September 22 marks the beginning journeys of 12 new Student Government Association (SGA) senators.
SGA President Ashlee Lindsey shared her excitement about the new senators and their role. “Our senators will bring a fresh perspective,” Lindsey said. “Every single member has various connections with people on and off campus… It is refreshing to have a new group becoming a part of SGA, because they raise great questions on the processes and functionality of our organization.”
As the year continues, Lindsey looks forward to what the new senators will bring to SGA, as well as what SGA can give to the senators. “We have many opportunities for people to find outlets of change, and it is always incredible to watch people transform and develop leadership through their roles in this organization.”
Prior to the election, each candidate for SGA senator provided a leadership statement; these are included below.
Rosalee Fay Boyden
I lead by example, I believe in order to positively advocate for the community you need to show people how committed you are. Examples from my past are I have an award for Community Engagement from MCC in CT and an award for overall excellence in my Journalism/Communication degree program.
Derrick Loughlin
I think leadership is setting the example, always helping those who need it, being respectful, and following through with what you said. Listening is very important.
I was in the Marines from July 2012, to July 2017. I remember one of my Marines that was under me didn’t get a haircut one weekend and I told him I noticed. The day went on like normal and it was approaching lunch break. I asked the Marine that didn’t get a haircut if he would eat with me. He was happy I asked and really thought I was inviting him to lunch. Normally, I would go to lunch with my Marines, but this occasion was different. We got in my car and we drove towards the cafeteria. The funny thing is that I didn’t go there. I went straight to the barber. He looked at me and said, “I really thought you were bringing me to lunch!”
I told him “Nope, you thought you were getting away with not getting a haircut.” We laughed and that was the end of it.
Arianna Morris
As a student leader and positive role model I will get to know other students by going out of my way to start a conversation when helping somebody and maintaining an outgoing attitude throughout the day with a welcoming smile!
Hailey Murphy
Student leadership is very important. Being a leader means that you are able to take control of a situation and be able to be a role model for someone else. Being an assistant manager at my work has taught me that being a leader is important in order to add structure to certain situations.
Edward Piscopo
Everyone is an individual and blanket policies do not always work. Most times each situation or individual needs to be addressed separately. Personal attention goes a long way, know the people you are leading and what is important to them. As the President of the SVA last semester, I took a personal interest in everyone I could reach. This lead to an increase in lounge participation of 20%. Veterans typically do not ask for help, so I reached out to resources on and off campus and brought them to our lounge to initiate contact. As a result, these entities saw increases in participation from the veterans.
Tyler Provencher
My philosophy on student leadership is that to be a good leader one must become a good follower and the most important thing a leader can do is take care of their people. An example from my past comes from my time in the NJROTC program at Oxford High School in Oxford, Massachusetts. When I first joined the program as a freshman there were very few opportunities to be a leader because I had to learn when to use different leadership styles like delegating or directing. I learned that there are four different styles of leadership (coaching, delegating, directing, and supporting) and that each type affects your followers’ morale in different ways. Coaching is a hands-on type of leadership style that helps followers that have a weakness that could be improved. Delegating puts all of the work on the shoulders of the followers, it is most effective with more experienced followers and it gives them the most creativity to complete a task. Directing is when a leader takes charge of a situation and uses their experience to right a sinking ship. In the supporting style the leader is in more of a motivational role, the leader’s main goal is to instill the followers with confidence. I learned how and when to effectively use these styles of leaderships from my elder members. It took me three and a half years before I got to be proficient enough in identifying when it is appropriate to use each style. Half way into my junior year I got to become the CO (commanding officer) of mu unit. The changing of command was very big step for me in becoming the leader I am today. As the CO I was in charge of every single one of the sixty-five cadets in my unit. Under my leadership the unit one the highest honor my unit could have earned a distinguished unit with honors. Only about twelve units from my area received this honor and the area ranged from Maine to New Jersey in the US and even Spain, France, and Italy outside of the US. Toward the end of my senior year I had to train another student to take over this position and hopefully my training them will yield the same results.
Rachel Rathburn
I feel as though student leadership is at the core of what it takes for an individual to find a certain amount of confidence. In reflecting on all of the moments that lead up to where I am positioned now, I find that if I had not taken advantage of becoming a student leader early on, I would not be the type of person I am today. My involvement in high school as President of the Student Council and the National Honor Society presented me with chances to make an impact on my community through food drives and fundraisers. My experiences from high school have prepared me for service projects available to me through the leadership roles I hold today. I feel more confident to take on service opportunities because of my past experiences and feel more capable to make a difference because of my connections through my leadership positions at SNHU.
Matthew Rubenstein
I will follow the rules outlined in the student handbook to set a good example for the people around me to do the same.
Damayanti Subedi
I believe in walking behind my team, not in front. This will help me to take my whole team to the goal. I have worked in different communities and schools, helping to rescue my community in the refugee camp from STD/HIV AIDS, child marriages, promoting women for education and vocational training, I have also worked as a secretary of an NGO dedicated to promoting and protecting Nepalese language and culture and in the mean time helping them to integrate into Germany society in Germany.
Ryan Warner
My philosophy is to lead by example, but at the same time stay humble. Kyrie Irvings dad has a saying that I really resonate with “Stay humble stay hungry” and to me this means work hard and always know that you can be better. An example of this is in my junior year of high school I organized a birthday party for my principle Gene Connolly who has ALS we brought together the community and received donations to help him have a happy 60th.
Josh Warshauer
My philosophy behind being a student leader stems from leading by example and being the leader students want and deserve. In my senior year I was JV captain of my high school cross country team and I always strived to do my best and worked with team building.
Charlotte Webb
I believe that a student leader has to have a variety of qualities in order to stand out and make a difference in everyone’s lives. The role model should be an accountable leader by taking responsibility for their actions/ mistakes and take initiative. They also need to be able to work well with others and have strong communication skills. They also have to be supportive of everyone they are leading and not put anyone down. An example of when I used these skills was when I was the Executive Editor in my high school senior yearbook. I made sure to double check my work and ask for help if I needed it. I also made sure to talk to each staff member and let them know that they are doing an excellent job and ask if they needed any questions. The year before that, I was also in yearbook and I believe that it did not come out well due to the lack of leadership. Our Executive Editor was always doing outside work and not focused on accomplishing these tasks. That is why I took it into my own hands the following year and our advisor was very proud of the work the entire staff put into the yearbook.
