Q&A: Incoming SGA senators (continued)

Editor’s note: Interviews have been edited for length and clarity. 

     Following the Student Government Association elections, several candidates have been elected to new roles in SGA, bringing their own plans and goals to their positions. 

Senior political science major AJ Bailey II (he/him/his) is senator of graduate school. Photo courtesy of sga.uccs.edu. 

What are your future goals?  

     My future goal is to be an elected official in public office in the long term, helping constituents and representing all voices. 

What made you want to run for SGA? 

     What made me run for SGA again was the ability to continue participating and being involved in the campus for students who want to be heard and ensure that every UCCS student has a voice in SGA. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your term? 

     What I hope to accomplish during my term is to continue having unity and involvement throughout SGA and UCCS students together. SGA is nothing without our students. There is no government if there are no students. It is because of UCCS students that want their voices heard that is the reason SGA exists. SGA must be a model to all UCCS students by assuring that SGA knows and acknowledge them by participating in events, clubs, or organizations. 

What do you hope to change or improve at UCCS? 

     I hope to improve UCCS by ensuring students know who their student government representatives are. I want to help and ensure that all voices are being heard by talking and getting to know as many UCCS students as possible. I believe that is a severe improvement this new SGA government can make. 

Is there anything else you’d like the students to know about your role? 

     I want students to know that they are always welcome to join SGA in Senate meetings and have discussions with any senators. Our doors are always open. As Senator of Graduate School, not only do I want graduate students to feel like they have representation in the SGA, but I also want undergraduate students (who may be future graduate students) to have a voice as well. This role is about serving the students throughout the UCCS campus, and I want to make sure that every UCCS student knows that they have a voice. 

Sophomore political science major Keenan Powell (he/him/his) is senator of sustainability. Photo courtesy of sga.uccs.edu. 

What are your future goals?  

     I am looking to find a career and environmental policy.  

What made you want to run for SGA? 

     The main reason for running for SGA was actually [because] Thanh Thanh (the director of finance) had talked about SGA and mentioned that there was an opening in the position for Senator of Sustainability. I had worked on sustainability projects in the past and had a passion for environmental conservation, so the position was very intriguing.  

     I think given my interests in politics and environmental science, it’s something I would have pursued eventually, but it was thanks to Thanh Thanh that I joined up when I did, and it ended up working out really well.  

What do you hope to accomplish during your term? 

     Right now, my primary focus is battling food insecurity and reducing food waste on campus. My main goal is to complete a food recovery program for events with catering and given our current rate … it should be able to be completed and introduced by the summer or hopefully at the latest by the fall.  

     After this project completion, the Director of Sustainability Kimberly Reeves and I have many other things that we would like to pursue, but to keep it short, there is no shortage of projects slated for the future.  

What do you hope to change or improve at UCCS? 

     One thing I want to see on campus is an increase in involvement of students in campus life, and a greater collaboration between the students and student government. Many people don’t realize what student government does or the things we work to sponsor, fund and organize. … I want to help [President Axel Brown and Vice President Aidan Clark] rebuild this connection on campus and continue to increase student involvement, as I see no reason that despite our smaller campus size, student engagement can’t be up. 
     As far as sustainability, I want to see a revival for environmental passion on campus. Many students don’t even know what the Green Action Fund is, and current environmental clubs like Students for Environmental Awareness and Sustainability (S.E.A.S) have gone quiet. I want to involve the students as much as possible in engaging in the sustainability services and clubs that our campus has to offer.  
     Another thing I would like to improve is to let not just students, but people in general know that sustainability is a very lucrative and profitable practice. Through action on campus and improvement of energy infrastructure, we can save our campus thousands if not millions of dollars. With enrollment rates, funding down and tight budgets, the campus is having trouble properly funding all areas of operations. If we can secure grants to implement projects, we can hopefully use environmental investments to free up some space in the campus budget in the future.  

Is there anything else you’d like the students to know about your role?  

     My doors are always open. My office hours are on Thursdays from 2-4 p.m. in the student government office. Come say hi, propose a change, challenge something I am doing, [it] doesn’t matter. I also want to make sure students know that I can get them connected to practically every environmental avenue on campus.  

     Students should also check out Sustainability and Conservation Club, and American Conservation Coalition (UCCS), two environmental clubs that I am a part of. Just as another point of contact, I also work in the new game room in the UC so come drop by and say hi!