Written by Gabrielle Adams, Media by Jack Wang
Every year on February 16, the United States takes a day to recognize and celebrate the Presidents accomplishments and triumphs throughout history. Greenville College participates and promotes leadership on this holiday by holding student elections for the GCSA President and Vice President. This is highly important because GCSA is established to help bridge the gap between student interests and the college community.
All candidates were required to give a brief speech during chapel on President’s Day to encourage students to vote for them. The three candidates who ran for 2015-2016 President were Jacob Burrell, Brent McCollum, and Chris Heckman.
Burrell is a junior who had previously been Vice President for the sophomore class including Class Chaplain his freshman year. When asked what he would like to focus on if given the President position, Burrell responded, “I would focus on giving people a platform for their passions.”
Sophomore, McCollum serves as Vice President for Campus Organizations. In his speech he said others noticed his, “heart, passion, drive, and mindset that a great leader is made of.”
Heckman, a transfer from Kaskaskia, stated that he wanted to, “focus on both reimagining the process of dealing with personal problems and developing a college community that is able to outreach without limitations to specific volunteering efforts along with stronger town-community interactions.”
The three candidates running for 2015-2016 Vice President were Angel Galdamez, Emily Rauch and Mary Deterding.
Galdamez is a freshman who was excited to help serve students through GCSA. When asked, “What would you like to change or focus on?” Galdamez responded, “The fact that foreign exchange students don’t have many opportunities to participate and mix in with other students at GC. “
The second candidate was junior Emily Rauch, better known as Squirrel, a member of Student Senate for three years. Squirrel said others would describe her as someone who, “finds people important, adores God, and finds a passion in teaching.” By the demonstration of her speech, Squirrel can juggle things well in her life and keep everything balanced.
Lastly, junior Mary Deterding had been on Student Senate for 2 years. Deterding asked her closest friends to describe her and they responded, “She is hardworking and dedicated, has deep passion for helping others, and showing unconditional love and acceptance.”
During lunch, GCSA set up a table in the Dining Commons, encouraging students to participate in the election and vote. The following day Dustin Fenton sent an e-mail to the GC community congratulating Brent McCollum Squirrel for winning the elections.
Both McCollum and Squirrel spoke to the Papyrus about their next steps. McCollum stated, “One of the first things I am going to focus on as GCSA President is selecting the 6 GCSA Executive Cabinet members for next year. I know that GCSA serves best when there is a lot of teamwork, support, and encouragement within the group itself.”
Rauch said, “I would like to focus on directing the Student Senate to the students. I want to let the students know that they have senators representing them and then teach them to utilize the senators.”
Congratulations to both McCollum and Squirrel for choosing to lead GCSA. Both are focused and ready to take on new challenges and events ahead. Both feel ready and thrilled to take on their new positions, representing the student body.
