One man, 220,000 students. As Student Regent on the UC governing board, class of 2006 MVHS alumnus Jesse Cheng represents the interests of all the students in the UC system. After one year as a non-voting Student Regent-elect, Cheng is just beginning his one-year term as a voting regent for the 2010-2011 school year, a position that has never been held by an MVHS alumnus, despite the high percentage of graduating seniors who attend UC Schools (38 percent of the class of 2010).

The UC Regents are the 26-member board that governs the entire University of California. The Regents act much like the Board of Trustees does for the district, making decisions on almost everything that happens within the 10 schools, involving students, faculty, and the five medical centers.

"If you enroll in a UC, we decide what the tuition and class size is. If you work at a UC, we determine your retirement package," Cheng said. 

Unlike the student representative on the district board, however, the Student Regent is a full Regent, and has a vote in all decisions. 

As a non-voting member, Cheng was a part of the Regents as they discussed the 32 percent tuition increase last year, which he was against, a policy change that will affect both current and future UC students. Though he was unable to vote in that particular case, he will have a voice in upcoming issues, among them the issue of diversity and racism on UC campuses. In these sorts of situations, he tries to represent the view of the students, who often voice their opinions to him.

"I think it's a really interesting relationship [that I have] with the students this year," Cheng said. "I've worked really closely [with them], I've been to a lot of protests, I've been to a lot of rallies, so I think that the tension that would have been there maybe isn't as much as it would have been. I've gone to them, they talk to me."

Cheng was appointed after a rigourous selection process, which included submitting an application that was reviewed by all the UC student body presidents, several rounds of interviews,  and eventually being selected by the regents themselves.

It is a requirement for the UC Student Regent to be enrolled as a UC student, and Cheng is entering his fifth year at UC Irvine as an Asian-American studies major. He balances his time between his studies and his duties as a regent, which often require him to travel all over California.

"I'd say that a good Student Regent visits the UC Office of the President in Oakland at least once a month," Cheng said. "I also usually visit a different campus every month to meet with students, and then on top of that, we do a 10-campus tour every year.  There are also times where I'm visiting campuses to work with specific administrators or students, or responding to events or emergencies on the different campuses."              

Despite having graduated from MVHS four years ago, his AP Literature teacher David Clarke remembers Cheng as an opinionated and articulate student.                     

"I don't know if I would have predicted it," Clarke said, "but it doesn't surprise me at all. I had the impression he was one of those people who liked that sort of public speaking role."

At MVHS, Cheng was involved in Speech and Debate, which he sees as a great stepping stone into college-level politics. Cheng accredits his experience in Speech and Debate with developing many of his leadership skills. The majority of participants in collegeólevel politics came from public speaking rather than student government backgrounds.

"Leadership at MVHS is different [than in college]," Cheng said. "You do a lot of event planning. It's not like the student government in college."

Cheng highly suggests that any student interested in student government at a college level to join activities such as Speech and Debate that develop critical thinking and analytical skills. He encourages them to get started early, looking into possible opportunities and positions as early as the summer before freshman year.

"Know what change you want to make in the world," Cheng said. "Know your passions, know what type of leader you want to be."