Oprah, Michelle Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ellen Degeneres, Rosa Parks — those names ring a bell, right?
They are just a few of the world’s most influential and powerful women who show us all how to get it done.
Similarly, the female candidates for 2018-19 Temple Student Government are some impressive women that we can look up to on our own campus.
Venise Salcedo from UniteTU, Bridget Warlea from Voice TU, and Cameron Kaczor from IgniteTU are just three of the remarkable ladies competing for TSG positions this year. They might not be household names just yet — but, by the looks of it, one day, they might be.
Editor’s Note – Unite TU withdrew from the 2018 TSG race on April 2nd.
Cameron Kaczor
The Vice Presidential Candidate of External Affairs for IgniteTU is a sophomore psychology major with an education minor at Temple University. Here’s what she had to say:
Her Campus: What are your team’s main goals/values?
Kaczor: We really just want to enhance, amplify, and empower all aspects of Temple. We really want to emphasize the fact that we want to empower all students’ voices. This includes students in student orgs, but also students who aren’t in student orgs and students who just walk to class and live a normal life and aren’t really involved because we feel like those voices aren’t heard enough. So we really want to emphasize that we are here for all students, not just the students that are seen throughout campus.
Her Campus: Why did you personally decide to run?
Kaczor: I decided to run because I am currently in TSG right now as the secretary. But my position isn’t really initiative based, so I can’t really come up with initiatives to do on my own. So, I guess that really just made me realize that I wanted to do more. So, running and being on this ticket just really made me realize that there’s so much more that I could do for our school and so this is really the first step.
Her Campus:Why is it important for women to run for positions in organizations such as Temple Student Government?
Kaczor: I feel like a lot of women are — maybe not scared — but are kind of intimidated of being in a power role. Mostly, I would say that stems from the male just being so power hungry — and I feel like women feel that their opinions sometimes aren’t valued. Personally, I know that a lot of people might think like I’m running with two males and I’m the only female on my ticket. But I believe that you have to work with males, they don’t understand the female perspective… males aren’t better than females and females aren’t better than males, we need to work together to empower both genders.
Her Campus: What is your favorite part about being a Temple student?
Kaczor: I would say being in the city because being in the city, you have so many opportunities, there’s so many different people, different personalities, and you really learn a lot from being in the city. I’m from the suburbs, so this is a completely different atmosphere.
Her Campus: Favorite place to eat on campus?
Kaczor: Probably the Creperie.
Her Campus: If you could get dinner with anyone — dead or alive — who would it be and why/
Kaczor: Probably Michelle Obama, honestly. She’s such an icon. The conversation would never end I feel like.
Her Campus: Best Temple memory?
Kaczor: Honestly, my best Temple memory is joining student government. I feel like it’s opened the doors to so many different opportunities for me and it’s really made me see a different perspective of Temple University that otherwise wouldn’t be seen.
Bridget Warlea
The Vice Presidential Candidate of External Affairs for VoiceTU, is a junior legal studies major at Temple University. Here’s what she had to say:
Her Campus: What are your team’s main goals/values?
Warlea: Unite, grow, and advocate to uplift the voices of Temple University students and the North Philadelphia community.
Her Campus: Why did you personally decide to run?
Warlea: I’ve been very involved here at Temple. Since I started my freshman [year], I was in the Diamond Leadership program [and] several student organizations. I actually did have a little stunt in the Elections Commision — that’s actually how I got my first introduction to Temple Student Government. The following semester, I got involved in parliament as the Multicultural Representative and I loved it! I loved the idea of something new [and] of kind of creating it as I went. I feel like all of my experiences have really molded me into a person that can properly and effectively advocate for Temple students and then also bridge that gap between us and the North Philadelphia community.
Her Campus: Why is it important for women to run for positions in organizations such as Temple Student Government?
Warlea: It’s important for us to be at the table, particularly [for] women [or] people of color, [because] there’s so many kinds of conversations [to be had and] decisions being made that impact us in special and particular ways. So much, that, it’s important that we’re at the table when these conversations are being had. That’s why I think women and other marginalized groups should have a seat at the table, or at least access.
Her Campus: What is your favorite part about being a Temple student?
Warlea: I think being in Philadelphia and [that] people know where Temple is. The city has really appreciated seeing the work that Temple students and the university [have] done, and that’s another reason that I keep fighting to make it better. We have so much more potential [but] sometimes we veer off track. But, my favorite part is just the pride that I have walking into places — anywhere in the city — [with] people knowing the great education that I have [and] the commitment to service that I have just based off of the mission of Temple University.
Her Campus: Best place to study on campus?
Warlea: Rad Dish Cafe after 8 p.m. is so quiet. It’s just like a cute, quirky area. I like to study where nobody is around, you know, places that are not populated at all. I’d [also] say Alter Hall, like study rooms on the upper level floors are really nice as well. The SERC [is] another lowkey place that people don’t frequent.
Her Campus: What song would describe your college career thus far and why?
Warlea: “Keeps Getting Better” by Christina Aguilera. I would say I choose that just because it kind of describes the ups and downs that comes with college. Like, at the end of the day, I’m growing as a person, as a woman, as a student, as an advocate — and everything is getting better in the grander scheme of things. I’m also actively contributing to the university getting better [and] to the North Philly community getting better as well.
Her Campus: What is your favorite memory at Temple?
Warlea: Honestly, I would just say LeaderShape. Like the whole week of LeaderShape was probably my favorite Temple memory. I went at the end of my freshman year, so that was spring 2016. I feel like that was my official initiation into Temple University. I learned so much, I made so many great friends, and I left feeling so empowered and ready to be who I am. I found myself, so that was my favorite memory.
Venise Salcedo
The Vice Presidential Candidate of Services for UniteTU and a junior public health major at Temple. Here’s what she had to say:
Editor’s Note – Unite TU withdrew from the 2018 TSG race on April 2nd.
Her Campus: What are your team’s main goals/values?
Salcedo: Just going off of our name: uniting the student body. We want to accomplish that by support[ing] students, improving services, and increasing accountability with the higher-ups in our school.
Her Campus: Why did you personally decide to run?
Salcedo: It’s funny because I’m actually not part of student government [right now]! I’m a public health major. I’m on the masters track [and] I’m ultimately trying to be an epidemiologist. I’m also a Residence Assistant at 1300, the president of UNICEF on campus, [and] the advocacy chair for the American Cancer Society on campus. So, a really big component of everything I do, in terms of my major as well as curricular activities, is community engagement. That’s ultimately what I want to do as a career. And so, I believe that I have the empathy, the skills, and the knowledge to truly do that. As Vice President of Services, I think it really goes with what I’m already doing. I’m very passionate about creating an environment where everyone feels supported as well as improving our relationship with the North Philadelphia community. That’s ultimately what I aspire to do locally in our country, as well as globally because I’m very interested in that as well.
Her Campus: Why is it important for women to run for positions in organizations such as Temple Student Government?
Salcedo: I believe that it’s important just because that’s the world we live in — we need to be able to include male and female students. It’s important for every type of identity to be represented, especially in a position that other students kind of see as role models. I believe personally that that’s the norm we should aspire to move towards.
Her Campus: What is your favorite part about being a Temple student?
Salcedo: I couldn’t decide a college, [so] me and my parents visited Temple and it was supposed to be like a tour. It was raining that day and I was just like ‘oh my god this is just gonna be horrible…’ So we went and we watched a video and we were like ‘wow that was amazing’ [but] we really didn’t feel like doing the tour or walking around campus [because of the rain]. But, what really inclined me to choose this college was [seeing how buys our campus was.] It’s like there’s literally students everywhere… and seeing so many students, so many different walks of life, just trying to go to their next class, it gave me so much energy and it was so lively. And it was like ‘wow, this is such a dynamic school,’ and so I really [fed] off of that energy that I saw. Like, I saw all the students walking around from all different walks of life and I was like ‘this is it, I’m choosing this.’ We went home and I put in my deposit and I didn’t even go on the tour because it was raining.
Her Campus: Favorite place to eat on campus?
Salcedo: I’ve been going to the Pho [Ha Saigon] place a lot. (The one by the Edge) I think it’s awesome. If not, then I would probably say Burger Tank, especially when it’s warm out.
Her Campus: Favorite thing to do in Philadelphia?
Salcedo: So a big part of why I chose Temple was because it’s in the city. I live close to New York at home so I really need that kind of city escape. So, I would say honestly trying new food and then sitting somewhere nice and thinking about the food I ate.
Her Campus: Fun fact about yourself?
Salcedo: I’m ambidextrous — like I think I am. I was naturally a lefty, but I was actually born and raised for a part of my life in the Philippines and so I guess back then being a lefty was looked down upon, and so they trained me to write right-handed. And so I do a lot of things with my right hand, like I play sports with my right hand, but I write with my left hand. But that has something to do with the fact that they made me — [or] they wanted me to be right-handed, like the school was like ‘you can’t be left-handed.’