Monday marked Student Body President Pat Hallahan's last official day in office; he led the semester's last Campus Life Council and Council of Representatives meetings to end his term.
Hallahan expressed pride in his administration's work so far and voiced his hopes for the coming semester, when current vice president Jeremy Lao will take over as student body president.
"I think we got a lot started and got some things done," Hallahan said. "I think we started a big important project with the Council of Representatives and we did a lot of good in the CLC."
"I just hope that we can get these changes to the Student Government that the [Board of Trustees] has asked us to make and continue to make Student Government a voice for students and more efficient to get what students want," he said.
Lao commented on his readiness to take over Hallahan's position and said that he and Emily Chin, who will assume Lao's vacant vice president position, are excited to continue Hallahan's work.
"Pat's done a great job this year, and I'm sad to see him go, but he has a great opportunity and I'm really excited for him," Lao stated. "[Emily and I] are excited and ready to take on new jobs and get stuff done next semester."
Hallahan said he hopes future Student Government officials will continue to make Student Government an efficient body.
"I really hope, with the work we do this year and into next semester, ... that five or ten years from now we'll have an efficient, respected Student Government that can voice student needs to the administration and get results," he said.
Hallahan, a political science major, will graduate at the end of this semester and receive his diploma in January. However, he will return in May to attend the graduation ceremony with the rest of his class. He made this decision to accept a job at the Democratic National Committee as the executive assistant to Jackson Dunn, the DNC's finance director.
"[Dunn], the finance director, is in charge of all the Democratic Party's major fundraising. We'll be working to raise money for whoever is the Democratic nominee [for President]," Hallahan said.
Aside from this opportunity, Hallahan expressed a desire to work in the White House one day and possibly even run for political office.
"Ideally, if the Democrats can beat [President George W.] Bush, which I think we're going to do, I want to go to the White House and stay involved in politics," he said. "I love politics and public service; I hope to keep doing it. I don't know if I want to run for office, but I want to be involved."
Hallahan's graduation marks the first time a Notre Dame student body president has done so in the middle of his term.
