Cultivating an Engaged UCLA Anderson Community

Olivia LeVine (’25) was at a pivotal point in her career when she decided to pursue a technical path, joining a team that focused on creating mathematical models to forecast demand. Not long afterward, she realized her interests were drawn more to setting the strategic vision for the insights learned than to the modeling itself. “It was then I realized I wanted to pivot functions and industries so I could be more engaged, not only with the kind of work I was doing, but the products I was doing them for,” she says. LeVine became intrigued by the entertainment industry, as it got her much closer to the consumer than she had been while in tech.

“I really wanted my purpose to be cultivating belonging, and finding ways to bring people joy,” says LeVine, who is incoming president of the Anderson Student Association. “Anderson was a great choice because of its strength in the industry, desirable location and, most important, the culture. The one thing I couldn’t ‘read’ during the application process was who I was going to be spending the majority of my time with. But after the admitted students’ weekends, I was incredibly excited at the prospect of committing myself to growing with my Anderson classmates.”

What led you to participate in student government, and what role or position did you hold as a first-year student in the ASA?

In my first year I was the section VP and I held multiple other club leadership positions. I wanted to step up my contribution because when I thought about some of the most important moments when my leadership style was being formed and transformed, it was in those moments that I was serving my Anderson community.

What made you decide to seek the ASA president role?

I pursued the president’s role because it meant I would be able to focus the year on being a great point of contact in terms of feedback, and to use that to create a long-term vision. It helped give me insight into how Anderson runs so I could learn how to enact the change I wished to see. I also felt strongly about being a conduit of resources sitting on the student side of the table and making sure everyone had the best chance of finding their own success as a team.

I feel personally fulfilled when I’m able to make the Anderson experience even more impactful for my peers. I wanted to shift my perspective from being an individual contributor to creating success through others, and there was no greater chance to grow those skills than through this position.

What is the time commitment like?

The commitment really is a choose-your-own-adventure. The more energy you put in, the more you will get out. There would be no end to the time I could spend in this role, but I am focused on creating a list of priorities to help guide me to be more effective when I am balancing the many requests on my time.

What have you learned from your predecessor, Juhie Rathor (’24), by observing her work as ASA president?

Juhie is an incredible example of leading with integrity and compassion. She is wholly committed to representing the student body and making sure that their voice is heard. She is also incredible at perspective-taking and leaving no stone unturned to think creatively about achieving mutual success. She really elevated conversations among members, and helped people with different opinions try to work together for aligned goals.

What are some of your goals for ASA during your term?

My overarching goal is to cultivate an even more engaged campus community. We hope to focus our efforts on navigating our physical space to make it the most appealing place to be, create opportunities for leadership roles across our ASA community to achieve goals efficiently, and build the infrastructure to maintain our impact and traditions over a longer horizon. There is a very short window in which I can create change, so I am focused on creating processes and frameworks that will facilitate not only a better upcoming year, but better years for classes to come.