By Amanda Lenox

Features Editor

Arthur Silverstein, ASI Vice President of External Affairs, is a Psychology and French double major who has left a lasting impact on the CSUSM community during his time here.

He recalls his most memorable accomplishment while on ASI to be his lobbying days in Sacramento. The California State Student Association (CSSA) coordinates the California Higher Education Student Summit, which teaches students how and what to lobby, and how to be effective.

“My biggest accomplishment was when legislators and their staff talked to CSSA directly and said the delegation from San Marcos was one of the absolute best delegations they’ve ever had,” Silverstein said. “So to know that my students, that I got to take and train with me, the five us, went in there, not only were dressed to impress but also represented the CSU and San Marcos and were able to talk about why its important that we fund higher education and that they actually listened.”

One of his favorite memories while at CSUSM is being involved with starting Sigma Chi and becoming the founding President. He also loves seeing the impact that Sigma Chi has made in the community. Silverstein’s advice to CSUSM students would be to never turn down an opportunity and to learn from them.

“One opportunity, which was [being] accepted onto Orientation Team, led me into everything I’ve done on this campus,” Silverstein said. “It got me involved in ASI and from there I got involved with study abroad.”

What he’ll miss most about CSUSM is being on a campus community that he has called a home. Being a part of so many different communities, Silverstein believes that once he leaves it will be a surreal moment. One teacher that he credits for having an impact during his time at Cal State San Marcos is Dr. Joanne Peterson. She was his very first college professor ever, teaching GEL 101. She told everyone in the class that 25 percent of the class would not make it past the first year and that of the remaining number, only 50 percent would make it to graduation.

Silverstein explains that Dr. Peterson “said the only difference between that number and you, is that you all are going to graduate, because she believed in every one of us and made us feel like we were here to graduate.” Everyone that he does remember from that class has graduated, he explains, “because we instantly felt a connection with a group or with a person on this campus who believed in us and guided and mentored us.”

Silverstein’s plans for the future include graduate school in the United Kingdom. He has applied to six different schools which include the University of Kent, University of Sheffield, Regents University, Richmond American University, Kingston University and Queen Mary’s College. He has already been accepted into two graduate programs [as of our interview]. He plans to get his Masters with a focus in International Relations.