Ashay Shah

4th Year – Chemical Engineering

Programs & Activities Council (PAC), President

PAC and My Role:

PAC is the premier event planning organization here at UC. It is a group of 40 students that plan semesterly events ranging from concerts to speakers to special events. I joined PAC my second year because I was looking to meet new people and PAC had a very prominent culture. I did not truly know what I was getting into, and my passion for PAC has developed greatly since. The organization offers a unique opportunity to strategically think, plan, and execute large-scale ideas. We ideate creative events that will provide for the student body, determine how to best market them, tackle each and every logistical challenge of making them happen, and then actually make them happen. My current role in PAC is to oversee all of our internal and external functions, support wherever necessary, and drive the organization forward.

What I Learned From the UHP Student Leader Roundtable:

The UHP Student Leader Roundtable was a great opportunity to connect to student leaders and organizations that I would not have otherwise crossed paths with. My biggest realization was realizing how large our school and student body truly is. It’s easy to stick to your circles and what you know, and you forget about the giant world of people out there.

Tactically, I got a lot out of the discussion around organizational culture and engaging general body members. These are both things that I consistently face in my student organizations. One of the main takeaways was that interest in the organization has to be generated semi-organically. Getting people involved in the org socially is best done from the ground up – instead of telling people to hang out within the org, have 1-2 new members/general body members organize something. This feels less forced and has better turnout/involvement. This similar logic applies to engaging general body members. It goes a lot further to rope in the members that want to be involved, as their opportunities within the organization will generate more natural interest from the typically uninvolved member.

Overall, the UHP Roundtable was an opportunity to expand my perspective and take yet another step towards becoming a global citizen scholar.