. Lastly, I will work alongside the Mental Health Coalition to consolidate their own efforts with the EVP-SOS department with regards to mental health accessibility.

3. Highlighting the Performing Arts Department

At Cal, the performing arts community is often marginalized because of minimal student recognition and campus participation. As a music minor, I often see the implications of the lack of recognition and exposure of having student engagement at these performances and events. Accordingly, I will emphasize the diverse departments, such as Music and Theatre, and organizations that fall under the performing arts title, specifically by increasing awareness of department and music group events.

Performing Arts Fair
As an ASUC Senator, I will work towards making an online space to aggregate the different performing arts events and dates to consolidate a space for knowledge and accessibility. In addition to the database, I hope to implement a Performing Arts Fair in order to emphasize department and student group events and performances. Specifically, I will organize the multiple music and theatrical departments, as well as clubs, to provide a space to increase campus exposure and events. The Performing Arts Fair will help promote different performing arts groups and increase visibility on campus as well as recognize the resources available for student groups and affiliated departments. Finally, the fair will help with building a strong network for any performing arts communities, whether it be music, theater, or dance.

Qualifications:

Assistant Director, ASUC Internships Department in Executive Vice President’s Office*
Coordinator/Assistant Director, ASUC EVP Student Organizational Services Department*
Finance Director, KUNA*
Media Director, KUNA*
Dancer, KPG at Cal*
Community Service Volunteer, Compassion at Berkeley*

Endorsements:
Lavanya Jawaharlal, ASUC Executive VP*
Melissa Hsu, ASUC Academic Affairs VP*
Joe Wilson, ASUC Executive VP Chief of Staff*
Sarah Barrett, ASUC Academic Affairs VP Chief of Staff*
Haojun Li, Director of the Student Organizational Services and Spaces in EVP*
Diana Nguyen, ASUC Senator*
Kathy Tran, ASUC Senator*
Benedict Chae, President of Compassion at Berkeley*
Ryan Ahn, President of Management Consulting Club at Berkeley* (MCCB)
Kawon Kim, President of BFM Radio*
Haejin Song, President of Liberty in North Korea*
Linda Lee, Music Director for EGO* (UC Berkeley Korean Traditional Drumming Group)
Mathew Yi, President of KASA*
Simon Park, President of KASA*

*Titles for identification purposes only