El Camino College student Giancarlo Fernandez was awarded the Advocate Award by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce

Giancarlo Fernandez, president of the Associated Students Organization (ASO) for the 2020-2021 academic year, was awarded at the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce “Elevate, Educate and Celebrate Diversity” Awards on May 19 at 8:30 a.m. via Zoom.

Fernandez is a third-year student who studies political science and history who will be transferring to the University of California, Berkeley in fall 2021.

He leads student organizations in designing and hosting student-led and faculty-supported events encouraging difficult dialogue on issues of equity through the Student Empowerment Dialogue Series as the Inter-Club Council Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Student Equity Advisory Council Co-Chair.

“What I realized is that a lot of hard work, a lot of understanding and care for others [was] very important,” Fernandez said. “On a platform that we believed would be best [to] serve our student body’s advocacy, [due also to] staying engaged and thanks to those who voted for us, I was able to become a president.”

Makayla Propst, vice president of ASO for the 2020-21 school year, joined the council with Fernandez and worked alongside him.

“Well, I along with him since summer 2019, we worked together ASO, student ambassador, council,” Makayla said. “Something unique about him is he is ready and willing to help anybody, [and will] just sit there [giving] them all of the information that he has or anything he can just to help them out.”

Gregory Toya, director of student development, said that Fernandez has a strong work ethic, especially when it comes to advocacy.

“[Fernadez] has contributed strongly to [ASO] for years now,” Toya said. “He has done a wonderful job with the foundation to the developed social justice center, he is really respected by his peers, [fellow] students, [college] employees and administration.”

Fernandez said he wasn’t the type of high school student who would go on to become a college president. He was, “average,” he said.

“When I was a college student [at first] I was told, ‘You should more get involved,’ Fernandez said.

Looking back on his high school years, Fernandez believes that he should have been more involved and experienced more to be successful.

After he graduates from El Camino College, Fernandez wants to use what he learned at ECC and his experience as an Advocate Award winner in his future at UC Berkeley.

“I am very passionate about helping others,” Fernandez said. “Especially, [with] Sacramento being such a wealth of opportunity [for] government internships and fellowships, the reason why this is so important for me is that I hope and aspire to work in the government and become a lawyer.”