USAC Officer Evaluation: Shahamah Tariq, International Student Representative

This post was updated May 3 at 3:55 p.m.

Shahamah Tariq received an almost perfect score because she was an almost perfect officer. 

And in USAC, being almost perfect is far from an easy feat. 

Put simply, Tariq not only led, but created, one of the most actionable offices in USAC this year. She wrote the constitution for the International Student Representative office, implementing meticulous legislation to ensure the responsible service of the international student community on campus. She carried the office through its first year, creating sustainable institutions as she went and fostering a community through administrative avenues and student organizations alike. 

Not only did she take the initiative to build the foundations for an entire office, she also campaigned for platforms that were strong from the start. Tariq planned to create international-themed events on campus, create more conversation spaces, establish the office’s new social media presence, help international students access academic and postgrad opportunities and connect with administration and advocacy groups. 

And she delivered. Her office hosted the first Spring Culture Day, held a town hall with over 90 students in attendance, created social media pages and a website, hosted an alumni panel focused on the job market for international students, and worked extensively with the Dashew Center, looping them into town halls and collaborating with them during International Education Week. 

Suffice it to say, she fulfilled her platforms and then some – and the board’s rating in this case is not a reflection of Tariq’s incomplete platforms. Rather, it is based on her own acknowledgment that the burgeoning nature of the office means there is more work to be done to finalize and continue those platforms. 

Regardless, Tariq helped create the office from the ground up, all while fulfilling the responsibilities she wrote into the constitution. The accountability measures are there as well – the constitution stipulates the requirement of town halls and collaboration with the Dashew Center, among other things. 

One last impressive push from Tariq has been her office’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most other USAC officers, she has reallocated the surplus funding from spring quarter toward the COVID-19 relief fund. 

Unlike other officers, however, she hasn’t used that as an excuse to stop working for her community. She advocated for more flexibility in class scheduling for students in different time zones, ensured her office was reaching out personally to students who had attended their events in the past and is working to get a virtual town hall up and running.

Shahamah Tariq came into this position without even a functioning office to show for it. She’s leaving it with a huge amount of knowledge, a strong infrastructure and a wealth of student connections. 

And USAC is one step closer to UCLA’s international community because of it.