ASUNM President Jennifer Liu thanked those she has worked with this year and welcomed incoming President Andrea Cook during the student government’s recognition ceremony Friday at University House.
Liu opened the ceremony by thanking the students who represent all of ASUNM’s agencies for working hard to serve students throughout the year.
“The people in this room really came together and gave of their own time to make this campus a better place for all students, and that is something really special that should be recognized,” she said. “We had a tough year, adjusting to the Student Union Building construction that evicted us from our nice home, but we rallied together and did an awesome job.”
Liu thanked Vice President Chris Mansfield for the work he did, which primarily involved presiding over the Senate.
Mansfield thanked the 30 senators for the job they did representing students.
“It wasn’t always easy, but I know that the Senate worked really hard this year, and I appreciate everything they’ve done,” he said.
He recognized senators who served as committee leaders, including Sen. Kevin Fossett, Sen. Heather Gabel, Sen. Josh Aragon and Sen. Grant Nichols.
Mansfield also recognized the Senators Andrea Gunderson and Cook for working as Senate president pro tems.
Mansfield concluded his remarks by thanking Senate aid Leslie Hand and Senate secretary Jennifer Benalli.
“Leslie and Jen did a great job of making me look good by supplying all the information for all the agencies the Senate works with, and they took really good care of the Senate,” he said.
Liu then invited Cook to speak about her plans for the future.
“I have worked with Andrea Cook for a long time, and I know she cares about the students on this campus,” Liu said. “I know she’ll do a great job.”
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Cook thanked Liu for organizing an event during which all ASUNM agencies could come together and get to know each other.
“I would just like to encourage everyone here to apply for different positions and to stay involved in ASUNM,” she said. “You’ve made such great contributions this year, and I would love to see you return next year so that we can build on the good work we’ve done so far.”
Liu closed by recognizing Jenny McKay for her work as the presidential aid.
Mansfield and Liu then gave the final award of the night to ASUNM’s office manager Juanita Mares.
Liu said she wanted to keep the evening brief because of finals and asked everyone who has worked with the ASUNM agency to pick up their certificates and gifts before they left.
Following the ceremony, Liu said the best part of her term as ASUNM president was the relationship she formed with people throughout the UNM community.
“I love UNM because I had the chance to get to know so many wonderful people here,” she said. “From administrators to faculty, staff and students, I got to see how hard so many different people really work for students. There are some really special people I met here. Those experiences have made me the person I am today.”
Liu is applying for medical school and plans to continue her education next year.
She said she would not have changed anything that happened during her term.
“I gave so much time, and I really don’t think I could have given much more,” she said. “I am proud of all the work I was able to do and hope I made a difference.”
She said the most frustrating part of her job was that she didn’t have enough time to do everything.
“There are so many people I wanted to help, but I just couldn’t get it all done,” she said. “There are so many worthy causes, and the hardest part of serving as president was learning that I couldn’t do it all because there just isn’t enough time in the day.”
Liu will be spending the summer helping Cook make the transition to her new position and said she thinks Cook will do a good job.
“The best advice I could give is just to always listen to people with an open heart and an open mind, but in the end, listen to your heart and do what you know is best,” she said.
Liu said she hopes people remember learning about student government.
“I hope people just think of this year as a good time for ASUNM because a lot more people got involved,” she said. “My goal was to share and get more involved in ASUNM than we ever had before. I hope people remember me for that more than anything else.”
