Tailgaters Anonymous

It was your average winter day in January… well at least for Southern Californians. The sun was shining, it was warm and we were eating pizza! It was MCU’s first Lacrosse game of the season and we gathered to support our guys with a tailgate party.

Lacrosse was the first intercollegiate sport at Marymount and this spring marked our 6^th consecutive season. Six years of team building and organization proved its success when our guys scored 5 goals within the first 10 minutes. Team Captain, Alex Breshears, said that was a great start to a game. Ultimately Marymount dominated with a 14-2 win. What a great game! This happened to be the first Lacrosse game I had ever watched and also my first Marymount affiliated tailgate! That might sound strange coming from the student body president who is supposed to be involved with a little bit of everything at school, but I think that can attest to how much is actually going on here at Marymount California University.

Student supporters!

Annie McBride from Student Life organized the event with Brenda Solomon and Audra Platz from our Development department. Also from student life, Kelly Krusee and Megan Johnston were geared up for the game. We had Susan Garman - our Director of Service Learning, my amazing academic advisor Susie Martin, and even the President of Marymount California University, Dr. Michael Brophy. There were student workers, student supporters, and probably about 95% of the soccer team all out to support the team’s first game.

Dr. Brophy presented an award at half time to the ‘founding fathers’ of the Lacrosse team. Professor Patrick Webster and Academic Advising Counselor Michael Fileta were congratulated for their hard work in getting Lacrosse off the ground and securing a strong foundation for current coach Aaron Karsh.

The day was a great success! Even a few of the Lacrosse player's parents came to show their support. It’s quite refreshing to see support from all angles of our community, but you get used to it… that’s just how we roll!

President Michael Brophy, Patrick Webster, Michael Fileta, Aaron Karsh, Gary White, the Lacrosse team and myself :)

The Down and Dirty...

Last week my advisor, Susie Martin and I filed my baccalaureate graduation application. I took a picture of the table decorated with degree audits, transcripts and the final signatures. It’s cliché to say that it’s cliché, but it really was a surreal moment for me. Although I had graduated high school in three years and was valedictorian, it still took me ten years to graduate from college. In fact, ten years ago, I would have imagined that by now I would be five years into a great career. I never would have dreamed the journey I was about to embark on, one of which would lead me to writing this very blog, this very day.

I graduated high school in 2004 from the American Heritage Academy in Cottonwood, Arizona. I spent three years at a community college in central Arizona and eventually transferred to Marymount California University in 2007. After only one semester here, I decided to move to London. For two years I lived in Central London and worked in the television production industry. Upon leaving London and returning to California in 2009, my time away from college continued.  While working in a restaurant in Santa Monica in 2011, little did I know that my life was about to change.  During a chance meeting with the president of Marymount, President Michael Brophy, and a member of the school’s Board of Trustees, President Brophy encouraged me to “come back home to Marymount” and continue my education.  So, I moved to San Pedro and enrolled as a returning student.

I was 25 years old and entering the bachelor program with over 80 credits, yet I was still considered a sophomore based on the emphases I chose. I was feeling out of place and detached. My vision was to put my head down, finish my degree and get out. I wasn’t interested in joining student organizations, I didn’t want to attend any events and I wasn’t here to make friends. Before my first semester back came to an end, I had been voted into the Associated Students of Marymount College as a sophomore senator. That summer I received a call from Kelly Krusee, the advisor to the Associated Students’ organization, asking me if I would like to accept the role of Student Body President for the upcoming academic year. I was nervous and wondered whether I could handle such a daunting task.  That being said, I accepted.

Since that summer day I have been reelected for a second term of presidency and I am the first president to serve two consecutive terms.  Over the past two years in office and with the help of an amazing executive board and senate, we have changed the name of the organization, rewrote the constitution and bylaws, created The Pantry (free snacks and food for all students) and matured as the University’s leading student organization.

My success in the Marymount Student Government Association can be mostly credited to the size of this institution. Having my mindset change from a focus on only achieving my goals to one of serving as a leader of a student population committed to service-learning and making the world a better place has truly been an amazing experience.  Stay with me as my journey and that of Marymount California continues.  See you in a few days with more stories!!!

Welcome to the Student Blog!

My name is Sedona Rose Basher, President of Marymount Student Government Association.
I have had an amazing journey here at Marymount California University. Through this blog I hope to introduce to you some of my fellow students who have had similar experiences as well as faculty, administers and staff who have mentored us along the away.
I will be posting twice a week, stay tuned.
Sedona Rose