Raynes, a computer science and business major, has held several student leadership positions from 2018 to 2020, including interim vice president of legislative affairs, vice president of university affairs, and director of legislative affairs for Associated Students Inc. She was social justice and equity officer with the California State Student Association from 2019 to 2020. Raynes was an intern at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities in the United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, in 2019.
“The 490,0000 students in the CSU are lucky to have someone like her advocating for them,” said Ilaria Pesco, assistant vice president Student Success/Student Affairs and executive director, Associated Students Inc. Pesco has worked with Raynes since her freshman year, when Raynes applied for a position with ASI in legislative affairs.
“Krystal shares the story of many of our students. She’s a woman of color. She’s been food and housing insecure. She knows what it’s like to be a student today, in the 21st century, in the CSU. She is who we say we want to educate. We are a better institution for students like Krystal being here.
Raynes’ family came to the United States from the Philippines during the Reagan administration, but Raynes was born at Mercy Southwest, “right across from CSUB.” She graduated from Independence High in Bakersfield in 2017. Her three older brothers all returned to the Philippines for their college education.
“I knew I could go to the Philippines for college but decided I would be the first person in my family to go to an American college. I got accepted to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for computer science. I called financial aid and asked if there was a way I could graduate without debt, and they said no way. I applied to CSUB at the last minute and was so thankful to the admissions office for allowing me to do that.”