Stephen Thomas
Despite balancing classes and work with various campus organizations, Stephen Thomas finds time to learn new things like carpentry and saving money by extreme couponing – and he loves it all.
If he doesn’t have homework, tests or work to do, Thomas browses the Internet in his spare time. He initially discovered extreme couponing on YouTube, and recently started watching the show on TLC.
“Just by looking out and doing your research you can get some really incredible deals and save a lot of money,” Thomas said.
One of Thomas’ most note-worthy savings was a stockpile of about 85 Gatorades that he paid less than $10 for.
“My roommates didn’t appreciate the shelves being so full,” he said.
Thomas’ apartment is decorated by a TV stand and coffee table that he made himself after watching YouTube videos.
“You can learn anything online – it’s crazy,” he said.
Web-browsing aside, Thomas has been learning the ins-and-outs of Associated Students Inc. through years of experience, most recently as the vice president. He said the experience of knowing how to deal with the issues and to navigate the legislative process is an important quality the ASI president should possess.
“We’re in an extremely crucial time in higher education,” he said. “And how to effectively communicate the concerns of the students to our decision-makers on campus and at the state level is extremely important.”
Thomas has been campaigning for the run-off election all week.
“I’ve been putting in work every day doing everything I can to make sure that the students at CSULB know who I am and what I represent, and the importance of the issues that we have on the table,” Thomas said.
One of the tools Thomas uses to help balance out his work schedule is his favorite book “The 4-Hour Workweek,” which teaches readers tactics regarding life outside of work.
“It provides an entirely new perspective on a work-life balance,” he said. “It’s all about enjoying every moment and enjoying what you’re doing right now. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, then what are you doing.”
Thomas enjoys travel and exploring new places. His first trip abroad was a vacation to Germany when he was a sophomore at Cal State Long Beach. He went on vacation with his mom, who works at U.S. Airways, so she is able to fly for free – as long as there is an empty seat when it is time for the plane to leave. Thomas and his mom packed their bags for a vacation without knowing their destination, and, after arriving at the airport, boarded two empty seats on a plane to Munich.
“I wasn’t sure at first,” Thomas said. “But as soon as we got there I just fell in love.”
Thomas has also traveled to Washington D.C. and Sacramento to lobby.
“[Going to Sacramento] really solidifies what we’re doing here – to see 10,000 people moving in unison for the same cause really reaffirms that what we’re fighting for every day is important to the students of Cal State Long Beach.”
John Haberstroh
John Haberstroh was born to run.
He competed on his high school cross-country and track and field teams, and he continues to run roughly 25 miles per week in preparation for the Long Beach Marathon in October. He is also running for Associated Students Inc. president, but that’s a whole different kind of race.
Haberstroh attributes part of his success to the campaign strategy he and his running-mate for vice president, Jonathon Bolin, employed.
“I think Jonathon and I ran a really creative campaign and got people excited for ASI,” he said.
“Jonathon is more of a free spirit,” he added. “I think I keep him grounded a little bit. That’s what makes us, as a team, awesome. We compliment each other well.”
Despite the praise Haberstroh said he and Bolin received for their campaign, a number of complaints have been filed against them regarding incorrect placement and distribution of their materials. As a result of one of these complaints, Haberstroh and Bolin could not distribute any printed materials, including posters and stakes, until Wednesday at 8 a.m. – half-way through the run-off voting period.
Haberstroh said campaigning on Monday was a bit of a struggle, but he continued his campaign yesterday.
“It’s just about getting people to vote again,” he said. “We don’t need to pass out flyers for that. I think that people respond to a face-to-face interaction a lot better.”
If elected, Haberstroh plans to make the role of ASI more personable in order to create a connection with the average student.
As a commuter, Haberstroh wants to encourage people to become more interested in campus activities.
“It takes a bit more than a Week of Welcome,” he said. “That doesn’t appeal to me.”
Haberstroh plans to use his time management skills and leadership skills to make his vision of a more prevalent ASI and more involved student body a reality.
“I think part of being a good leader is you have to know how to delegate,” he said. “I’m not going into this alone and ASI is going to be a team effort.”
Haberstroh is prepared to devote his time to ASI, among other aspects of his life.
“If that means losing a little bit of sleep one night, so be it because things have to get done,” Haberstroh said.
He said that he plans to uphold all of his presidential duties while maintaining his 4.0 GPA, playing bass guitar in Hail_Nero, his newly-formed band with Bolin, and continuing to pursue his passion for running.
“Running is the passion of my life,” he said. “It’s probably been the most significant change in my life experience. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
His favorite movie “Without Limits” is a biography on Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine, his favorite book “Born to Run” is about the Tarahumara people of Mexico who are known for th
eir long distance running ability, and his favorite food is not Mexican or Italian – it’s carbohydrates.
Diana Phan
Diana Phan said, if someone were in her shoes for a day, they would be in heels and smiling a lot.
Since the sixth grade, Phan has been involved in student government. Whether in an historian position or being the fundraising director, Phan has been actively serving the student body “ever since [she] can remember.”
Phan, a sophomore political science major with a concentration on law, politics and public policy, is running for ASI vice president in the run-off elections.
“My main mission is to be the voice for students,” she said. “I want to be vice president so I can be here for the students.”
Phan said that the idea to run for ASI vice president came to her after serving as an ASI senator for a year.
Phan’s running mate, Stephen Thomas, is currently the ASI vice president.
“Stephen and I have the same ideas,” she said. “We want to do the same things. Having the same ideas builds the foundation on how you are going to work together.”
Aside from ASI, Phan is a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority.
“Everyone thinks you’re in a sorority because you want to party and meet guys,” she said. “It’s not like that at all. The rituals that you do and the bonding with your sisters – it’s amazing.”
Phan said she goes to parties to socialize and network. She also loves to travel. Some of her favorite trips have been to Washington, D.C., Boston and Sacramento.
“We took a bus up to Sacramento for one day,” she said. “We went at 9 at night on a Sunday and we drove the whole day. We got there in the morning. We lobbied. We marched, and came right back to school. We have dedication. We are passionate for our students.”
Phan said she is excited to see how the race will turn out. Though she is not planning on losing, she will still continue her involvement with ASI if odds are to go against her.
“I won’t give up because this is a passion of mine,” she said. “If a senate position opens up, I will apply for it. I will still be involved in ASI regardless if I get a position or not.”
As for her future, Phan’s father always told her to do what she loves because she will be doing that for the rest of her life.
“[My dad] asked me, ‘Do you want to come home happy or do you want to come home sad?'”
Now, her goal is to get into office by the age of 25.
“I ultimately want to hit the U.S. Senate,” she said. “That’s why this is so close to my heart – being able to campaign and being in student government just to see how it works in a lower level.”
Jonathon Bolin
Jonathon Bolin is a self-proclaimed orange color personality.
“You have all these ideas but you don’t personally know how to do them,” he explained.
That’s why Bolin is running for Associated Students Inc. vice president, and not president, like he originally planned. Instead, he convinced presidential candidate John Haberstroh to be his running mate.
“John is a shy introverted guy,” he said. “It’s been my pet project to really get him out of his box and make him uncomfortable to the point where he gets out of his shell.”
It was after being a SOAR adviser that Bolin realized he wanted to run for an executive position in ASI.
“I had just come out of SOAR and had met about 7,000 incoming students,” he said. “I felt really connected, like I knew what the students wanted.”
Bolin said he does not want ASI to appear scary, and his campaign posters reflected that.
“We want to be taken seriously, but we want to show people that we can still have fun,” he said. “You don’t have to run a rigid campaign.”
Bolin, a senior history and religious studies double major and classics minor, said he also enjoys epic movies.
“I came into history mainly because I really like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ epic stories,” he said. “I realized that’s just like history in a sense. It’s a long epic story.”
In his free time, Bolin likes to paint or work on music. He is currently the lead singer of Hail_Nero, a band he is in with Haberstroh.
Bolin said he wants to create better student connections and start personal interaction between ASI and different organizations on campus.
“When I walk around campus, it is amazing how many people come up to me and say, ‘You’re so different and I truly believe you are going to change stuff,'” he said.
If elected, Bolin plans to hold a town hall meeting at the Nugget every week or so to gather students’ suggestions and inform them of what is going on in the Senate and how it is using the campus’ money.
Although he might not have any experience in student government, Bolin said that he could easily learn and adapt to the job.
“Experience does not have anything to do with leadership capabilities,” he said. “I am 110 percent confident that, if we are elected, lack of ASI experience is not going to hinder our ability to lead one bit.”