• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Anderson plans to use her community service and student affairs studies while on the board.

Jodi Anderson, the UCLA graduate student in education selected to serve as student regent in 2004-2005, has a reputation as a hard worker, but she says she was not always highly involved in campus life.

“I doubt that very many of my high school teachers even remember who I am,” she said.

Anderson, who attended Clovis West High School in Fresno, said she was “definitely not much of a standout” in high school.

Even so, Anderson emerged from high school as the first member of her family to go to college. Growing up with her mother and stepfather, Anderson said her mother always wanted her to get a college degree.

“My mom always regretted not going to college, and growing up, it was kind of like, ‘You’re going to college,’” Anderson recalled.

At UC Santa Barbara, Anderson – who graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1994 – resided for all four years in the campus community of Isla Vista, notorious as a haven for those who party hard and graduate late.

Anderson’s record, however, suggests Isla Vista’s reputation is just another untrue stereotype. While a UCSB student, Anderson took a job on the campus’ orientation staff, an experience she credits with sparking her interest in student affairs.

“That was really pivotal for me,’ she said.

Her former employer, UCSB Associate Dean of Students Debbie Fleming, remembered Anderson as one her most dedicated employees.

“She really has an exceptional work ethic. ... I don’t know anyone who works harder than she does,” Fleming said.

Anderson says her work in the University of California’s Washington, D.C. program further piqued her interest in student programs. At an internship at the Points of Light Foundation, Anderson became interested in service learning, an educational method that incorporates community service into coursework.

The day Anderson’s nomination was announced, UC Student Association Chairman Stephen Klass, who reviewed candidates before they were reviewed by the UC Board of Regents, highlighted Anderson’s extensive experience with student issues.

“Her really strong point is her background in understanding education ... all aspects of it,” Klass said.

Though studying and working in education have occupied much of Anderson’s adult life, she’s more than just a graduate student.

In 1994, she lived with a family in Mexico while studying abroad, becoming fairly fluent in Spanish after two months.

She also enjoys visiting art museums, watching movies and hiking around Temescal Canyon near the Pacific Palisades.

“She has a great sense of humor. ... She takes things seriously when they need to be taken seriously, but she also likes to laugh,” Fleming said.