Saint Mary's juniors Rachael Chesley and Laura Smith said they will bring a "fresh perspective" to their roles as Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president, respectively, when they take office April 1.
The pair defeated junior Meg Griffin, current SGA vice president, and sophomore Emily Skirtich, SGA executive secretary in the Feb. 26 election.
Chesley has served as a member of the Student Activities Board (SAB) as well as on Dance Marathon and the Class Gift Campaign. Smith has also participated in Dance Marathon and has served on the first year, sophomore and junior boards.
Neither Chesley nor Smith has sat on SGA.
One of their main goals is to be a strong voice for the student body, Chesley said.
"We will reach out to [the student body], and we want [them] to reach out to us and all of SGA," she said. "We have open minds that are ready for your thoughts and ideas."
Chesley and Smith also want to work on increased communication between SGA and campus clubs.
"We want to see more integration of the clubs on campus, more support, more open communication," Chesley said.
Smith said this would include members of SGA attending meetings of other clubs when possible as well as holding events that bring together club leaders to create a dialogue among them.
They also have goals to connect alumnae back to the campus community.
"We want to stress alumnae networking," Chesley said. "This College is built on the foundation of tradition, and one of the things that attracted me to this college is the alumnae base."
Chesley and Smith said their mission can be stated in two words: "Community" and "integrity."
Both Chesley and Smith have studied abroad and hope to bring those experiences to campus as well.
"Everybody is involved in some way, and we want to encourage students to be the face of Saint Mary's," Chesley said. "We want them to be this face of Saint Mary's whether they are here on campus or off campus and even after they graduate."
Smith said she was happy to see student involvement on campus during the elections.
"I feel so grateful to have all the support that we did this past week. The student body really responded well to our efforts, and it really feels worthwhile to know that we were able to at least see some excitement on campus because of it," Smith said.
Chesley said she looks forward to taking on the role of student body president.
"I am excited for the opportunity to be a visible and involved voice for the students," Chesley said. "This opportunity will be a challenging and rewarding one, and it will surely be an opportunity to provide a fresh perspective and to be an enthused and involved leader for the student body."
