Kaylee Law, a Council member for Walnut, CA, held a Q&A with the Asian and Pacific Islander Student Union Club at Riverside City College. This event was held Wednesday May 28 at Art 102. She gave insight into her upbringing, her motivations for council work and how she has achieved many of her goals, despite only being 20 years of age.
When asked why Law was invited, APSU co-advisor Nancy Carranza stated that she thought of Law as relatable, given that the council member was at the age range as the students.
APSU Secretary Yehazel Barrientos corroborated his co-advisor’s comments, saying that he was “in awe” of Law’s success as a council member.
Law started with questions about what sparked her interest in becoming a public servant. She shared that she was always interested in nonprofits and charities and even was a part of the board of directors of the Chinese American Association of Walnut.
“In both of those positions, I worked a lot with high school leaders and getting volunteers for all of our events, as well as event planning,” she said. “So, I think through that, I got to meet a lot of members of the community. And then I’ve always had a really strong interest in law and the legal field. So that sort of coincided.”
According to the promotional sheet for the event, Law started her academic roadmap at 13 years old, attending Mt. San Antonio College. She graduated at 16, with three associate degrees in political science, history and language arts.
She proceeded to get her bachelor’s degree in government, with an emphasis in legal studies attending Grand Canyon University, and recently graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a master’s in government. One attendee asked how she is comfortable speaking up despite being much younger than her councilmates.
“When we have public comment, it’s just something I try to keep in mind,” she said. “We were all elected, we all have a seat at the table and if I don’t use my voice having that seat at the table, then I feel like I owe it to everyone who elected me to speak up about whatever the concern or issue is.”
Law noted that within the struggles of the age disparity between her and her councilmates, they all get along very well. She often reminds herself that her service is for the residents, and that the council should always work together and never fight about how to solve certain issues.
Law gave credit to Congresswoman Young Kim for helping her get comfortable with the experience of being involved in her local government.
“Being in her office and just talking with constituents, attending events on her behalf was really, really important to me,” she said.
Law emphasized that being in that environment has helped her become the person she is today.
Law’s main motivation for pursuing government was that she wanted to do better for her community.
“I did run on public safety, protecting green space. We have a lot of trails in the city, and a lot of parks which require substantial financial upkeep.” Law said. “So just being able to maintain and improve the quality of life that we have, I think that was sort of the basis of it.”
Kaylee Law gave the club some motivation at the end of the session to pursue their passions in their college journeys, and encouraged them to always make their voice along the way.
“Doing something and making sure that your voice is heard is better than regretting not doing anything at all.”
