Frida Veliz is inspired by her mother, a woman she says she looks up to. As the student body president at Laney College, Veliz aims to make the college experience accessible and comfortable for all students.

Moving from Guatemala with her family in search of a better life, Veliz settled in California in 2019. She enrolled at Laney College in 2022 at the suggestion of a coach that came to her high school. Attending college always sounded like a good idea.

She decided on an architecture major and began taking classes. From there, Veliz realized her bigger passion of becoming involved in student government.

Veliz got involved with the student government because she took most of her classes in-person when she started attending Laney College. As a very social person, she explained how she would always greet staff members she would see at the college and built relationships with those she got to know.

Veliz found out about the Associated Students of Laney College (ASLC) after falling in love with campus culture, eager to give back to her community with a mission of helping students connect to the resources the need that she didn’t have when she first started attending the college.

Veliz was selected for the role in August of 2024 and began her role this fall. Her platform? Keeping college accessible and comfortable while bringing life to the community.

“[Being ASLC president] has allowed me to meet many wonderful people,” Veliz said, adding that the position has also opened doors for her.

Spending a lot of time on campus also opened Veliz’ eyes to the facilities conditions of the Laney College campus, one of the areas she hopes to improve for students during her tenure.

“I feel like our campus has been abandoned — and it’s one of the biggest campuses around the Peralta District, so I feel it deserves a little more love in terms of taking care of our facilities,” Veliz said.

Veliz said her main goal is to make the facilities look more welcoming for students and for them to feel safe as well. Veliz and her team have been reporting incidents that they see and hear about at Laney College, and she said she is determined to get new furniture for the third floor of the Student Center. This small upgrade, according to Veliz, will not only improve the environment, but could help increase student participation on campus.

ASLC Publicity Commissioner Carmen Tan said Veliz is the “best human being she has met in her entire life” because of her dedication to the student body and the campus. Watching Veliz as the student body president, Tan said Veliz genuinely cares about people and wants to build a community, even within the members of the board of trustees.

“She has all these plans and all these goals for the student body and for the campus. I think she’s a go-getter and very ambitious in terms of what she wants,” Tan said, adding that Veliz has a vision for the future.

Laney College president Rudy Besikof said Veliz is a “shining example” of how students can get involved with the campus beyond the classroom. As a student athlete, Besikof said he was also impressed by Veliz’ time management skills.

“I think she is what I consider to be college leadership and she represents students very well,” Besikof said.

Veliz said she is proud of the amount of clubs on campus, which provide a welcoming space and shared experience for students to get to know one another, promoting a safe space for all.

“I believe that’s a way to build a community,” Veliz commented, adding that clubs can also provide a place for decompression, socializing and fun amongst serious academic obligations.

Veliz’ fluency in Spanish, she said, has also allowed her to speak to students who want to share their concerns with ease.

“I’m super into listening to people so if you have any concerns or anything that is bothering you I will be more than happy to listen to you,” Veliz said.

However, being ASLC president is not without challenges. Mastering time management while learning the ropes of a new, important position was a difficult adjustment for Veliz. She said she has been able to adjust to the challenge of time management by disciplining herself to keep everything organized and balance between studies and leadership is important.

All in all, Veliz hopes that her legacy at Laney College will culminate in a cleaner, safer and more welcoming campus that encourages leadership from students.

The Associated Students of Laney College meet during the semester every Monday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Student Center room 401A.