What is your Student Government experience?
Besides being President of the Susan B. Anthony Hall Council freshman year, and Vice-President of the 2013 class council these past two years, this year was my first in student government. I sat on Senate, the Policy & Review Committee, and the Joint Committee on Security (the committee responsible for the new Safe Rides program). Even though I may not have the most experience in student government, I have been very active on campus these past three years and I believe those experiences give me very different and positive insight into the President position.
What are your goals for your term?
As President, I have several goals. I wish to make this campus more inclusive such that all students feel comfortable, safe and included. I understand this will not happen in one year, but hopefully we can make progress towards that goal. Additionally, I wish to continue increasing measures of transparency between the administration, student government, and students. I believe that as important as it is to ensure that all students are made aware of what the administration and student government are doing, the administration and student government should also be able to hear and understand the concerns of students. This means that I will be very focused on increasing avenues through which students can voice their concerns to the student government. For more information about specific goals of mine, please check out www.meliora2012.com
What are you most excited about as President?
Board of Trustees meetings. Haha, I’m only kidding. I am actually most excited about the new SA collaboration coordinator position. As described above in my goals, I really wish to make this campus more inclusive. Working with Alina (Vice President), the two collaboration coordinators and several other individuals and groups in and out of student government, do I hope to tackle this goal. These coordinators will be charged with the task of bringing very different student groups together in hopes of fostering connections between students of different cultures, ideology, gender, etc. I am very excited to see what progress can be made!
Why did you decide to run for President?
I ran for President after being encouraged by several of my peers and administrators. That encouragement caused me to look into the position and see if it was really something that I wanted to do. I believe that it will be an incredible experience, which will allow me to be a resource for others, as well as help me grow as a person and a leader.
How do you plan to bridge the gap between the students and administration?
I briefly touched upon this question earlier, but I understand that students have several concerns, which they would like heard and addressed by the administration. My plan for that is to increase lines of communication to the Senate, Alina and myself, which can then be relayed to the administration. This will be one of the goals of the Communications & Public Relations Committee for this semester. As the direct connection between the administration and the student body I plan on being very vocal, but respectful in trying to address the concerns of my peers.
Do you have any concerns about being President?
My biggest concern with being President is definitely my lack of experience. But, I know that I will be surrounded by a strong team of other student leaders and administrators who will be there to help out if I ever need it. I am absolutely not afraid to ask for help. If there is ever something that I do not know, I am confident when I say that I at least know someone who would know that something. Individually I may not know nearly everything, but collectively with other students, alumni and administrators, we do know nearly everything.