Aydin-Kane Vo, a first-year doctoral student studying biomedical engineering at ASU, serves as a student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents. He was appointed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on April 24, 2026, and his term began on July 1.
The Arizona Board of Regents is the governing body over Arizona's public universities, including ASU, NAU and UA. It bridges the gap between government, university leadership and students.
Two student regents serve on the board. Felipe Garcia, the second year from UA, works closely with Arizona's college students and votes on action items and board business. Vo, the first year, shadows Garcia and meets regularly with students, but cannot vote.
Vo said the two student regents represent and advocate for students' needs by building connections with the student governments at the three universities and their constituents, the students.
They take student feedback and use it to inform their decisions on education-related legislation, Vo said. The student regents speak with students about the services they provide such as, "mental health counseling, basic needs, supporting experiential learning, things like that," and bring that feedback to the board to inform future decisions.
During his undergraduate years, Vo served as a senator and chair of the Government Operations Committee for Undergraduate Student Government Tempe. Through these roles, Vo said he gained experience working with student leaders and former student regent David Zaragoza, which prepared him to apply for the position.
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Vo said he is particularly interested in having peer-to-peer conversations with students about mental health and the resources they need from their college. He aims to support professional development by leveraging the state's network and incentivizing research, as well as address the healthcare workforce gap in Arizona.
By the end of his term, Vo said he plans to implement a report that tracks progress toward mental health resource usage, career development and other basic needs being met.
"I'd really like to have this as a solid deliverable to not just the students or to university leadership or the board, but also to the general public," Vo said. "It's kind of like a snapshot of what our students are doing, but then also the main things that they are looking for and ways that we want to improve the student experience."
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In a letter to the Sun Devil community, Vo and Garcia encouraged students to take advantage of campus resources, work hard in their classes and make the most of campus life. The letter's goal was to build connections and trust between students, the University administration and ABOR, Vo said.
This document is a welcome letter from Aydin-Kane Vo. It was obtained by the State Press on September 1, 2026.
"If they know that they're supported, I think that'll make them more open to being more communicative to us," Vo said. "Keeping in touch in that way, as frequently as we can, will drive the most improvement."
Vo said students are welcome to reach out to him directly with feedback, as well as use the ABOR contact page.
Edited by Emilio Alvarado, Carsten Oyer and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at sevoorhe@asu.edu and @sydneyontheair on Instagram.
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Sydney Voorhees is a Senior Reporter at The State Press. She is also an intern at Arizona PBS and a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity. This is her second semester with The State Press, working previously as a part-time Sci-Tech reporter.
