Marco Murillo, A Leader and His Journey

By Cecelia Lei, Diversity Correspondent for the Chancellor's Office

            When Marco Murillo was elected the A.S. President for the school year of 2007-08, it was not only a victory for the Student Voice slate, but also a personal victory - a landmark moment in his own unique journey, one that has been full of challenges, achievements and triumphs.  Murillo, a third-year history and political science major, is facing his new role as A.S. President with high hopes and expectations and with passion, dedication and valuable experiences behind him.

            Born as a 1st generation student to a native Spanish-speaking family in San Ysidro, Murillo will be the first in his family to attend and graduate from a university.  As a young child, Murillo grew up in a predominantly Latino neighborhood and took ESL classes.  As an eighth grader, after the encouragement and recommendation by his teacher, Murillo applied to attend The Preuss School, UCSD’s charter school which prepares motivated low-income students to enter college.  Meeting the three qualifications needed to apply – coming from a low-income family, having no parent or guardian who had graduated from a 4-year college or university, and demonstrating academic motivation and potential – Murillo was accepted after an extensive application process. 

            Murillo’s educational and personal experiences at The Preuss School were an essential factor in his involvement with UCSD student politics.  It is through the guidance and rigorous academic preparation of The Preuss School where Murillo attributes the development of his leadership and social skills, time management and work ethic.  Involved in student government at an early age (Murillo was the senior class and ASB president at The Preuss School), Murillo became aware of UCSD’s leadership opportunities through Marshall College’s relationship with The Preuss School.  “I was always aware of what UCSD had to offer me,” says Murillo.  It is at The Preuss School where the self-proclaimed “usually reserved person” cultivated the skills and characteristics needed to become a proactive member of different communities.

            Entering UCSD as a first-year student, Murillo experienced the transition of coming from a predominantly Latino community at home as well as at The Preuss School into UCSD as one of the small percentage of Latino students on campus.  Working with such issues of diversity on campus is something that Murillo is passionate about and has been actively involved in for the past few years.  It is also a major focus he plans to tackle as the new A.S. President.  As the current Assistant Vice President of Diversity Affairs, Murillo’s efforts were concentrated on outreach to student organizations on campus such as the Student Affirmative Action Committee (SAAC) organizations and the Student Initiated Outreach and Recruitment Commission (SIORC).  Holding this current position in A.S. this school year, Murrilo was dedicated to letting the greater UCSD student community become aware of the ways in which they can utilize the services and resources provided by A.S. to their own benefit.  Creating a dialogue and relationship between the administration of the University and students has also been a main goal of Murillo.  After an internal reconstruction of A.S. in this past year, Murillo hopes to see changes in external involvements with student organizations.  He believes it is vital to community building that various student organizations on campus become linked through different efforts, such as community service.  It is with this framework of uniting all parts and levels of the UCSD community that Murillo enters the A.S. presidency.

            Murillo is dedicated to having A.S. become more active in campus diversity issues.  “We have to be more conscious of diversity issues.  It’s not just about race or ethnicity,” said Murillo.  Motivated by the efforts of the past school year, Murillo hopes to continue the momentum of implementing change on campus by increasing the communication between students and administration, and by reaching out to other vital spaces on campus, including the Cross-Cultural Center, the Student Office of Human Relations (SOHR), and working with Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Service (SPACES) which will start its operations next school year after the passing of the P.U.L.S.E. referendum in this past A.S. elections.  For now, Murillo is excited about the upcoming school year.  “I firmly feel like we can accomplish a lot…the A.S. office has had to hold back a lot, and there’s so much to work to do…but students are going to see some positive changes on campus.”  With Murillo, a student who has taken great strides and achieved so much already, his vision for the UCSD campus holds great promise.