2011-2012 SBA Board Spotlight
President, Colin Hendricks
Colin grew up in Agoura Hills, CA. He received a BA in History at UCSB and studied abroad in Rome during his final semester. While in Rome, he ran into a situation where he had to stand up for a friend against a mentally abusive roommate. His success with gathering evidence, witnesses and presenting a coherent case to the school administration gave him the initiative to go to law school. While applying to law school he worked as the sole legal assistant at a two-attorney firm in Long Beach, CA. He decided to attend McGeorge because of its proximity to the State Capitol. Colin ran for SBA because he was always interested in a career in public service and thought it a great place to start. His interests include, but are not limited to, soccer, basketball, drums, photography, and ballroom dance.
Day Vice President, Alisa Reinhardt
Alisa was born in San Jose, CA and has spent the rest of her life living in California. She grew up in Sacramento and lived here until leaving for college in Los Angeles. She has a little sister who is 19 years old named Bre who is in her second year of college. She is a big animal person and loves playing and watching sports. She lived in L.A. for four years while attending the University of Southern California. While in college, Alisa worked for the football team, and this experience made me want to go into sports law and work as counsel for either a college or professional team. After graduating from USC, she moved back to Sacramento to start studying at McGeorge. She wanted to become involved in SBA because she is very interested in politics and government, and loves having a say in terms of campus issues and events. ”It is a lot of fun seeing how everything works behind the scenes and getting to spend time with a really great group of students. My career goals have now changed and I hope to go into politics and/or lobbying. After graduation I plan on living and working in Sacramento because I love the city and greatly value being close to my family,” Alisa says in a candid interview by reporter P.Blood.
Evening Vice President, Andrea Moon
Andrea was born and raised in Berkeley, California before moving to Vallejo and finally Walnut Creek. She started college at 16 and attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, where she worked as the features editor, copy editor and editor-in-chief of the DVC Inquirer, a student-run newspaper with a 5,000+ circulation. After a year, she also began attending Vista Community College (now Berkeley City) in Berkeley before transferring to UC Berkeley in fall 2005. While at Cal, she studied English. She was also a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, Eta chapter and her family is Alpha Lambda Chi. Currently, Andrea work as the new member education advisor for the Epsilon Kappa chapter at CSU Chico. She has been married since 2009 to her husband, a United States Marine, and is expecting their first baby, a girl, this summer. She chose to come to law school because she wanted to get away from the theoretical aspect of English and move into something much more tangible and practical. She thought the law was a great option and was very excited when she got into McGeorge because her dad’s whole family is from Sacramento and still lives here. The familiarity of this place made her feel right at home. Dre decided to run for SBA office during her first semester because she wanted to be extremely active on campus, get to know her peers and also try and make their experience as students as informed and easy as possible. She served as the 1E rep in 2009-2010, the 2E rep in 2010-2011 and she is currently the evening vice president.
Favorite drink: Salty dog with Grey Goose
Favorite food: Oscar’s is up there
Representative at Large, Patrick Blood
Patrick has served on the Student Bar Association all three years during his time at Pacific McGeorge. He grew up in Santa Ynez , CA, which is best known either as Santa Barbara wine country or the home to the Chumash Casino and Neverland Ranch. Pat began his student leadership in high school through organizations such as National Honors Society, Organizations of Latinos and Americans, California Scholarship Federation and YMCA Youth and Government. He later moved on and earned his undergraduate degree in Politics from UC Santa Cruz in 2009. While at UC Santa Cruz, Patrick worked in the admissions and the orientation office and developed a passion for working with and for fellow students.
Patrick ran first year for SBA wanting to represent his class and fight for the issues that mattered the most to them. Since then, he has worked closely with the student body and the student organizations on campus to improve the level of communication and to be a resource for his peers. He serves on numerous other student organization boards, campus subcommittees. Patrick went to Salzburg during his first summer and regards it as one of the best experiences he’s participated in at McGeorge. Pat spent his second summer working with the Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission and traveling Bali. In his third year, his passion for law and advocacy grew even more when he took McGeorge’s well-recognized Trial Advocacy course and participated in the year long Mediation Clinic.
But above all, his strides in student leadership has been a personal goal. He made a promise first year to himself and his fellow students to be a leader for them and has spent the past three years working to fulfill that promise. In his spare time he runs the SBA website, manages two websites and continues to be a webmaster and developer.
Patrick currently holds the following positions at Pacific McGeorge:
- President, Entertainment Law Association
- President, Junior Barrister’s Club
- President, Students for a Better McGeorge
- Vice President, Latino Law Student Association
- Treasurer, Middle Eastern/South Asian Association
- Marshal, Phi Alpha Delta
Secretary: Kelsey Peterson
Kelsey was born and raised in Sonora, CA a very small town in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. Kelsey has wanted to go to law school and be an attorney since she was in the 4th grade. With this idea in mind she interned at various law offices in her community and participated in Peer Court through high school and middle school. Her goal of going to law school continued while she attended California State University of Fresno with a political science major and English minor. There she had the opportunity to intern at the U.S. Attorneys Central District Office, at the Field Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and participate on the Moot Court team. After graduating in 3 and 1/2 years with the honors of Cum Laude she was a legal secretary in a civil law firm until she started at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Kelsey started in the evening Program and switched into the day and will graduate with a certificate in oral advocacy this May completing her childhood dream.
Treasurer, Greg Porter
Greg Porter is a second year day student who hails from Toronto, Ontario, eh. He attended high school in West Los Angeles and ultimately decided to attend San Diego State University for undergrad. He studied International Business where he learned about not only international issues but also honed in his ability to read quickly and extract exactly what is important. In 2003, he had the opportunity to attend Waseda University in Japan. Greg is fluent in both English and Japanese. Greg first became active on the Student Bar Association when he decided to run for First Year Rep. He was elected and he was instrumental in carrying out the traditional first year party. Deciding he wanted a new challenge, he ran for Treasurer in his second year at McGeorge. Since becoming treasurer, Greg has given strong guidance to the entire SBA on financial issues and has worked above and beyond to balance the budget and ensure the SBA is able to carry out each event it throws as well as providing funds to student organizations. Greg created policies and procedures for the student organizations to request funding which has helped with the efficiency of the SBA meetings and allowed for a more transparent and fair system for allocating funds. As treasurer, Greg has proven to be a trusty leader of student funds and has gained extreme respect from the entire SBA and campus administrators. He is also a member of Mock Trial on campus where he has demonstrated his oral advocacy skills. In his spare time, Greg enjoys outdoor activities and loves to go to Tahoe where he snowboards with his roommates and fellow McGeorgeans! He also gives words of caution to anyone who thinks ninjas will not always prevail.
4E Rep: Jacquie Hassell
Born and raised in Hayward, California, Jacquie came to McGeorge after completing undergraduate coursework at UC Davis and a brief stint in the real world working as an accountant and serving as a coach at her former high school. The desire to help people drives her interest in public service, where she plans to work after graduation. Working, going to class, and volunteering in the community kept Jacquie busy, but she still found time to spend with family, friends, and her loving cat named Smalls (“You’re killing me, Smalls!”). She recommends fellow McGs take care of business in the classroom, help others when you can and ask for help when you need it, and learn as much as you can everyday!
3D Rep: Jenna Thompson
Jenna was born and raised in Mission Viejo, CA. After high school, she attended Saddleback college and then transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated with a major in Political Science and a minor in Art History. She has a younger sister who lives in Washington, D.C, working for a consulting firm, as well as a younger brother who attends the California State University at Fullerton. After graduating from UCLA, she took some time to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She has always been very interested in politics and government, so she decided to attend McGeorge due to its close proximity to the State Capitol. She ran for SBA because she likes making McGeorge a better place for all students. During her time at McGeorge, she has interned in the State Capitol and for a lobbying firm, and she hopes to go into politics and/or lobbying after graduating in May 2012. In her very limited free time, she enjoys watching football, especially the San Diego Chargers.
3E Rep: Drew Rymer
Born in Mountain View California during the glorious 80’s and having grown up in Northern California, made Drew Rymer the laidback Californian that he is today. Drew attended CSU, Sacramento, where he majored in accounting and minored in history. While at CSUS he became extremely active in student life as a Sigma Chi and was often found at the campus watering hole developing many friendships that continue today. After a solid run at CSUS and in his attempt to prove to his father that one could indeed become a career student, Drew decided to attend McGeorge. Drew has become a key player in the student environment of McGeorge, as he is involved with several campus organizations and is co-founder of the Sports Law Society. Having grown up in the south bay, Drew is an avid fan of the Giants, Forty Niners, San Jose Sharks and admits to being a bandwagon Kings fan. He can often be seen arguing with other sports fans on campus that pick and choose which team is their favorite, especially that fan who insists on replicating the motion of a tomahawk. Since becoming a member of the SBA Board, Drew has exceptionally showcased his leadership abilities holding several positions on SBA sub-committees and was co-chair for arguably the best “Half-Way There Party” ever thrown. Although laidback, Drew is known for being a person of candor and having the attention span of an eight-year-old, interjecting his comments and opinions without warning. Currently, Drew is focused on maintaining his grades and graduating from McGeorge in December 2012, which he could not be happier about. Because there is not a beach in Sacramento, Drew enjoys taking his dog Barkley on long walks down by the river and teaching her how to play catch, which has proven quite unsuccessful. If he does not move back to “the Bay” as he calls it, Drew plans to remain in Northern California, but who knows where he will end up.
2D Rep: Tahnee Baker
Tahnee Baker is originally from Granite Bay, California–a whopping thirty-five minutes away from McGeorge. She spent her undergraduate years at UC Santa Barbara studying neuroscience, developing a cure for hypothermia and reading all of Dostoervsky’s great works. Professors have commented that Tahnee is “one of the most promising legal minds the legal community has ever encountered.” Colleagues state that she is like a cross between “Madeline Albright and Scarlet Johannsen.” When Tahnee is not busy being a second year law student, she enjoys short walks on the beach, eating Chef Boyardee out of the can and saving baby animals from becoming roadkill. Tahnee joined SBA to eradicate global warming and also instate an Annual “Free Churro Day” at McGeorge.
2E Rep: Mario Walter
Clad in batwing chaps and snake skin boots with gut hooks on his heels, a mutton bustin’ Mario Walther started down the path of jurisprudence scholarship as a fearless five year old refusing to be bounced off the back of a feral sheep onto the rodeo arena dirt. You see, Mr. Walther is the last of a dying breed of human and courage; he is one of the lucky remaining few to have been raised amidst the Cowboy Culture of Northern Nevada, where a steadfast respect for the resources that have sustained generations before him, and an undying willingness to protect them, defines personal freedom and civic duty. With Mom and Dad cheering from the bleachers, a young Mr. Walther got up off hisback, catching the breath a hoof had knocked out of him, slapped the dust off his legs and began running for the sheep that had bucked him like a bad habit. For the animal seeking refuge from the dropped weight, the ride was over. For the rodeo announcer, it was a glorious ride that would not be outscored. For the next cowboy in the gate, itwas his turn to ride. For Mario, it was time to put the hat back on,wipe off the blood, and go for another ride because, as he would tell his parents on the drive home, “That was fun.” These are the eight seconds in which Mario lives his life and puts his principles into practice, without complaint, hesitation or fear, only saying “No” when asked if he’s had enough. It’s a kind of other worldly determination that can only germinate in the West, where love comes in the form of meat harvested and dinner served, sagebrush and toilet paper are onein the same, and knowledge is filtered through experience–there isn’talways going to be a sign that says “No Micturating on the ElectricFence,” and if there was you’d probably have to pee on it anyways just to figure out what the hell it meant.
Mario has never graduated from his Wild West education, but his roots have grown deeper, his heart fonder, and his appreciation for the beautiful but unforgiving geography greater. He spent the majority of his undergraduate work, under the ruse of a Political Science degree,fly fishing the Madison River in Montana, backpacking through bear country in Yellowstone and Steelheading the Clear water while readingIrving Stone and familiarizing himself with public land access laws(sometimes through experience). His interest in international law and politics has matured during his various trips abroad, most notably the two weeks he spent floating the rivers of Argentina only to return tothe States over a year later. Time spent on the water fostered Mario’s respect and appreciation for our natural resources and has given way to devout interests in water law and conservation. Always fishing against the current and willing to follow autodidactic tributaries,many have said that, without the institutional influences and impertinent ennui of law school, Mario would excel further and more easily as a counselor; but, always the consummate fisherman, Mariowill continue to work upstream and find success despite the snags and drift driven jetsam.
1D Rep, Peggy Vargas
Peggy Vargas is the current 1D Rep on SBA and has added a new perspective the SBA board. Originally from Palm Springs, California, Peggy moved to Boston and attended Boston University. She studied International Relations where she grew extremely interested in global and national issues. Before she came to McGeorge, she worked for 5 years at Habitat for Humanity as the operations manager. She worked on organizing fundraisers and participated on the family selection committee. She also has a passion for leading the youth and our next generation and fittingly worked with the Young Entrepreneurs in the Cochella Valley and she was the representative for Habitat at the Chamber of Commerce. In addition to her duties on SBA, Peggy is also the First Year Rep for the Latino/a Law Student organization. She has a passion for student leadership and has fought hard to make sure the first year day division has its voice and concerns heard.
1E Rep, Mandeep Pooni
Mandeep Pooni is the first-year evening representative for Student Bar Association. She was born and raised in California and attended the University of California, Davis for her undergraduate education. The causeway transition has been an easy one for her — as bikes, coffee, and books are still part of her daily life. When she is not admiring the redwoods of the McGeorge campus or the tree-lined streets of midtown, Mandeep can be found indulging her imagination with the written word, sharing laughs with dear friends, or writing about herself in the third person. She is honored to serve as her class’ representative and thankful for the opportunity to continue her education as a law student.
