Miles Nevin walks his 6-year-old husky shepherd, Aiden, for an hour around El Dorado Park, along the San Gabriel River trail every morning. After that, he heads off to work at Long Beach State as the director of the university’s student government.
But as a teen, Nevin worked in construction over the summers with his father, driving on the 405 interstate from his home in Costa Mesa to Compton to pick up supplies and materials.
Nevin recalls looking out of the passenger window during those drives and seeing the top of the large blue Walter Pyramid. Since then, Nevin knew he had to attend CSULB.
The first in his family to go to college, Nevin graduated three times from CSULB. He received his bachelor’s in criminal justice, master’s in public administration and doctorate in educational leadership.
Now, he works at the University Student Union, the same building he once passed by as a student.
Nevin originally chose law enforcement as his major. However, through his involvement on campus, Nevin realized his true passion was in education.
“I was just passionate about education,” Nevin said. “I had a meaningful experience here.”
Nevin became involved in the campus community as an undergraduate. He was part of ASI, Delta Chi Fraternity, the Criminal Justice Student Association and worked at the 49er shops.
Working in ASI, Nevin held various titles such as commissioner for public relations, California State Student Association (CSSA) representative and secretary of academic affairs.
“Those student involvement experiences created a profound experience for me, and gave me the spark of interest to want to go into this industry,” Nevin said. “That is why I’m here today.”
Nevin gained experience as a higher education leader while working as the coordinator for Student Life and Development at CSULB, director for CSSA and chief of staff for the Long Beach City College president.
Now as the ASI director, Nevin is responsible for overseeing the management team in all the ASI facilities, services and programs. In addition, he is an advisor to the student senate.
“Dr. Nevin has given me great support with all of my goals for [the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics] and has directed me to many resources in order to develop myself as a leader,” said Shivam Srivastava, ASI senator for natural science and math.
Nevin works with the ASI president, Jesus Gonzalez, to support the student population on campus. Nevin has weekly meetings with the president to discuss how Gonzalez can best support his goals for ASI.
“If I am struggling on initiatives, Dr. Nevin provides his knowledge to develop strong initiatives,” Gonzalez said.
Nevin said his goal as director is multi-faceted. He ensures that ASI serves students by using funds in a sustainable manner for student activities, programs and events.
“I really have an eye towards business planning in the areas that are revenue-generating,” Nevin said. “It really is a keen eye of finance and responsible management and ensuring our students have what they need in terms of staff and program support.”