I have been involved with student government since sixth grade, and I looked forward to continuing to be involved when I got to college. I chose to run for Freshman SFS Academic Council Representative because they interact closely with the SFS Deans and seemed to be more focused on specific projects as opposed to the large-scale operations of GUSA. It has been a great experience and I have learned a lot about organization, bureaucracy, and how the school operates.
This year, SFSAC worked with the Deans’ Office to eliminate the graduation requirement that mandated students take a certain number of courses in addition to completing 120 credit hours and led efforts to continue improving the ICC. We also helped facilitate SFS Centennial events and hosted various panels on topics such as internships, graduate school, and alumni networking.
I also served as the council liaison to the Diplomatic Ball Committee. Though the Dip Ball Committee is technically a part of SFSAC, they work separately from the main council. My job was to be a part of all their meetings and keep the council updated on the progress of the event. I also brought any questions or requests from the committee to the council. Though I had served on prom committees in high school, Dip Ball was on a whole new level. While it was disappointing to have to cancel the event, the silver lining of the situation is that most if not all our contracts were rolled over one year. This means the heavy work of planning the event is already done and the committee can focus on getting sponsorships and partnerships in an effort to increase student accessibility to the event.
I am thankful to have been re-elected and serve my classmates for another year. Looking forward, I will be working on a project I started this year regarding the language curriculum. I want to explore the possibilities of one-credit language courses and expanding paths to proficiency and continue to improve the experiences of my peers.
