So, I have a funny story about how I got involved in Student Government at Juniata College. Before I came to Juniata, I attended orientation. One of the speakers was the acting president, and he announced that he was planning on running a newsletter for the college. I expressed my interest, and he told me to attend a Student Government meeting once school started. I was sitting with three other freshmen who were all interested in joining the policy committee. After a week, they began inducting the freshmen who were interested in joining Student Government, and called for those interested in the policy committee to stand so we could be voted in. Not one of us caught what we were supposed to do, so he motioned for all four of us to stand, and we were voted in. That’s how I went from writing a newsletter to joining student government—possibly one of the best mistakes to ever happen to me. 

Student Government is an independent, student-run organization with the goal of implementing the student body’s concerns to make the college a better place. Members of the Student Government communicate a lot with both faculty and the senior leadership team consisting of high-ranking employees in the college, such as the president, provost, and dean of students. Currently, we have had continuous contact with the campus life office, attempting to establish a new tradition on campus. 

While my journey began by accidentally joining the policy committee my freshman year, I have since joined my class’s board as acting treasurer. I enjoyed my time and involvement in Student Government, so I decided to take on a higher position. As treasurer, I budget and track funds for my board to make sure we host many fun events on campus, building up to senior week for our class before we graduate. We’re also responsible for the senior gift our class will sponsor. 

There’s so much hard work that goes into our projects, but it’s so rewarding seeing our work make a permanent impact on the campus. We’ve had a huge hand in a lot of policy changes at the school, and hosted tons of fun events for students. Seeing everyone benefit from our hard work and leave our events with big smiles reminds me why I spend so much of my free time working with Student Government. Showing interest in a newsletter was the greatest decision I’ve ever made. 

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