SGA filling executive spots for spring semester
Student Government Association President Tyler Tordsen is in the process of choosing a selection committee whose purpose will be to help fill two executive positions for the upcoming semester.
Applications for senior Katie Staley’s business manager position and sophomore Mackenzie Huber’s office manager position will be available on the SGA website next week. Any full-time student with at least a 2.2 GPA, including current SGA senators, may apply for the positions.
Normally, executive members are appointed by the SGA President at the beginning of their term. Due to the change in positions mid-semester, Tordsen will choose a selection committee to narrow down the applicants.
From there, Tordsen will appoint the new members, who will then have to be approved by the senate.
Tordsen’s selection committee will include Staley and Huber to narrow the pool down to three applicants per position.
“Nobody knows their positions better than they do,” Tordsen said. “We don’t want to miss a beat.”
Tordsen hopes to have the process completed by mid-Novemeber so the new members will have a chance to sit in on meetings and learn the ropes from Staley and Huber.
During the first meeting in January, they will be officially sworn in to their positions and start where Staley and Huber left off.
Staley is graduating a semester early and heading to Omaha, Neb., for an internship with an accounting firm, and Huber will spend a semester at California State University in Chico, Calif., for the National Student Exchange Program.
“We’re kind of like a family,” Tordsen said. “They’ve been excellent members of the team.”
Neither Staley or Huber were first-year senators, but both became involved with SGA after elections their freshman year. Staley has been business manager, director of communications, finance chair and has been on the finance committee since she started.
Staley said knowledge and communication with students, student organizations, advisers and the finance department are key to being business manager.
“There is so much knowledge transfer for this job,” Staley said. “You actually have to have a lot of knowledge about the processes and the fiscal guidelines, and our governing documents of SGA to come in to this position.”
Huber remembers her transition to office manager going well. She said she’s both excited and nervous to do the same for whoever gets her position in January.
“Since I’ll be leaving, I won’t be as accessible for the new person to ask questions. And I have to train them well enough to be able to hand it off to the new office manager after elections,” Huber said. “So it’s not just like a temporary job, they have to actually know what they’re doing well enough to hand it off.”
Staley may be back at USD next fall to pursue a Master’s degree, but is still uncertain. If she does come back, she said she’ll miss being in the know and working alongside SGA members.
“I’m going to be really sad to leave — I know there’s going to be some tears,” Staley said. “I feel like I’ve grown up with these people in a way. That just makes it so hard.”
Huber will be back next fall, but she’s not sure what her involvement with SGA will look like, she said.
“I’ve just worked so closely with these people. I’ve developed a lot of friendships and it’s just nice to know so many leaders on campus and have a personal relationship with them,” Huber said. “I’ll definitely miss working closely with them everyday.”
(Photo: Sophomore Mackenzie Huber (left) and senior Katey Staley’s (right) Student Government Association positions will be vacated at the end of the semester. SGA President Tyler Tordsen, along with members of a selection commitee, will appoint two new SGA memebers to the executive positions by the end of the semester. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)
