I have previously served in the SGA as Secretary of First Year Council, Associate Executive Vice President and Executive Secretary. As Executive Secretary, I have worked to increase collaboration between the students and SGA, through “Say Hey, SGA,” a program designed to connect SGA members with students to hear the challenges facing the student body.
A primary initiative on which I will focus as Executive Vice President is “Ask SGA.” Many of you may have seen the link to this program on myBama in the past and even used it to connect with SGA members. This year, I worked with the SGA Webmaster, Leighton Wilson, on revitalizing this program to make it more interactive with students. “Ask SGA” is an easy and direct way for students to send any comments or suggestions they have to SGA members and UA administrators. A student will simply submit their name and email, choose the department where their submission will go and then submit their comment or suggestion. It is important to note that these submissions will not be directed to a “blank” email address but rather to actual administrators and SGA members. Furthermore, students will be guaranteed a response within 24 hours. This revitalized program will give students an easy, streamlined way to make their concerns and interests heard and to ensure a prompt response to their submissions.
In addition to the revitalization of “Ask SGA,” I will strive to engage more students through a spring Week of Welcome and spring concert. Both the Week of Welcome and concert will be proactive steps in connecting students with the SGA and, more importantly, help the SGA remain a student-centered organization. Whether it is with events or involvement opportunities within organizations, it is the SGA’s responsibility to reach out to everyone on campus to ensure that their experience at the University is the best it can be. In this instance, I would like to reinvigorate the SGA “RAGE” concert to benefit the Need-Based Scholarship Fund and pair it with a spring Week of Welcome for students when they return from winter break. As Associate Executive Vice President, I collaborated with other SGA members to bring the “RAGE” concert to fruition, and I realize what needs to be capitalized on to make this event even more of a success. The work has already begun on this initiative, and I believe collaboration with other campus organizations to create the largest pool of resources possible will make this event a huge success.
I ask for and appreciate your support; the SGA is and should be about involving every single student on campus. I would very much like to continue my service to reach that goal.
Polly Ricketts is running for the position of Executive Vice President. She is running unopposed.
