Diversity, progress, and service. These are important focus points for the newly elected, President Vivian Hoang and Vice President Marisa-Nicole Zayat, of Newman University.
The Newman Student Government Association (SGA) elections were held last week bringing in new members with the drive to make a difference within the Newman community.
Vice President Zayat has had a realm of leading experience prior to Newman University. In high school, she was an effective leader for various clubs including roles such as two years as Vice President of National Honor Society, the Student Body Secretary, Junior Class Representative of Student Council, and the Secretary of Spanish Honor Society, just to name a few.
Hoang decided to run for president because she “thought that it was time to switch things up on campus. This year, I have seen a large increase in people’s concerns and wants for something more on campus, be it fun events, different food, recognition, or diversity, as seen by the several new clubs established.”
Hoang also said, “I felt that the best way to make the change was, as cliché as it is, ‘to be the change I wanted to see.’ Some of my friends first saw the potential in me to be SGA president, and that got the ball rolling and pushed me in this direction. They saw the potential in me, and I see the potential in Newman to be something greater than it already is.”
The two have a lot of plans to make SGA more interactive with the student body, to clarify pressing constitutional issues, improve campus environments aesthetically, such as the Hangar and Student Center, and to work toward an improvement in diversity and student services.
Zayat expressed, “We are hoping to follow our campaign slogan ‘Diversity, Progress, Service.’ We hope to create a safe, tight community for every student at Newman University. We want to make sure every student has every opportunity he or she needs in order to succeed. We will raise awareness of the diversity on campus and allow for the creation of new clubs to boost diversity as well. As for progress, we hope to see Newman improve its reputation for all of its schools and not just the School of Arts and Sciences, more specifically its pre-medicine program. This is a long-term change that we know will not occur just in one year but over the course of many years. Lastly, we hope to reallocate unspent funds to provide more services for the students. We will try our hardest to attain discounts in various services, including laundry, Uber, Microsoft Office, and restaurants.”
The two promise to “work our hardest to be a representative and a voice for every student at Newman University, and raise any concerns to the faculty and staff.”
Among these two new leaders follow the rest of the newly elected SGA board:
President/Vice President
Vivian Hoang & Marisa-Nicole Zayat
Arts and Letter Senator Representative
Ariana Esparza
Adult, Graduate, & Nontraditional Senator Representative
James Leggett
Business Senator Representative
Jacob Hobbie
Education Senator Representative
Dakota Heard
Science & Math Senator Representative
Thao Nguyen
Nursing & Allied Health Senator Representative
Angela de Souza
Social Science Senator Representative
Dani Buedden
Humanities
OPEN
At Large Senators
Kayla Victor
Ashley Sweetnam
Kyle Mazza
Gbonju Odukale
Madison McCollum
Emily Larkin
Regan Casey
Leah Graham
