Cypress College Student Leader Appointed to California Community Colleges’ Board of Governors
California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Cypress College Political Science student Love Adu to serve on the state’s highest governing body for providing guidance and policy for its community colleges.
Adu recently participated in her first meeting as a member of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors on January 14, 2025. She plans to focus on educational equity, increasing civic and campus engagement, and increasing access to resources for students.
“Being entrusted to represent Cypress College on such a large scale is a huge commitment and a huge honor,” Adu said. “And it’s something I don’t take lightly, and I hope to take it with me to the board. I hope to take it [with] me even after I leave Cypress.”
Adu has been an active and engaged student while at Cypress College. She is currently the Vice President of Public Relations for the Associated Students of Cypress College and previously served as a senator. She has also held the role of publicist for the Cypress College Honors Program, co-founder of the Politics and Policy Club at Cypress College, and a peer tutor.
She has also been a policy researcher at Diversify our Narrative since 2024, and a civic representative at DoSomething.org and poll monitor and misinformation captain at Common Cause since 2023. She also previously served as the voters’ choice act ambassador for California Secretary of State. Before Cypress, she served as a social media intern for California Senator Tom Umberg in 2021.
Within her community, she currently serves as a board member of the League of Women Voters for the North Orange County Chapter and is a member of the Student Senate of California Community Colleges, youth advisory board member at The Representation Project Member of the GLSEN National Student Council, and partner at the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition.
It is stunning to read all Adu’s titles and then learn that she is only 17 years old – not yet old enough to vote. Her diverse experiences, she said, have shaped her approach to leadership and advocacy, encouraging her to focus on representing diverse perspectives, being an active listener, and leading with heart.
“All of my roles here at Cypress have very deeply shaped my approach to leadership and advocacy, mostly by teaching me a lot about empathy, adaptability, communication, and collaboration, and what roles those play in empowering others around you,” Adu said. “All of these roles, in one way or another, taught me that you need to learn and grow as a person if you want to achieve your goals.”
She points to Cypress College itself as deeply influential to her interest in advocacy.
“Prior to attending Cypress, I had never really considered majoring in political science,” Adu said. “I was a very STEM-oriented person. I was going to do biochemistry so I could be a doctor. But after going to Cypress, I completely did a 180.”
English Professor Melanie Nabahani serves as a faculty mentor and English Department liaison for the Cypress Writing Center (CWC), where Adu worked as a peer tutor. Nabahani also had Adu in her Honors Critical Analysis and Literature class last semester. She said Adu is an “outstanding student” who never failed to go above and beyond to help others.
“Love consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication, and a deep commitment to community service,” Nabahani said. “Her dedication to helping others, her leadership, and her commitment to academic excellence were evident in every interaction I had the pleasure of observing in the CWC.”
Adu said she is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent students and advocate for the 2.1 million California Community College students and pointed to the level of support she has received from her college community as an essential part of her success and motivation.
“I am forever grateful to Cypress College, the faculty, staff, administration, and, most importantly, my fellow students for shaping me into the person I am today,” she said. “And this community has given me the tools and the opportunities and the confidence to pursue what I want to do in life. And I will always carry that with me. I just want to say thank you all for being such an integral part of my journey and believing in me.”