Adheli Gonzalez

Adheli Gonzalez

Adheli Gonzalez SEAS'21 is from Chicago, IL and is the Vice President of Communications for 2019-2020. She is studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering. She is a student representative for the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Committee, an undergraduate researcher at the Columbia Robotics Manipulation and Mobility (ROAM) Lab, and a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). She has been a part of the Furnald Hall Council and One-to-one Tutoring.

Student Council

Adheli was elected to the Engineering Student Council as the Vice President of Communications for 2019-2020 in her junior year, along with her Executive Board party SEAS the Change Δ. She has also held the positions of Sophomore Vice President and First-Year Class Representative. Throughout her years on council, she has consistently chosen to be on the Communications Committee.

Goals To improve the communication between students, faculty, and administration, improve distribution of information/resources to students, improve documentation of ESC institutional memory through website, increase social media presence, as well as increase the transparency of ESC.

Accomplishments

• SEAS Calendar - Regularly update the SEAS-wide Google Calendar which students can subscribe to, with upcoming events and opportunities for undergraduate engineering students. Reached out to student clubs on campus to include their events on the calendar.
• SEAS Flash - Make fun newsletter style videos to advertise upcoming events and opportunities for undergraduate engineering students to increase SEAS student representation and presence at these events.
• Website - Developed a new ESC website to include institutional memory, include updated information about council initiatives and meeting times, include meeting minutes and livestream of general body meetings, include methods of contacting members of council, and showcase what council is working on.
• Social Media - Regularly update social media with new events, opportunities, statements, pictures of events hosted, as well as wellness tips. Increased social media following. Quickly respond to messages sent to social media pages.
• Peer Mentorship Program - Spearheaded and expanded ESC Peer Mentorship Program by over 120%, where underclassmen and upperclassmen in the same major are paired to receive guidance. Hosted a celebration for all mentors and mentees to meet and mingle, as well as receive feedback about the program. Creating a question sheet for mentors and mentees to guide their conversations. Advocated for funding for the program to help increase communication and improve relationships among mentors and mentees.
• WikiCU - Kept information as updated/accurate as possible on WikiCU for the general student body to access as an informal info-route (created by students, for students).
• Council Meetings - Thoroughly annotate agenda to represent council’s ideas and initiatives. Livestream general body meetings with agenda projected in the background, which can be found on Facebook and website. Meeting minutes available on website.
• Schedule a Chat with ESC - Created a Google Form to give the student body a way to schedule a meeting/meet-up with a member(s) of ESC to discuss initiatives, policies, or concerns they may have. This makes ESC more approachable, as well as a resource to students. This form is checked regularly to schedule the requested meeting as soon as possible.
• Suggestion Box - Regularly check Suggestion Box Google Form where the student body can provide the council with feedback. This link is displayed on the website, SEAS Flash video descriptions, and there is a “Feedback Friday” theme on ESC’s Instagram to serve the same purpose.

• TikTok SEAS Flash - Created an ESC TikTok account to advertise upcoming events and opportunities for undergraduate engineering students to increase SEAS student representation and presence at these events. This was done to have a new fun way to bring information to students in short videos on a widely used platform. We were planning to share the videos to our social media pages as well; these videos were going to be used as a new version of SEAS Flash. Only one video was published and it was not promoted because all of the events showcased and events thereon where canceled due to COVID-19.
• Website - Regularly update ESC website to include institutional memory, include updated information about council initiatives and meeting times, include meeting minutes and livestream of general body meetings, include methods of contacting members of council, and showcase what council is working on even during the virtual part of the semester. I included ways students can become involved with ESC and participate in our meetings. I updated the ESC website on our social media pages as well.
• CSA Advisor Evaluations - After hearing many students unhappy with the help they receive from their CSA advisors, I suggested that an evaluation be made for CSA advisors, similar to professor and class evaluations filled out by students at the end of the semester. This way CSA advisors could be held accountable for their actions and could receive constructive feedback from students. The administration liked the proposal and approved it; this idea will be implemented soon.
• Campus Shuttle Services - Brought up the initiative to extend the campus shuttle services, especially to Carlton Arms, for the safety of our students. This was an issue I had heard from many of my peers, and student safety is a necessity. I provided VP Policy, Estevan Mesa with a contact to help him find what hours would be best for students to have access to the campus shuttle services during the school year.
• Mechanical Engineering Student Lounge - Advocated for a mechanical engineering student lounge to Stanley Sakry, Director of Facilities and Space Planning. As a part of the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Committee, as well as through my peers and professors, I have heard and agree that there is a need for study spaces for mechanical engineering students to collaborate on assignments and projects, as well as have access to white boards without having to block traffic in the Mudd hallways. Other departments have this type of lounge for students, and the mechanical engineering students could benefit from this addition, encouraging students to work together and help each other, creating stronger bonds, friendships, and skills. This discussion was paused due to COVID-19.
• Social Media - Regularly update social media with council events, opportunities, statements, pictures of events hosted, as well as wellness tips. I include opportunities presented by other engineering/STEM organizations that could benefit our student body. I also included any COVID-19 updates and feedback forms on our social media. Given moderator access on all Facebook Columbia Class pages, I also share events/opportunities/information with all students. I include important information and deadlines such as details on class registration and housing selection, as well as pertinent information about elections, the Makerspace Grand Opening, and Statement Against Hate on Campus (formal ESC statement). I increased social media following on Facebook and Instagram. I quickly respond to messages sent to social media pages. I included the ESC website link on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and pinned our meeting times to our Facebook page so they can be easily found.
• Peer Mentorship Program - Expanded ESC Peer Mentorship Program by over 120%, where underclassmen and upperclassmen in the same major are paired to receive guidance. I continue to add students to the program. I hosted a celebration for all mentors and mentees to meet and mingle, as well as receive feedback about the program.
• WikiCU - Creating a profile for every member on ESC on WikiCU, including their name, position, and accomplishments that were reflected in the Fall 2019 Semester Report. I strive to keep the information as updated/accurate as possible on WikiCU for the general student body to access as an informal info-route (created by students, for students). This is a great way for students to know what their council and members have been working on.
• Council Meetings - Thoroughly annotate agenda to accurately represent council’s ideas and initiatives. I use my cellphone to livestream general body meetings with agenda projected in the background (from my laptop screen), which can be found on Facebook and ESC website. Once the semester became virtual, ESC met through Zoom and meetings were recorded. I published the recorded meetings on the ESC Facebook page and the recording links were posted on the ESC website. All meeting minutes are available on the ESC website. I included all the meeting times on the ESC website and Facebook page.
• Semester Reports - Created a document (with an outline including member position, name, headshot, etc. as well as a sample) for all council members to include their accomplishments for the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 Semester Report. I shared the completed Semester Reports through our social media and they will be added to our website. This allows the student body to know what their council has been working on, as well as serve as institutional memory for ESC in the years to come.
• Transition Documents - Created documents for ESC members to detail their positions, the initiatives they pursued, contacts they used during their term, their contact information, and advice for future ESC members. This allows for a smooth transition between generations of ESC, and so next year’s members can pick up where the 2019-2020 council dropped off. This helps future members adjust quickly and they can pursue the initiatives they desire while keeping in mind their predecessor’s advice.
• Internal ESC COVID-19 Affairs [ESC Taskforce on COVID-19] - Served on the internal Engineering Student Council Taskforce on COVID-19 as a quick, pointed response to the coronavirus pandemic. In action, the Taskforce sent and gathered the COVID-19 General Concerns form, the COVID-19 Academic Related Inquiries form, and the COVID-19 Housing / Dining / Facilities form. These concerns were then communicated to the relevant administration (Engineering Deans, VP Scott Wright, Dean Kromm, Office of Financial Aid, etc). The Taskforce was composed of the Executive Board, Class Council Presidents, Giorgia, Youngjae, James, Ethan, Juliet, Ahmet, Ariana, Sabina, Rahul, Lal, Kennedy, and Katherine, who each contributed in gathering information and concerns with quick-turnaround time.
• SEAS Gala - Assisted SEAS Gala Head Katherine Liu in organizing the first-ever SEAS Gala with original planning, creating a Facebook event, social media advertising, day-of set-up / clean-up.
• Attendance - Kept track of attendance of ESC members for general body meetings, and held members accountable for their attendance as per the rules stated in the Constitution.
• Yule Log Ceremony - Provided welcoming remarks at the annual Yule Log Ceremony for the 2019-2020 school year as a representative of the Engineering Student Council.

Preceded by Asher Goldfinger

ESC Student Body President  2019-20

Succeeded by ?