This fall, The Spectator will be interviewing all the student leaders of the “Big Six” organizations at CUC: the Student Government Association, Spiritual Life, the Campus Activities Board, the Latino Student Union, the Black Student Union, and the Student Athlete-Advisory Committee.
Junior Alexis Holliday is the president of the Latino Student Union for the 2023-2024 school year. With majors in Spanish and Business and a minor in international business, her hope for the future is to work in international business trading between countries in Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries. The Spectator sat down with Holliday to discuss her role as president of one of the Big Six organizations.
The Spectator: What is your history when it comes to LSU?
Holliday: I started my freshman year, but I wasn’t really present in the club because I had to work in the afternoons. So I started to really get involved in my second year when I would go to their meetings. I’ve been fully involved and part of LSU for a year, I would say.
How has it been shifting from a club member to the club president?
I think it is very different now, because back then as a member I would question the LSU executive board, like why can’t you do this or that, but that was because my perspective was different. Now being an executive member I think that now I’m trying to get answers for our members and answer any questions that they might have or the ones that I used to have. There is also more pressure now and a lot of answers that I don’t have so I’ve just been in a lot of meetings or contacting people to try and find answers for myself as well.
How has the year been going so far?
The year started shaky because of Marcus leaving us, but as the week went by we started to recruit more people for the executive board, so we have a full exec board so I think that is great. We also might have a new advisor. Right now we have been good our events have been going well when it comes to people. There has been a big shift from the beginning of the semester till now.
How do you believe LSU has shaped you personally?
Well, I think that before, I was really shy talking in front of big audiences. Now I’m more comfortable sharing and opening my voice, asking more questions, and meeting new people. I was a little bit shy last year. I wasn’t really fond of public speaking. And now I just love talking, which has shaped me, and now I’m more confident in myself and comfortable speaking out.
What is an impact you hope to leave behind after you graduate?
Building a community for those who are barely coming in, because being a first generation or any Hispanic or Latino kid coming into a university can be hard. I want them to be able to have that community and have examples as like, she was able to do it, so can I. I think that is also a reason why I am a part of this community myself.
Where do you hope to see LSU by the end of the year?
I definitely want more members to join because I know a lot of our campus’s population is Hispanic. So I want them to feel comfortable being around other people. I also want it to be more present here at Concordia, more visible more known, and more loud.
What are you doing to help build LSU?
I think just going out to find answers because there are a lot of questions that we have and I have been meeting with people who might have the answer and just trying to figure out who can answer our questions I think it’s mostly meetings.
What are you going to try doing to bring in more people to LSU?
We are actually trying to contact other professors. For example, the Spanish professor, Mrs. Real, she has been very helpful in that, because I will send her the meetings or events, and then she gives extra credit to the students who attend our meetings. This hopefully encourages students to go to our events or become members, and I think that has been working for us. Because we have students who are not Hispanic, but it helps us to bring awareness to our events.
What do you believe people are missing out on by not being a part of the club?
The major one would be, to be a part of a community. I think we are very welcoming, so I think they are missing out on new opportunities with benign around people who look like them or might have similar backgrounds, or just the college experience.
How are you going to help welcome those who are not of Hispanic ethnicity?
We have been making sure we put on our flyers that everyone is welcome here. When there are people who are not from Hispanic backgrounds, we try to explain to them why or the history behind our event or anything that we might do. A lot of these things people might not know or what it is about, so they might not want to do it because they are not Hispanic. For example, for El Dia de Los Muertos, we want to try to explain the reasonings and try to make it educational for them.
What impact do you hope LSU leaves on your club members?
I hope for LSU members to not be afraid of speaking against what other people are saying, and to be able to stand up for themselves, and what they believe. Basically, make sure their voices are being heard.
