By Emma Reilly
Elm Staff Writer
Washington College’s Student Government Association announced the members of the 2021-2022 Executive Board in a campus-wide email on April 15. Class officers for the upcoming academic year were announced via email April 21.
Junior Kat DeSantis was elected SGA president alongside sophomore Alex May, who was elected SGA vice president. DeSantis and May were sworn in on March 30.
DeSantis and May are accompanied on the Executive Board by the new financial controller, freshman Shannel Fraser. Junior Josh Gastineau will serve as speaker of the Senate, and freshman Natalie Wisnoski will serve as parliamentarian.
The 2021-2022 Executive Board’s secretary of Academics is junior Kyle Rufo. The secretary of Service & Community Relations is sophomore Maegan White, the secretary of Student Life is freshman Kamden Richardson, and the director of Communications and Marketing is junior Liz Hay. The new secretary of Diversity and Inclusion is sophomore Nailah Gowon.
According to Gowon, the SGA has made significant strides in encouraging open dialogue amongst the WC community regarding diversity issues on campus.
“Even though everything’s virtual, that didn’t stop my predecessor or anyone in the SGA from pushing diversity and doing JEDI training. Now that we’re slowly going back to in-person I want to help continue that growth,” Gowon said.
According to Gowon, her role as vice president of Academic Development for Alpha Omicron Pi allowed her to develop leadership experience and gain confidence, which will aid her in her new Executive Board position.
Gowon said her “most important role, at least to me, is to be a voice for students and to push diversity and inclusion in all aspects. My biggest goal is to bring intersectionality to the forefront [during the fall 2021 semester].”
Sophomore Alexa Venturato will serve as secretary of the Environment for the 2021-2022 academic year.
“I’ve always been very passionate about the environment and sustainability,” Venturato said. “I really wanted to take it to a greater level and have more of an impact, especially at our school level where I think there is a lot of potential for sustainable change.”
According to Venturato, the SGA Environmental Committee hopes to improve sustainability at WC through the use of energy-efficient lighting, new insulation in dorms, and solar energy.
“I hope to accomplish a few major things and also some background work to improve our sustainability efforts from the top down…so that sustainable choices are just there and available to students,” Venturato said.
Members of SGA Board of Executives will work with the newly elected 2021-2022 class officers as WC transitions to an in-person semester this fall.
Juniors Skyler Hancock, Lizzie Craig, and Izze Rios were elected president, vice president, and treasurer of the class of 2022.
The president of the class of 2023 is sophomore Noah Vargas. Sophomore Julianna Sterling was elected vice president, and sophomore Dylan Snow was elected treasurer. Sophomore Mariama Keita was elected secretary.
As vice president of the class of 2023, Sterling hopes to revitalize WC’s tight-knit campus community.
“One of our main goals is to make sure the juniors and seniors next school year will be able to meet with the freshmen and sophomores,” Sterling said.
According to Sterling, encouraging students to get involved with the SGA and planning for safe community gatherings will help students connect next semester.
Sterling also hopes to foster strong communication between WC’s administration and the student body.
“A lot of transparency is very important at small schools and SGA is a great way to do that,” Sterling said.
Freshmen Grace Apostol, Kate Gromacki, and Emily Arnold were elected president, vice president, and secretary of the class of 2024. Freshman Silvana Tipson was elected treasurer.
“I just want [students] to know that I’m really approachable and I’ll always be there to advocate for them. If they ever need to talk to someone I’m always there,” Tipson said. “I’m really excited to see everyone on campus next semester.”