Election flyers cover the door to the Student Government Association (SGA) office at Tyler Campus Center on March 8. Executive Vice President-Elect Jandy Nguyen said she wanted to make SGA’s pre-existing office hours more public. Photo by Oliver Evans
The student body elected sophomores Emily Espinosa and Jandy Nguyen on March 25 to serve as the Student Government Association‘s (SGA) next president and executive vice president, respectively.
Espinosa, a Political Science major and first-generation college student from California, said she is motivated to be an example to other first-gens and to serve her community.
Nguyen, an Accounting and Finance double major and international student from Vietnam, said she is motivated to achieve her campaign promises.
“We’re leaving SGA in very good hands,” said Jacqueline Justiss, the current executive vice president. “Both of them have been go-getters their entire time here at Pepperdine.”
Emily Espinosa
Prior to becoming SGA President-elect on March 25, Espinosa served as the sophomore class president and a member of the general judicial council, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Among Espinosa’s professional experiences are internships with former Oklahoma Congresswoman Ajay Pittman and California State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, according to her LinkedIn profile. Espinosa said those internships helped strengthen her ability to put herself in other people’s shoes.
On campus, she founded the Association of Latino Professionals for America chapter and works as a teaching assistant, Espinosa said. She also works at In-and-Out Burger and founded a non-profit organization for pre-law and pre-policy Latino students, Legally Lawtino, pending tax-exempt status.
“I’ve always been involved in things that allowed me to serve my community,” Espinosa said.
A top priority of her administration will be ensuring that information from administrators previously available only to SGA members is accessible to everyone to better explain constraints, Espinosa said.
“It comes back to just being realistic and understanding the boundaries of your leadership position,” Espinosa said.
Espinosa said she wants to explore the idea of modifying the traditional town hall SGA has done in the past. The focus would still be on the students and SGA, but administrators would also be present to communicate ideas themselves.
Other candidates can easily promise things like a new fast-food chain on campus, but there is a reason why that has not happened, Espinosa said. She intends to focus on what she can do, which is advocate for better food quality in the cafeteria.
“A lot of neighboring institutions are also under Bon Appétit,” Espinosa said. “Students who have transferred from those institutions to Pepperdine have complained that the quality is drastically different.”
Additionally, Espinosa said she wanted to speak with deans and other administrators to advocate for a policy requiring professors to submit mid-semester grades to improve transparency between students and faculty.
Espinosa said she is always available to students through the SGA president’s email and through SGA committees. She wants to create either an anonymous physical suggestion box or an online feedback form.
Espinosa said playing golf, trying out new restaurants in Los Angeles and going to the beach are among some of her many activities outside of SGA. She hopes more students participate in future iterations of the Pacific Sounds Music & Arts Festival.
“My friends would describe my personality outside of SGA as spontaneous and caring,” Espinosa said.
Alumna former SGA President Myers Mentzer (’25), who mentored Espinosa, said she remembered the giant posters from her first-year senate campaign and how she got her entire suite together to help her campaign.
“The role of the SGA president is to represent Pepperdine’s student body to University leadership and administration,” said Mentzer. “Emily Espinosa will lead in her role by being visible to the students.”
Jandy Nguyen
Before becoming the executive vice president-elect, Nguyen said she was the captain of her high school basketball team and played several lead roles in high school theater. She has not previously held a position in SGA.
Executive vice president-elect Jandy Nguyen stands in front of the infinity pool at Heroes Garden on March 20. While she studies, Nguyen said she likes to listen to EDM. Photo courtesy of Jandy Nguyen
When she came to Pepperdine, she became vice president of finance for the Delta Sigmi Pi (DSP) business fraternity chapter, Nguyen said. She obtained that position despite being a new member of the organization at the time.
“It doesn’t matter how new you are,” Nguyen said. “As long as you’re qualified and passionate about leading, it’ll all work out.”
Nguyen said she campaigned on very specific promises such as soft-serve ice cream machines in the Waves Café, eliminating seed oils and opening more networking opportunities comparable to those offered by business fraternities like DSP.
“When I see things that needs to change, I feel the urge to make that change,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said she felt a lot of students may underestimate her ability to fulfill her campaign promises, but she hopes to prove her capability of achieving them. She believes she has a proven track record in DSP.
Current Executive Vice President Jacqueline Justiss said Nguyen is a hard-working and passionate individual. She knows Nguyen will diligently work to ensure students are pleased with SGA and feel it is working on their behalf.
Nguyen was reasonable and articulate in what she wanted to accomplish, Justiss said. Additionally, Nguyen has already demonstrated her relational ability through her position at DSP and by reaching out to many people already on SGA.
In DSP, Nguyen said she created a new initiative that directly communicated the finances of the chapter to the members. Every week she informs the chapter how much revenue was generated and how much was spent.
“I did a lot of things already and I’m doing more as I go,” Nguyen said.
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Contact Oliver Evans via email: oliver.evans@pepperdine.edu
