By AMANDA THOMAS 

ajt008@latech.edu

 

The freshman class elected Laura Hogan, a journalism major, as the Student Government Association freshmen president.

Four senators were also elected to be the freshmen “voice of the students.”  Senators are Mary Beth Byers, a political science major; Sarah Canfield, a marketing major; Andrew Cheatham, a business administration major; and Tyler Landry, an engineering and science major.

Each candidate had different reasons for running for his or her position.

For Byers, she said being involved in SGA would give her insight on her future career goals. After being elected, Byers said she felt relieved and excited.

“Now I want to help add to the greatness of Tech,” Byers said. “I believe that by being a part of SGA senate, I can do just that.”

Canfield, also a new addition to the SGA senate, said the reason she wanted to run for SGA is because she loves being involved with making decisions that better the school.

“I was in my high school SGA for four years, and it’s really great to know that students have a way of putting their voice in and getting things changed or done,” Canfield said.

Hogan said she is just an ordinary freshman experiencing the same things that other members of my class are experiencing.

“I think that everyone has at least one opportunity in life to impact those around them in a powerful way,” Hogan said. “I saw this as my opportunity to be a voice for my peers and influence our campus in a positive way.”

Landry said the reason he ran for SGA was to be the unified voice for the different groups of his class.

“I see myself as a complex individual who fits into many of these different groups,” Landry said.

Now that he has been elected, Landry said he has mixed feelings of excitement and a realization that now the work begins. Landry said he already has goals he hopes to achieve through SGA.

“Over the next year,” Landry said, “I hope to work hard to voice fellow classmates’ concerns about student parking, the handling of student funds on campus and any other matters that may present themselves.”

Each candidate also took a different approach to campaigning for the election. Byers said she decided to make posters with catchy slogans such as “There’s something about Mary,” and she also encouraged people in her classes to vote for her.

Canfield and Hogan said they posted fliers around campus and also tried to spread their name through word of mouth, while Landry said he tried to focus on meeting people and urging them to vote.

“I preferred to meet people rather than just be a name on a flier,” Landry said.

Now that campaigning and elections are over, these representatives each have a vision for the time they will serve.

Canfield and Byers said they at least hope to build and form new relationships and friendships through SGA.

Hogan said she hopes to leave a lasting impression and to also further develop her leadership skills.

Hogan said, “A leader is someone who understands that a goal without action is just a dream, but a goal with a plan is a vision.”