A few Salt Lake Community College students are capitalizing on the opportunity to represent their peers and their school.
The purpose of Student Life and Leadership, beyond organizing events and programs for the student body, is to give its members and volunteers real world experience and skills.
Sydney Cahoon, Vice President for the North Region, first involved herself in student government at student orientation.
“It was really funny,” she says. “The orientation was on a Monday so I applied Monday night. I got a call on Tuesday for the interviews. The interviews were on Wednesday. And then I got a call Wednesday night and started my job on Thursday.”
Cahoon accepted the position of historian for the President’s Board, where she documented and recorded the Executive Council through photos, videos and social media. After later serving as the video chair on Publicity and Advertising, she ran for North Region Vice President.
Cahoon has put a priority on the addition of the Bruin Fitness Center at South City Campus. It’s been a goal for previous North Region VPs, but according to Cahoon, the facility will be done later this year.
Serving in different roles of student government has given Cahoon a new perspective.
“I’ve held different positions throughout high school with different clubs and sports, but this has provided a real life situation where I’m in charge of all these people,” she says. “I lobby up at the capitol so I know how that process works. I make changes that affect everyday students.”
SLCC student government is split into three regions: north, central and south. Each region is capable of serving students in a variety of ways, from legislative initiatives to entertainment.
“One of our main goals is getting our word out there and getting students to know that we plan events for them and for them directly,” says North Region daytime planning event chair Anthony Bible.
At first, Executive Vice President Connor Holt was hesitant about running for his current role — his sights were previously set on Student Association President — but he quickly warmed to the idea.
“I got a little more excited about it because it’s something I love to do,” he says. “I served an LDS mission and as a missionary I got to talk to people every single day. And so when I realized that’s what this [position] was doing … I was super excited because I love helping people and I love being able just to talk to people.”
Senators speak directly to deans, associate deans and college directors. There are also senate positions to represent the School of Arts, School of Humanities, School of Health Sciences, and each school region.
“As senators we actually have a lot of power to help students,” Holt says.
Holt urges his peers to get involved, since student government gives a voice to those who would otherwise go unnoticed and teaches leadership skills.
“It’s just such an awesome opportunity, and is something that is for anyone who wants to become a leader, to have fun, to meet new friends — new people,” he says.
Cahoon maintains her time with Student Life and Leadership was well spent.
“This is going to help me with my career — with my next step — because I have experience in all these different fields that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” she says.
Student Life and Leadership is currently accepting applications for various roles for the 2017-2018 academic year. Interested students can log on to OrgSync to browse the different positions and fill out the application.
