TOP 30: Genevieve Galman
Genevieve Galman
Major: Political Science, Sociology
Year: 4
Age: 22
Hometown: Hayword
In One Word: Compassionate
HER PASSION
Whether it’s through community service or law, Genevieve Galman advocates to help people, specifically those that are underprivileged or don’t have a voice.
WHERE TO FIND HER
Genevieve is doing research on the public policies of homelessness in San Francisco, because she hopes San Francisco can eventually come up with a cohesive public policy to end homelessness. She’s also working with the Anteaters in Action Commission, planning service events and projects for the summer and fall quarter for students to get opportunities to give back to the community.
THE FUTURE
Genevieve plans to go to law school, and get a career in the legal field or in the government. She wants to advocate for underprivileged individuals and communities, stand up for justice, and ultimately help people through her career. Ultimately, as an intern for the Orange County District Attorney’s office, she wants to be a DA, a district attorney.
HER INFLUENCE
Jun Wang describes Genevieve as “an amazing and inspiring person to work with. When she has her mind set on something, she puts in her maximum efforts and doesn’t stop until she has successfully completed her mission.”
KS: Tell us about yourself.
GG: I was born in Chicago, and when I was 5, I moved to the bay area with my family. My parents had a really big influence on my life, because they grew up in the Philippines, and when they came here, they started from the bottom. They didn’t have that much money, and they worked really hard to get where they are today, and that really influenced me, seeing how hard they worked, and everything they sacrificed for me and my sister. It really influenced me to work hard in high school and college, to make them proud, and to do good things with my life like they did with their lives.
In high school, I was freshman class president, and then I was a class representative and a student ambassador. I did a lot of community service – my favorite experience was when I went to New Orleans through Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes and restore it after Hurricane Katrina. I was also on the cheerleading / dance team.
KS: What have you accomplished here on campus, and what do you hope to accomplish?
GG: Anteaters in Action is a community service commission under the Administrative Affairs branch of ASUCI. It was just established last quarter, and the purpose of it is to provide community service opportunities to students. Because of the recent cut of the Center for Service and Action, the university is no longer funding service opportunities for the students, so I thought that student government should do something about this, because our university should invest in community service. That’s why I created Anteaters in Action.
I was philanthropy chair for my sorority. This past year, I decided to change our philanthropy event. Last year, my sorority only raised 1,000 dollars, and I thought we could do a lot more, so I thought of a better way to fundraise money, by creating the Kappa Alpha Theta Katwalk Fashion Show. It was a weeklong event, and at the end of the week, we had a fashion show. We raised over 6,000 dollars. Previously, I had set a goal for 5,000 dollars, and I was hoping we would at least get close to it, but then we surpassed that goal. Just from hearing from the older girls, it was the first time that everyone really got involved in our philanthropy. The Katwalk is now going to be our annual philanthropy event for years to come.
I was a Peer Academic Advisor for the school of Social Sciences. I advised students on how to succeed academically throughout their college career. I was a SPOP staffer, I was Vice President of Women’s Law Association, and I’m currently the Vice President of Administrative Affairs.
I want to leave a legacy through community service, and I hope to do so through Anteaters in Action. I want to make UCI one of the leading universities in community service, if possible through Anteaters in Action. I just want to be a role model to younger students, and show that getting involved in college is one of the most important things to do while you’re here, because you learn so much about yourself, who you are, and what you want to do with your future. I have a lot of younger friends who I meet with, and I try to be a role model for them.
KS: Who or what has been the most influential to you?
GG: Both of my parents. My parents really stressed being a person of value more than a person of success. They taught me that how I treat others is important, and showed me what I can do for others. They really showed me how to focus on how I can be a good person.
Also, Tiffany Yoshida. She graduated in 2009 – she’s a UCI alum, and also a Theta alum. She was such a role model for me. She was so involved in everything, and it wasn’t just about the involvement for her, but it was more about what she can do and how she can give back to UCI, and that really inspired me to want to do the same when I got older.
KS: What are you most passionate about?
GG: I’m most passionate about giving back to the community. I feel like I’ve been so blessed with my own life, and I think I should give back more. That’s what I hope to do with my future; whatever career that I choose – that I can make a difference. I’m really passionate about advocating for underprivileged communities and individuals, specifically children. I’m taking a year off after I graduate, before I go to law school, and I’m planning to do CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates. That’s actually what we donated our 6,000 dollars from the Katwalk to. Basically, it’s a non-profit organization that serves children who have been abused and neglected, and are now in the foster care system. Without this non-profit organization, judges would have a hard time deciding where to best place these children, so they appoint community volunteers to advocate for these children in court. They investigate the child’s background, mentor the child, help them get the legal proceedings, and help the judge decide where to best place that child. I’m planning to do training for it this summer, and it will be a year-long commitment. Basically my passion through law allows me to give a voice to those who don’t have one necessarily, and just to stand up for them and advocate for their rights. I think this is something I can really see myself doing, because I feel like I’m a very strong aggressive fierce person who likes fighting for people’s rights.
KS: If you could have any food for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
GG: I always have Sushilicious. Specifically, I would eat the Super Cali. I love Sushilicious, or just sushi in general.
Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month at UC Irvine 