Young and in charge, newly elected associated student senate president Emily Harrington, is ready to take the lead and eager to begin helping students at City College.

Harrington, a political science major, is a 16-year-old Santa Barbara native. She enrolled full-time at City College at the beginning of this semester through a Special Student Status Petition.

Prior to enrolling at City College, Harrington attended Bishop Diego High School, a private Catholic school in Santa Barbara.

“I wanted to pursue a more rigorous academic career,” said Harrington. “Right away I wanted to make the most of what’s available at City College.”

Harrington was accepted into the Honors Program and a month and a half after enrolling she became a student senator.

“Being a political science major, I wanted to be able to contribute to decisions that govern it (City College),” Harrington said. “It (student senate) sounded like a perfect match.”

Harrington was quick to act on her role as a senator, attending various meetings, conferences, and even becoming Vice Chair of Region 6, a monthly gathering where representatives from all the community colleges in the region meet.

However, when she first became a senator, the thought of one day being senate president rarely crossed her mind, until around the time of elections.

“Things just fell into place and presented themselves,” Harrington said.

She ran uncontested and will take the reign of the student senate this fall replacing Camila Avendano.

“I think she’ll be perfect for the job,” said current Vice President of external affairs, Mike Lin. “She’s outgoing, friendly, capable, open minded–she’ll be perfect.”

On her agenda for next year Harrington already has a plan of what she hopes to improve upon at City College.

The list includes “to put an emphasis on shared governance,” lowering text book prices, and even relocating smoking areas.

“I want to relocate them to areas where there isn’t much foot traffic,” she said.

Harrington added that smoking spots have become a health hazard on campus especially to people with asthma and lung problems.

She went on to say that she hopes to increase the visibility of the student senate on campus, as well as other school clubs through power points shown at orientation.

However, despite all her ideas, Harrington is aware that there will be some challenges she must overcome, but she is ready to take them on.

“The biggest challenge is that I’m 16,” Harrington said. But she is confident that she can overcome that and eager to prove that she is capable of being president.

Another issue she will attempt to tackle is getting her fellow students involved and aware of what’s available to them on campus.

Despite the obvious obstacles, T.K. Erickson, student senate advisor, has complete faith in Harrington.

“She has a lot of potential. She has a lot of leadership skills,” Erickson said. “She’ll really be able to bring senate up a notch.”

To top off her accomplishment of being student senate president, Harrington also maintains good grades. She plans to transfer to a UC and one day work in politics and law.

In her free time Harrington said she enjoys reading and writing.

“I really love writing,” she said. “The process of trying to put your thoughts on paper is really fulfilling.”

She wants people at City College to know that she is a down to earth person who really cares about the voice of the students.

“I’m a good listener. I like hearing other people’s stories,” she said. “I’m somebody you can talk to. I want decisions to be made that are at the best interest of the students.”