“ It’s the reason I am me,” Larson said. “That program really formed me to be a leader and to follow through on my commitments. It really makes you more confident. You get discipline in your life. They try to promote you and commend the positive things you’re doing.”

        For three years Larson was among 3,000 other young Explorer volunteers providing community service and support to the Newport Beach Police Department. As part of her duties, she often would rise at 4 or 5 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday morning to direct traffic and provide assistance at community events like the Race for the Cure and the March of Dimes fundraising event.

        “ You really are benefiting the community,” she said. “The experience really shaped me and made me want to make a difference in the community. I just can’t say enough about that program.”

        Now, all grown up and about to turn 20 years old on July 9, Larson is continuing to make a difference. Her latest assignment is representing 60,000 community college students as the student member of the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees.

        Larson, who begins her second year at Orange Coast College in the fall, was selected in May to serve as the 2004-05 student trustee by the district-wide student council. The council includes three student representatives from each of the three colleges in the District – Coastline Community College, Golden West College and Orange Coast College.

        Among her duties as student trustee, Larson will meet with the district student council on a monthly basis to discuss student issues to bring before the board. Though the student trustee is a non-voting member of the board, Larson has all other rights and privileges of a trustee, including the ability to make and second motions and engage in discussions. Larson will serve a one-year term, ending in May 2005.

        Larson lives in Newport Beach with her mother, Valerie, and her 13-year-old sister, Jennifer. As a graduating senior at Corona del Mar High School in 2003, she was the recipient of the OCC Emerging Leader Award, an award given to six high school seniors each year for excellent leadership skills and service.

        Graduating from high school with more than 600 hours of community service on the books may have had something to do with her receiving that award. In addition to the Explorers, Larson has participated in numerous community service activities, including volunteering at Mariners Church, representing Swedish American youth in Southern California through the Vasa District Lodge, and participating in a Swedish folk dancing group. At OCC, she is a member of the OCC Extended Opportunity Programs & Services (EOPS) Honors Club and the Outdoor Adventure Club.

        Larson also finds time between community activities to pursue her academic goals. At OCC, she is working towards a double major in communications and public relations and advertising. When she has completed her course work at OCC, she plans to transfer to Chapman University in Orange, so that she can continue her education and remain in Orange County.

        During her first year at OCC, Larson also got involved in student government. She said the experiences co-chairing the scholarship committee and serving on the ASOCC budget committee were different than anything she has ever done before. As a student leader at a college, she had the sense that she was truly making decisions that would affect the lives of other students.

        “ We made decisions on a budget that was more than three-quarters of a million dollars!” she said. “As students, we really were in control. And we were actually helping people.”

        Larson says she became interested in serving as the District Student Trustee because she wanted to have an impact on student life throughout the District.

        “ This is an opportunity to have the colleges come together to make things happen for students,” Larson said. “There are things we can do that can really benefit students.”
In addition, Larson, who was officially sworn in to her new role on June 16, is enjoying serving in this new leadership role as an adult.

        “ I’m really excited about doing this job,” she said. “It’s a neat experience. Having adults listen to someone who is a teenager is something you don’t hear of very often.”

        The Coast Community College District is the seventh largest community college district in the nation in credit enrollment, serving 55,000 students each semester.  The district is comprised of Coastline Community College headquartered in Fountain Valley, Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, and KOCE-TV, the district’s public broadcasting station.

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