Micah Almas was sworn in as the new Associated Students Engineering Senator at last Wednesday’s Senate meeting on Jan. 17, replacing former Senator Blake Diamond after his resignation.
“I decided that the best thing for my future was to focus on my engineering studies and take on exciting projects that challenge me to grow. Micah is more than capable and I know that he will accomplish great things this year in Senate,” Diamond said.
Last spring, Almas, a third-year chemical engineering major, ran for Engineering Senator with the Isla Vista Party. Almas said he was thrilled to find out he would be serving as Senator at the beginning of Winter Quarter.
“I was super excited but pretty nervous,” Almas said. “At this point, I just want to get a feel for how the meetings are run.”
Senator Almas’ goals are to expand the Campus Learning Assistance Services (C.L.A.S.) tutoring services and university mental health resources for all engineering majors.
Almas said that, while becoming a C.L.A.S. tutor does not require a teaching degree, the biggest challenge for the program is the lack of tutors available for engineering students.
According to the C.L.A.S. application requirements, a tutor must have a 3.3 GPA or higher, have completed at least 2 years of study at the university, acquire a letter of recommendation from a university professor and attend mandatory training.
Almas also explained that engineering students often refer to UCSB’s engineering fraternity, Tau Beta Pi, for help, but it is not always useful.
He suggested that graduate students would be better tutors.
In the next two quarters as Senator, Almas also hopes to also expand psychological services to engineering students.
“People who go to C.A.P.S.… none of them are engineers. I know a lot of us are stressed and a lot of us have a lot on our plate,” he said.
Almas hopes to collaborate with former Senator Blake Diamond and consult with him as he moves to reform both C.L.A.S. and C.A.P.S. so that both programs offer more services for engineering students.