About the Board:
U in the Driver Seat (UDS) is a peer-to-peer safety program for college students. The goal of UDS is to raise awareness of driving impaired and prevent crashes involving college students. The program provides resources, information, and materials to empower young adults to spread the word among their friends and peers about the deadly act of driving impaired and encourage them to make smart choices and stay safe. UDS can only succeed with the involvement and commitment of college students, who are represented by the U in the Driver Seat Collegiate Advisory Board (CAB).
2022 – 2023 Collegiate Advisory Board (CAB) members
Annalisa Perales
Texas A&M Kingsville
Counseling Psychology
Annalisa is a grad student who has previously worked with the UDS program during the 2022 UDS Symposium and the 2023 YTS Summit as a Peer Educator member. She is currently the president of the Unity organization on her campus which includes hosting socialization and mental health wellness discussions and talks.
Her main goal this year is to help educate peers on her campus about safe driving, especially in a college town known for popular tailgates, primarily highlighting impaired driving and substance abuse.
Karla Garcia
University of Texas at Austin
International Relations and Global Studies
Karla is a freshman. In high school she was part of the Student Class officers as the Parliamentarian, President of Spanish Club, and a member of the student council. As President of Spanish Club I organized the Hispanic Heritage Month and Cinco de Mayo celebrations.
In the past, Karla has attended the UDS Symposium as support staff. She looks forward to being a part of UDS and helping engage youth participation through more relevant means of media.
Esmeralda Gutierrez
Texas A&M Kingsville
Business Administration
Esmeralda is a graduate student who has been involved with U in the Driver Seat since 2016. This marks her fifth year on the CAB, and she is also involved with PEP Talk, a peer-educator program, and the Financial Management Association on her campus. She has many years of experience promoting traffic safety outreach and connecting with her peers.
One of her goals this year is to increase student knowledge and awareness of pedestrian safety as well as formulate an action plan to decrease the number of traffic issues on university campuses.
Randy Harper
South Plains College
Nursing
Randy is currently a sophomore and part of South Plains College Honor Guard. He was also a member of the Lubbock Police Department Explorer Post, which gave him knowledge and insight into becoming a police officer. This is his second year on the CAB.
Randy has personally lost friends to impaired and distracted driving. His goals are to bring awareness to my fellow students about preventable incidents, educate himself and others about driving safely, and creating more interactive activities for students to use in their outreach.
Lucas Ransen
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Civil Engineering
Lucas is currently a sophomore. In high school, he was a Teen Advisory Board member for Teens in the Driver Seat and a TDS member since middle school. This is his second year with the CAB.
One of Lucas’s goals is to help expand the UDS program to other states and regions, primarily on his campus this year.
Eber Silva
South Plains College
Political Science
Eber is currently a senior. This year marks his third year with the CAB. He attended and participated in the 2023 YTS Summit earlier this year, where he gave a very informative and thoughtful interview to the media covering the event.
One of Eber’s goals this year is to host a speaker who can talk about the dangers of drinking and driving or doing drugs and plans to utilize the U in the Driver Seat toolkit at events on campus.
Check out past boards:
2022-2023 Collegiate Advisory Board
2021-2022 Collegiate Advisory Board
2020-2021 Collegiate Advisory Board
2019-2020 Collegiate Advisory Board
2018-2019 Collegiate Advisory Board
2017-2018 Collegiate Advisory Board
2016-2017 Collegiate Advisory Board
2014 – 2015 Collegiate Advisory Board
2015-2016 Collegiate Advisory Board
2016-2017 Collegiate Advisory Board