On January 8th, the Auxiliary Organizations Association’s (AOA) annual conference was held at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa in Mission Beach. This year’s theme “Partners in Achieving Student Success” highlighted the important role that auxiliaries play in ensuring our students succeed, both academically and outside of the classroom. Christina Brown, this year’s president, presided over the conference. Chancellor Timothy P. White was the keynote speaker at the Sunday night opening banquet. He shared details about the newly launched Graduation Initiative 2025, which is the CSU’s plan to increase graduation rates in the next 10 years.  A current San Diego State student was also recognized at the opening banquet; Joseph Rivas was presented with the Auxiliary Organizations Association Scholarship of Excellence.

One of the highlights of the conference was Super Session 2 – Auxiliaries at Their Best: Helping Students Succeed. It was student panel of all former CSU students who had worked at and been directly affected by auxiliaries on their campus. Several of the students spoke about how they built lasting relationships with both students and staff, and learned important skills through their experiences.

On Tuesday, the conference started off with the AOA Presidential Leadership Series, with keynote speaker SDSU President Elliot Hirshman. He opened up the floor to allow audience members to join in a conversation based on four key topics. Associated Students President, Jamie Miller, also lead a session in collaboration with Christina Brown on Improving Student Engagement through Open Meetings.

This year’s conference had record level attendance and many staff from A.S. had the opportunity to attend.

Submitted by: Veronica Perondi

This semester we are offering a Total Strength class for SDSU faculty and staff ONLY! The class will take place Tuesdays from 12:10 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Performance Center at Rec Sports Peterson Gym — a new 2,400 sq. ft. facility with state-of-the-art strength and conditioning equipment. The class is led by an experienced instructor who will tailor the workout to the needs of the participants and maximize the valuable time of our on-campus working professionals in order to facilitate a great midday workout.

This low impact full body strength workout is designed to develop lean and sculpted muscles. Discover new exercises to challenge your self and increase your overall strength and mobility using the variety of resistance equipment.

Please bring your Red ID to verify your faculty & staff status. Email any questions to Julie Hannan, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator: jhannan-w@sdsu.edu. Hope to see you there!

Submitted by: Amy Schiller

Did you know the SDSU Children’s Center composts the leftover scraps of food from every meal and the green waste from its landscaping? Since April of 2016, the Center has worked with the College Community Garden to minimize its carbon footprint. The composting takes place at the Garden and the resulting product is used to enrich the soil in the raised-bed gardens.

To date, 2.75 tons of food and 1.33 tons of tree trimmings have been saved from going to a landfill. That results in 6 metric tons of avoided CO2E (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions and is equivalent to removing 15.5 cars off the road!

What a great way to make sure our little ones have a greener future!

A.S. Elections season is here!

There are numerous opportunities available to hold a major government leadership position in A.S., YOUR student government. There are both elected and appointed positions. The positions’ areas of focus vary but they all are dedicated to serving the student body and leaving a legacy.

To request a PDF application packet to be sent to you via email, please visit Elections Central and click on the Request an Application link. The packet will contain both a candidate for elections application and an appointed seat application.

Applications to be a candidate on the ballot are due in the A.S. Office at 4pm on Thursday, February 9. The A.S. Elections are on March 13-16.

Aztec Achievement Award Nominations

SDSU has outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni! Nominate them and yourself for an Aztec Achievement Award! The annual A.S. awards ceremony recognizes the exceptional contributions of members across campus.

For a full listing of awards descriptions and to nominate someone, visit: https://as.sdsu.edu/aaa/. All applications are due Feb. 17 at 4pm.

Submitted by: Jennifer Esquivel-Parker & Janice Dils

GreenFest, presented by Associated Students and the Enviro-Business Society, is a series of events and initiatives, which encourage, celebrate, and advocate for sustainability, SDSU Pride, and diversity. The purpose of GreenFest is to engage the campus community through social and interactive programs in an effort to educate them on the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle and to promote sustainable practices. Here are is this year’s event lineup:

Still searching for that perfect way to tackle all of your New Year’s resolutions?  Whether you want to be more active, meet new people, or find opportunities to use the #optoutside hashtag, the Sweep Rowing class package at MBAC is the perfect option for people looking to make changes that are lasting and meaningful. Offered only three times a year, the upcoming Sweep Rowing series can kick your resolutions from ideas into action.

Starting February 4th, the series can be purchased as a package that includes Sweep Rowing Levels 1,2, and 3 and will save you up to $118!  At the end of the series of classes you should be ready to join one of the local area community rowing clubs.

Here’s five reasons signing up for MBAC’s Sweep Rowing classes will enhance your 2017:

• Rowing is a team sport. You will work together to grow as rowers and hold each other accountable.
• Once you get the swing of things you will really enjoy your workout on the water!
• At the end of this series of classes you will be ready to join one of the local community rowing clubs.
• Our pristine San Diego weather is the envy of rowing clubs all over the nation.  No frozen lakes or fingers here.
• Signing up for the package is an investment in YOU because you’re holding yourself accountable to your goals.

The next series of classes start in late spring, so don’t wait when you can start today!
Check out the schedule and register today at mbaquaticcenter.com/rowing.

Source: MBAC Newsletter

1. What is your name and title?
   Ben Moxley, ITS Systems Analyst
2. Which A.S. department do you work in?
   I.T. - I solve all the weird technical issues our users come across on a daily basis and of course, reset everyone's passwords.
3. How long have you worked for A.S.?
   3 Years while I was a student, 1 year as a contractor, and 1 year full time.
4. What was the last movie you saw? Thumbs up or thumbs down?
   Hacksaw Ridge, big thumbs up for a historical war movie that focuses on the story and not so much on explosions and big action scenes.  
5. If you won $5 million what would you do with it?
   If I won $5 million, I would invest $4 million and use the rest to take a trip around the world and buy a house. 
6. What is your favorite dessert?
   My favorite dessert is called Lai Wong Bao, they are these steamed custard filled buns that I had in Hong Kong.
7. What city would you most like to visit or visit again?
   I would love to go back to Hong Kong because there is so much to explore there and the food is amazing.
8. If you had one free hour each day, how would you use it? 
   I would use it to do some photography or make a short video.*
9. Would you rather build a sandcastle or a snowman?
   I would rather build a snowman. Ironically I hate the sand and grew up in the snow in Chicago loving the snow.
10. What is your favorite sports team or who is your favorite individual athlete?
    My favorite sports team is the Chicago Blackhawks because I grew up in Chicago and there is nothing like the intensity you can feel when at a hockey game.
11. What type of pets do you have and what are their names?
    I have a dog, named Appa, she is a Posky which is 50% Husky 50% Pomeranian.
12. Do you like to cook and what is your specialty?
    I love to cook and my specialty is homemade chicken potpie with a super flaky crust.
13. If you could go back or forward in time, where would you go? And why?
    I would go back in time to medieval times, because it is the closest thing to living in “Game of Thrones.”
14. “Most people don’t know that I like to…”
    Produce videos on the weekend I love making short films or just being creative.*
15. If you could have a superhero power what would it be? And why?
    I would love to be able to control a computer with my mind. It would make my job a whole lot easier if I could fix problems by just thinking about it.

*Ben won two Emmy awards for directing and co-editing the documentary film “Of Beaches and Beer.” KPBS bought a full season TV shows based on the film, “Kings of the Craft.” One of the episodes won an Emmy for cinematography.

Congratulations Ben!

“Kings of the Craft” can be found on PBS at http://www.pbs.org/show/kings-craft or on the PBS player for streaming devices. It will also be coming soon to Netflix.

It is Basketball Season and here are the upcoming Aztec Women’s and Men’s home games:

For game details and ticket information, visit goaztecs.com