The man behind AS: Will Tate

Often seen on campus in an ironed button down, slacks, and a wide smile, Will Tate is an influential member on campus. He is the current Associated Students (AS) President and has a far reaching network of community involvements, including Black Student Union (BSU), InterVarsity, Pancake: Serving up Hope, and Search. Defining much of the positions held by Tate and the passions behind them, are the values developed in his childhood.

Tate is a fifth-year undergraduate pursuing a double major in theology and accounting as a first-generation college student.

“I will be the first in my family to graduate from college,” Tate said. “Whether that be cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, or siblings. I will be the first.”

To Will this is a position of privilege, which he met with thankfulness and a sense of obligation.

Originally from Oceanside, Cal., Tate appreciates his hometown and attributed much of who he is to it. Tate stated Oceanside was a place of some hardship with family difficulties as well as negative social pressures, from which he claimed to have learned grit and resilience.

Despite these obstacles, Tate described the most important aspect of his Oceanside community was the support he received, especially in his pursuit of college.

“A lot of those who encouraged me were my teachers, mentors, coaches, security guards, and my friends’ families,” Tate said. “Somehow they were like, ‘Will, you gotta be the first in your family to go to college … you ought to go to college.’”
Community support was not all that drove Tate — personal drive was also a major factor.

“I wanted something different,” Tate said. “I wanted to be an example for my little brother, family, and community back home. I wanted to know what is it like to want to provide for your family or give back to your family, make a better life for your family.”

With this strong community support and personal passion, Tate went on to be accepted into 13 of the 15 colleges he applied to his senior year of high school. Tate also became a Gates Millennium Scholar, which gave him full funding of any university degree up to a Ph.D.

From this Tate developed a strong sense of duty as he entered USD.

“I have always tried, not just (to) pay God back with all that he has bless(ed) me with, but to have an obligation to pay back humanity for investing in me,” Tate said.

Tate has taken these tasks in full stride. He has done so by involving himself in various communities at USD.

“I spend more time in extracurriculars than I spend in my studies,” Tate said. “Because I feel like there are experiences and flesh wounds that I have been healing for myself, and people around me are experiencing the same thing. I want to help them now.”

Tate learned about Associated Students during his third year, after being chosen to be President for a Day with President Harris. He went on to become an AS senator his fourth year, and along the way learned of the positive impact AS could have on students.

Supplementing Tate’s already brewing interest in the AS President position was his previously developed sense of duty to live up to the expectations of his Gates Millennium Scholarship.

“I felt like I was not utilizing my scholarship to the best of my ability,” Tate said. “Even being a black, Mexican, Filipino from a low-income first generation background, I have certain privileges in college.”

Will Tate volunteering at Pancakes: Serving up Hope, an organization that serves pancakes to the homeless community in San Diego. Photo courtesy of Will Tate.

Tate hopes to use this privilege to give voice to the needs of the underprivileged students at USD.

AS Vice President Shannan Conlon, who has been involved in AS for the past three years, echoed this gung-ho presence Tate brings.

“He is definitely a dreamer,” Conlon said. “He has lot of goals and had so much he wanted to do. Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean it’s going to come into fruition in the next couple of months.”

He spoke of his ability to talk to administrators at USD. Once Tate recognized this skill could be used well in the position of AS President, he knew he wanted to run.

“I wanted to be AS president because I felt I could translate things for people,” Tate said. “There is this code switch stuff. I felt like I could take on this position and advocate for my people because I was pretty good at talking code.”

After winning the election, Tate sought out advice from the previous black AS president and worked the majority of the summer to get ready for the coming year.

This year, as AS President, Tate focused his time on bridging communities at USD, advocating for the Linda Vista community, and creating opportunities to lower costs for students. His biggest challenge was figuring out all the difficulties of moving initiatives forward.

“This year I have had a lot of humbling,” Tate said. “I am so used to getting things done without asking for permission. There is a process and precedence. I just wanted to get things done, but people would ask why I wanted to get those things done.”

Tate emphasized the importance of building a close-knit executive team that supported each other, as well as the importance of using student data to push initiatives forward.

Joshua Coyne, assistant director for Associated Students, who has worked with four AS presidents in his three years at USD, commented on Tate’s style of leadership.

“In the past, AS presidents have wanted to take on a task start to finish,” Coyne said. “But Will empowers others to work alongside him to get what he wants done. He has taken the organization to a whole new level.”

Tate was content with the initiatives he started and reinforced, but more than that, he was proud of the new interaction he saw students having with AS.

“What is more important to me are the relationships that have been established,” Tate said.

In many ways, this desire for relationships links back to the beginning of Tate’s own story: one of a supportive community that encouraged him to where he is today.

Although Tate prioritizes relationships, some students struggle approaching him. Senior Gabriella Sardina shared her thoughts on Tate.

“He holds himself to such a professional standard,” said Sardina. “I think it is a pressure we put on him, but I sometimes wish he would be a little more personable.”

As this year comes to an end, Tate wishes to pass on the connections he has made and lessons he has learned to the next AS President. Tate stated he is personally thankful for what he has experienced at USD and hopes to apply it to his future experiences.

“Overall, USD has connected me to so many different people who share my desire to love and understand people,” Tate said. “I have grown so much in compassion and understanding. Now my biggest challenge is how will I do that in my next chapter.”

Although Tate will graduate this May, he is continuing his education at USD, pursuing his Masters in Accounting with a non-profit certificate.