Mariah Carillo / Daily Titan
Rohullah Latif woke up at 6 o’clock every morning for weeks, dressed in a full business suit, and began his day.
He spent his entire day talking with students, planning a campaign and preparing to become Cal State Fullerton’s next Associate Students Inc. president.
After a stress-filled tiebreaker re-vote, Latif, 22, and his vice president, Jonathan Leggett, won the ASI presidency.
“Sorry, I’m a little sick,” said Latif. “The election really took a toll on me,” he laughed.
Latif said over the course of the four-week election process, he lost about 10 pounds and went to bed every night with sore feet from walking around campus, talking with students all day.
“We would be the first ones in and the last ones out,” Latif, a mechanical engineering and philosophy double major, said. “That was just the whole mentality during the election. You’ve just gotta keep going.”
Standing by his side throughout the election was Leggett, 21, an economics major, who said he believes this year is going to be one students will remember for years to come.
“I’m very confident that we’re going to do an excellent job this year. I think that we’re going to have a legacy year. He (Latif) has that kind of drive,” said Leggett. “That’s one thing that’s really stuck with me, that motivates me, to have that same drive.”
Latif said winning this election isn’t the the first time he’s held a leadership position.
In high school, Latif became captain of the police explorers program and was student body president during his senior year.
“It all started when I ran for senior president,” Latif said. “Ever since then I was like, ‘You don’t need to be popular, you don’t need to be anything like that as long as you have a good head on your shoulders and you know what you want, people will believe in you.’”
He recalled that he was up against a student who had held positions as freshman, sophomore and junior class president, but that didn’t stop Latif from trying.
“There’s two types of leaders,” Latif said. “This is cliché, but there’s usually that leader that’s born to lead and then there’s the one that works his way up … I’ve worked a lot.”
For Latif, the road to becoming the next CSUF student representative was one fraught with uphill battles.
Eleven years ago, Latif, his three sisters and their single mother moved to Oregon from Afghanistan.
He didn’t speak a word of English and they had no family or support system there.
Latif said he and his family moved to California shortly after that because his aunt lived close by.
Unable to speak the language, Latif said he faced criticism from other students growing up, but the difficulties that he has encountered because of his culture have ultimately made him a stronger person.
“Growing up in a Third World country, moving to the United States, I’ve been able to see things in a different perspective,” Latif said.
Latif said the culture shock he and his family experienced upon moving to the United States has helped him transform into a more relatable leader by allowing him to see different lifestyles and ways of thinking.
Rather than trying to hide his heritage, Latif said he has always embraced it and used the experiences to help him in his life endeavors.
“I would never be ashamed of where I’m from,” Latif said. “I would just say Afghanistan. This is who I am and it’s helped me. It made me a stronger person. It’s made me a stronger leader as well.”
Latif plans to go to law school after graduating next year, where he hopes to study patent law. He said eventually he hopes to own his own company.
For now though, Latif expects his position as ASI president to be a full-time job. He said he will be resigning from his position as a loss prevention detective at Sears.
“This is where I can make the most change. Typically you don’t need a title and I believe in that, that I don’t even need a title to do anything, but in this type of position with all the ideas Jonny and I have (we can make) a final impact on this campus,” Latif said.