Juan Collazos Candidate for Senator Questions: 1. What experience and qualifications do you have? 2. What is your platform? What do you hope to accomplish if you win? 3. What I really want students to know about me is…. ?

Candidate Responses:
1. CASA of Maryland Inc. Community Organizer, Voting Campaign Director • Created voting campaign to increase political participation among historically underrepresented groups. • Organized-supervised events to raise awareness on issues affecting various communities in the United States. Montgomery-County’s Superintendent’s Leadership Program • Gained knowledge on the executive world through intensive research and interaction with business executives, government officials, and community leaders. • Co-developed seminars to empower minorities make college a reality. National Honor Society, Northwood High School Cofounder, Vice-President • Coordinated fundraising -volunteering events, including a funding partnership for developing African schools. Congressional-Hispanic-Caucus-Institute’s Leadership Program. • Investigated issues affecting the Hispanic community in the United States and presented them to Congressman Chris Van Hollen along with possible solutions. • Participated in various Congressional events. OIP-University of Maryland, College Park Intern • Co-coordinated office events including the visits foreign Ambassadors. • Co-developed awareness lecture series: "Strategies to Survive the 21st Century"

2. Sadly, many of UMBC’s undergraduates are not aware of the great opportunities our SGA has to offer. Most of the time, they are not aware of the fact that they can participate in any of the SGA’s meeting, where they can voice their opinion. They are not aware of the great influence that the SGA has on campus. They are not even aware of the fact that the huge budget that the SGA manages is theirs. But worst of all, many of them do not even know where the SGA is located. In a few words, UMBC’s undergraduates lack sufficient participation in and knowledge of their own government association, and are therefore misrepresented. As an SGA Senator, I hope to implement new programs to encourage greater student input and participation, and in doing so, seek to encourage a more active student body.

3. I want students to run their own Student Government Association. I want to listen to them because I know that many of them have great ideas. I want them to know that SGA is theirs and that they can shape it as they wish, that they can use it to create the events they really want, to cut the roots of the complains they have, to simply shape UMBC. I want student to know that I want to represent them; I want to represent their voice.

Brief Platform Statement:

• I seek to create programs that significantly increase student participation in SGA and on campus.
• I seek to implement a more interactive SGA website, where students can propose and discuss about ideas for SGA.
• I seek to implement initiatives for a greener UMBC.