TSU California Club’s graduating executive board members havehigh hopes for the club’s future on campus and in the Third Ward community.
The California Club was chartered on Texas SouthernUniversity’s campus in the spring semester of 2011. Ronnishia Johnson and Rheema Calloway, bothseniors graduating this spring, used money from their own pockets to fund theclub and build it from the ground up.
Johnson’s main goal upon starting the organization was tobuild a strong network that would allow students that came from California tosucceed. As the president, she is well aware of the many issues that studentscoming from other states face, because she had many of the same issues.
“On a personal and professional level, I had a lack ofnetworks,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know where to go to look for jobs, and I hadissues with housing, tuition, lack of support system, transportation. Anythingyou could think of.”
Vice president Calloway understands the issues as well.
“I didn’t have very much support from my family, and Ididn’t know how to fend for myself,” Calloway said. “I didn’t know how tonetwork with people that had positions of power, so I wasn’t able to do a lotof things that students that were aware of these things were able to do.”
These problems were the basis for the very existence of theCalifornia Club on the campus of Texas Southern University. Johnson andCalloway want to make sure that students understand that they can createrelationships with other students and administration to make their time at TSUworthwhile.
“I have developed a mentorship program within the clubitself and within the school itself. This program was designed particularly forCalifornia students because we face different issues than local students,” Johnson said. “The club was an avenue to bridge the gap between administration andstudents from California and to educate them on the issues that we go through.“
The relationship is not based solely on academia or campuslife, either. Johnson, Calloway and other upperclassmen from California havecreated a home away from home for these students, to keep them at TSU.
“I became a mentor, a motivational speaker, a friend. I toldthe students my mistakes and the things I would have changed in college,”Calloway said.
These students have done everything from tutoring tosupplying rides to the grocery store, just to make sure that the members ofthis club had everything they needed.
The founders of the club have put in an extraordinary amountof work, on top of their own school work and personal lives.
Although they are graduating and leaving the running of theorganization to the generation of students that came after them, they have highexpectations for the students that are soon to be in charge.
“I hope the students that have the opportunity to use thefoundation that I have laid out for them,” Johnson said. “ I want them to buildbetter relationships with the student body and the administration and toimplement signature programs and effective legislation that advocate fordisadvantaged out of state students.”
This fall, the California Club plans to host a variety ofevents and programs, including The C.A.L.I. (Coalition of Advanced LearningIndividuals) Project, which will specialize in college preparation starting atthe elementary school age.
Johnson and Calloway are proud of what they have achieved withthese students and they have faith that they will make the California Club avery lucrative campus and community organization.
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