From the Texas State Capitol to Pepperdine’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting room, Eden Shimanek is no stranger to advocating for others.
First-year students elected Eden Shimanek, a first-year Political Science major, as one of three new SGA senators Sept. 12. Eden Shimanek said she was shocked when she got a call from an SGA member with the news.
“At first I thought they were gonna say I didn’t get it,” Eden Shimanek said. “I’m in the stacks of the library like, ‘What?!’, whisper-screaming, and I didn’t fully believe it.”
Winning the senate position was a family effort, Eden said. She is a triplet, and to win the senate position, she looked to the help of her triplet brothers: Alek and Hudson Shimanek, both first-year Business Administration majors at Pepperdine.
“We reached out to our dorms and other male dorms,” Hudson said. “We wanted to help her break into our side because we know how it can be difficult for people to campaign to the opposite sex.”
The Shimanek triplets are very close and support each other in their endeavors, Hudson said. They even have matching triplet tattoos of three triangles that represent how they are always connected.
“To be able to have two people that you can directly rely on and count on that are going through life with you; it’s amazing,” Alek said. “You got two built-in best friends.”
Eden the Advocate
The Shimanek triplets are from Austin, Texas and Eden said she was a co-organizer for the Austin Liberation Youth Movement in their hometown. Youth activists lead the movement, as part of a grassroots organization, dedicated to social justice. In her role, Eden advocated in front of the Texas legislature for the closure of juvenile detention centers in one of the organization’s main campaigns, called Finish the 5, she said.
“We actually worked with a representative, Texas Legislator James Talarico,” Eden said. “We were able to meet with him and craft a bill to go through the Texas House to basically get rid of these youth prisons and implement a more rehabilitative plan for the children.”
She is now ready to take what she learned through her work with the Austin Liberation Youth Movement to Pepperdine, Eden said.
She said her goals include helping students get more involved in their communities.
“I really want SGA to get more involved in providing resources for students regarding elections,” Eden said. “How to vote by mail, how to register to vote — that could be something offered.”
She looks forward to offering more events for students to get involved in during the weekends she said.
“SGA can partner with the [Student Programming] Board in making more events for students during the weekends and help make it feel more like a connected community,” Eden said.
Eden’s Future Plans
Eden said she plans to graduate from Pepperdine in three years and attend law school afterward. She said she would love to work in Washington, D.C., and continue her advocacy on the national level through nonprofit work.
“Eden’s always been amazing,” Alek said. “She’s always had that ‘I’m gonna be the voice for the voiceless’ mindset.”
In addition to what she hopes to do for Pepperdine, Eden said she is also passionate about helping everyone exercise their right to vote and advocating for people with disabilities, including her older brother, Jaxson, who has autism.
“I’m excited to see what she comes up with,” Hudson said.
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Email Rochelle Williams: rochelle.williams@pepperdine.edu
