Photo Credits: Annaleise Henson
Pictured: Joy Skaggs, honors senator candidate
The Arkansas Tech University Student Government Association (SGA) held “Meet the Candidates” on the Ferguson Student Union patio on Sept. 1. I had the opportunity to talk to several of the candidates over dirty sodas, which were provided by SGA.
The first candidate I spoke with was freshman Stacy Holt, a business management major from Jacksonville, AR. Holt is running for freshman senator and has big goals in mind. Prior to running for student government, Holt held leadership positions throughout his high school career. Holt informed me that he was a member of Beta Club and student council for 3 years. Holt talked of bringing more resources to first-generation students, stating, “I would like more scholarships for first-gen students, especially since Arkansas is a very underfunded state when it comes to state scholarships.” After our brief conversation about first-generation scholarships, Holt ended the conversation by saying, “I’m here for the people, not for myself.”
The next candidate I talked with was junior Sarah Brotherton, a rehabilitation science major from Louisiana with minors in social services, child welfare, and sociology. Before running for SGA this year, Brotherton was a member of SGA her freshman year. Brotherton is enthusiastic about helping others and wants to bring even more help to those who help us all the most – students in healthcare. Brotherton expressed this to me by saying, “I want to be a voice for people who help others but feel like they aren’t advocated for as much as they should be.” This summed up Brotherton’s eagerness to bring more attention to those who help others and do not always get the same help in return.
The third candidate who I got a chance to speak with was Emma Mitchell, a bio-med major from Vilonia, AR, running for freshman senator. Mitchell is ardent on putting forward more awareness of mental health, this being the first topic she wants to raise in SGA. Mitchell told me a personal story that highlights where her care for mental health awareness most stems. Mitchell said, “I lost my best friend to suicide in November, and sincerely, over the past year I’ve navigated what it truly means to grieve and lose someone to mental health issues. I feel like we, as a college, say that we have resources for mental health but don’t advertise that as much as we need to. We get so caught up in life sometimes that we forget to take a moment and breathe and remember that people are here for us. I want to be someone who is going to be there for students, no matter what.” After learning Mitchell’s story and hearing about her deep care for mental health, she ended our conversation by encouraging all students to “vote for Emma Mitchell.”
The final candidate that I spoke with was Joy Skaggs, a physics, mathematics, and education major from Russellville, AR running for honors senator. Skaggs informed me that she is academic chair for the honors program and that she helped pioneer the way for physics 1 and physics 2 classes for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors. Skaggs further expressed her passion for helping the academic programs, stating, “I have a passion for academics and, as a part of the honors college, I am looking forward to expanding the academic program.” Skaggs then stated, “I’m looking at giving more honors students recognition.” This sentiment expressed Skaggs’s passion for academics, especially honors academics. Skaggs ended our conversation by saying, “if you need some joy in your life, vote for Joy.”
From topics of first-generation scholarships, resources for healthcare students, mental health awareness, and honors academics – I learned all about the passions of some of our SGA candidates. Be sure to cast your vote and pick the students you best believe will represent ATU’s student body. Voting is currently live.
