At Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Police Specialist Nidal Kobaissi was honored for his accomplishments as president of GCC’s California School Employees Association (CSEA). Kobaissi will be stepping down from his position after nearly three years of service.

According to Kobaissi, before he stepped in as president, GCC went through some tough times. The budget and layoffs were major concerns, but eventually things smoothed out.

“I tried to make the best out of things,” said Kobaissi. “We [GCC] kind of carried through and things are looking a lot brighter.”
A former student of GCC, Kobaissi understands the students’ point of view. He believes that if the faculty does not work well together, the students do not get what they are paying for.
Saodat Aziskhanova, who was the former vice-president for the employees association, will be taking over the role of CSEA president.

During the trustees meeting, Aziskhanova presented Kobaissi with a plaque and a light saber to “help him on the other side.”
“I think he [Kobaissi] was an outstanding leader,” said Aziskhanova. “He did change a lot of things at CSEA.”

Aziskhanova credits Kobaissi for helping make the classified employees an integral part of the campus community.

Both Kobaissi and Aziskhanova worked closely on the CSEA, respectively as president and vice-president. Kobaissi has no doubt that Aziskhanova will do a great job carrying out her duties as president.

“She’s been with me the whole time [and] we think along the same lines,” said Kobaissi. “She’s very passionate about what she does and she’s very good about what she does. She’s going to get all of my support and I know everybody is going to want to support her.”
Kobaissi will now re-focus his undivided attention to his career in the police department.