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SGA votes five students to Cabinet

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Student Government Association voted five students into the President’s Cabinet last Wednesday.

Ty Kelley, the executive president of SGA, said they had a great turnout of applicants, so much that they had to turn people away from an interview.
The base level qualifications of each position are outlined in the constitution, but Kelley said him and Jones looked for team dynamics, strengths within the team, how that person would work in the role and how each person would work with their respective boss.
“We really tried to get a holistic view of each candidate, not just based on qualifications, but also their fit within the team as a whole, their strengths and their weakness, their ability for that specific job that they were applying for,” Kelley said. “We had some amazing applicants apply, it was a really tough decision. Everyone we hired was really passionate.”

Colton Powell, junior finance major from Nashville, Tennessee, was voted in as Executive Treasurer, and will handle finances for SGA and allocate funds to the 88 student organizations.

“Student organizations are the backbone of this university, and we’re just the ones that get to oversee that and encourage student involvement,” Powell said.

This semester, SGA voted to split Chief Communications officer into Press Secretary and Marketing Director.

Mikaela Clinton, junior advertising and public relations major from San Antonio, was voted in as Press Secretary.

Additionally, Lauren Wasson, junior political science major from Denton was voted in by congress as the new Chief of Staff.

“This year, I hope students can come to understand and become more aware of SGA’s purpose,” Wasson said. “With the name change, I hope students can discover the power they have in impacting decisions on the campus they love and want to improve. Ultimately, our job consists of serving students, the people we strive to represent on a day to day basis. I hope the SGA office can become an even more organized, strategic center for student voices to be heard.”

Kevin Shurtz, senior computer science and political science major from Southlake, was appointed to be the Chief Financial Officer, working closely with Powell regarding budget allocation. Shurtz explained three major goals as CFO in the coming years including refining the organizational processes, updating the software and creating more venues for congress members to contact their constituents.

“I am excited to refine the budgeting process for the next year, build relationships with the ACU administration, and generally improve the organizational processes of our team,” Shurtz said. “I would like to update the software written by last year’s Executive Treasurer, Ruhika Roy. The old software is excellent, but since it is written in a programming language that is most familiar to engineers – MATLAB – it would be easier to maintain if it were transcribed into in a more common language. I would also like to investigate establishing an organizational wiki (or some similar tool) to maintain more accessible records of formal and informal administrative procedures. Lastly, I would like to create more venues for getting Congress members in contact with their constituents before the Fall budget meeting.  In years past, Congress members have had limited access to the finalized budget before the budget meeting, and there have been few venues for student organizations to meet and discuss the proposed budget resolution before it is voted on with their representatives.”
Marco Martinez, junior Advertising/Graphic Design and Digital Entertainment Technology double major from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was appointed as Marketing Director.
“I am excited to be able to apply my skills earned throughout college towards projects that can actually make a difference at ACU,” Martinez said. “I am also very excited to see changes in SA as it transitions to being SGA. Improving brand structures in student organizations around campus will increase awareness and reach throughout the student body, and this is something I will really be prioritizing as Marketing Director. As an executive team, helping SGA as a whole find its own brand identity will also be a priority. This is a great time for the Student Government Association, and l look forward to seeing the results of what can be achieved this upcoming school year.”
Clinton said Ty and Rachel, the SGA president and vice president, respectively, did a good job picking qualified and passionate people for the positions.

“Something that makes this team very special is that everyone is very passionate about what they’re doing,” Clinton said. “Each person on this team has a very specific set of skills that is unique to them, and they are very passionate and excited about doing it that it will make our team very dynamic.”

Powell also stressed the importance of group goals within the executive office.

“It’s really easy to let your individual goals get in the way, you want to be the best SGA possible,” Powell said. “It’s better when that’s the result and not the goal. Our goal is to serve the student body and empower the student body and leave ACU in a better place than we found it. I think that’s really important for others to know and for us to keep in mind.”

About Lauren Franco

My name is Lauren and I'm the Editor in Chief of the Optimist this year. I'm an avid fan of romantic comedies, the First Amendment and national parks. More than anything, I'm passionate about storytelling via photographs, and love getting to know the heart of people through my lens.

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