Meet Jordan Harris: the new, ambitious, and resilient president of the PSFA College Council

The College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts welcomes its new college council president, Jordan Harris, for the 24-25 school year.

Harris is a fourth-year double major in art history and leadership and is from Orange County, California. Outside of the council, she loves being involved on campus, holding roles such as vice president of Photography Club and community assistant within residential education.

The main function of the PSFA College Council, according to Harris, is to serve as a community that supports students and organizations connected to PSFA. She wants to make PSFA a place on campus where students can be themselves and figure out the intersectionality between what they are interested in, what field they want to go into, and what they want to do in their future careers.

“We’re very excited to show (San Diego State University) who we are, where we are, and show them that we’re here to stay,” Harris said.

“We haven’t had much big representation in the past, so I’m hoping to change that with this year,” she continued.

As the governing body that represents all SDSU students and majors in PSFA, the College Council advises direction in academic and programmatic issues that the college faces, giving council members the opportunity to gain experience in leadership development and networking.

Council representatives advocate for extracurriculars and programs for PSFA students, in addition to representing PSFA at college events such as Welcome Week and Homecoming. The council consists of one representative from each Recognized Student Organization under the Student Life and Leadership Office. Only representatives and at-large members can vote at council meetings, but all PSFA students are welcome to attend.

As college council president, one of Harris’ biggest goals this year is to bridge the gap between the majors within PSFA, given it is one of the biggest colleges at SDSU due to the variety of majors.

Harris wants to focus on how to bring together different majors by looking into what they have in common with each other and answering questions such as, “What does art have in common with ROTC?” and “What does communications have in common with criminal justice?”

She aims to achieve this goal through planned events such as the second annual PSFA career fair and first annual PSFA showcase, which she hopes will help to connect the majors within the college and show what they have to offer.

Additionally, Harris looks forward to increasing the council’s collaboration with community service initiatives, such as Aztecs Rock Hunger, the Associated Students Food Pantry, and SDSU’s Dance Marathon.

She added that there is so much to look forward to this school year, which is off to a great start with an excellent college council, which she remarks are all “very capable in their positions” and immensely supportive of each other.

Harris said it has been a long and eventful journey to becoming college council president, which started when she joined in her sophomore year as a representative for Photography Club.

“It was the first place where I finally felt like I was represented, especially because SDSU is so big,” Harris said.

During her junior year, the council president at the time reached out to her and invited her to apply, and Harris then took on a larger role within the council as vice president of finance.

“It was the first time I felt like I (was) making a difference in my organization through my work,” Harris said. “I really felt supported not only by the board, but by my president, by my advisors and by the RSO’s that I was serving, so it was a really great opportunity.”

As Harris made her way up in the council, she still felt like she could do more. In the second semester of her junior year, she had her sights set on something bigger and wanted to apply for a larger role within the council, the role of president.

However, her year took a drastic turn when she found out her mom had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and Harris took a break from school and the council to be home with her family during the difficult time.

When Harris returned, her mom free of cancer, she felt fully and whole-heartedly supported by the council, who all believed that despite her hardships, she would still be able to serve as an amazing president and come back even stronger.

“Seeing everyone’s support on council as well as within my family to continue this role and to kind of be this role model that I would want to see in the future encouraged me to not only stay in my position but to keep shooting for more,” Harris said.

“I’m trying to work hard to make sure that people know that they’re supported through my sense of leadership and through my journey as a leader,” she added.

Harris aspires to build a solid foundation as president so future years can have a stronger executive board and hopes to keep PSFA as a long-lasting name at SDSU.

PSFA COLLEGE COUNCIL EXECUTIVE OFFICERS 2024-25

President: Jordan Harris, Art History & Leadership double major

Executive Vice President: Lauryn Vicencio, Interdisciplinary Studies major: Fim, Communication, Sociology

Vice President of Finance: Mourad Refaat, Business Administration and Management major, Communications minor

Vice President of Internal Affairs: Brianna Marbella, Journalism major, emphasis in media studies

Vice President of External Affairs: Kassia Popaluca, Criminal Justice Major

Vice President of Public Relations: Isabel Salvador, Graphic Design Major, Marketing minor

Vice President of Culture and Diversity: Jessica Laing, Criminal Justice Major, Africana Studies minor

Vice President of Academic Affairs: Eileen Solano, Criminal Justice Major

A.S. Representative: MaryJane Destro-Vasquez, Journalism major, emphasis in public relations, Television, Film, and Media minor

A.S. Representative: Jesus Guzman, Criminal Justice Major, Psychology Minor

A.S. Representative: Clara Shim, Interior Architecture major

A.S. Representative Layla Tyree, Television, Film, and Media major

PSFA College Council Main Advisor: L. Katie Turner

PSFA College Council Co-Advisor: Theresa Luu