ASWU VP of Student Life Crystal Sims: Creating the Right Buzz on Campus

Remember that music festival or food run on campus the other weekend? There’s an extremely good chance that Crystal Sims helped bring it to life.

Crystal, a psychology major, is the Associated Students of Woodbury University’s Vice President of Student Life and – apropos of her chosen field – is fascinated with learning about why people do the things they do.

“As VP of Student Life and Chair of the Campus Activities Board, my goal is to have the Board serve as an open platform for all organizations on campus to collaborate, to enhance their events and to get more participation from the whole campus,” she says. “It’s my job to hire, train and oversee a team for the academic school year as we plan and execute events ranging from small scale to large — bi-weekly events, club events, food runs, music festivals and more. There are so many opportunities here with organizations and leadership. I’ve personally joined just about every organization I was qualified for and have grown so much professionally from them.”

Now a senior, Crystal says she always knew she wanted to help people professionally but, prior to coming to Woodbury, didn’t quite know how to make that happen. An Introduction to Counseling course last year helped her refine her career path. “The university has pointed me in the right direction,” she says. “The professor gave real-life examples, since she has her own private practice, and that made the class so much more interesting.” Crystal has set her sights on obtaining a master’s in marriage and family therapy.

“Working at the phone-a-thon during my freshman year, and talking to different kinds of alums who’ve had diverse careers and views about the university, set the standard for the bulk of my time at Woodbury,” she says. “I’ve been able to improve my opportunities by enlisting the knowledge and experience of others, and then tailoring that to what Woodbury has to offer. As VP of Student Life, I really do see ASWU as a resource to better people’s mental health.”