Bloomsburg University’s student government, The Community Government Association, will be holding executive board elections online this Wednesday and Thursday.
All students are welcomed and highly encouraged to vote for their student leaders. CGA provides an opportunity for students to govern themselves in a democratic manner. It oversees various areas including: Community Activities, Kehr Union, the University Store, the Student Recreation Center, and Honeysuckle Student Apartments. CGA also provides guidelines for administering affairs, activities, student concerns, general well-being of students under the BU jurisdiction, and seeks to establish working relationships and open lines of communication with administration, faculty and staff.
Current executive board members Justine Albright, Sean Williams, Jordan Stimeling, and Sally McAvoy are running for offices. Take a look at what they have to say about their hopeful re-election!
Name: Justine Albright
Major: Digital Forensics and Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations
Current position: Secretary
Candidate for: President
Year: Junior
Years of CGA Experience: three years, two of which were on the executive board.
“There has never been an organization that I have been more passionate or dedicated to. Every minute of my free time is given to CGA in order to improve the campus and college experience for students.
Albright said that the CGA exec board works really hard all year round to ensure that The Big Event is a huge success.
“Last year I was especially excited to have increased student participation in The Big Event from 1,200 in year 3 to 1,800 in year 4,” she said. She also said that all of the thank you cards they received for organizing the event make it worth all of the hard work.
Albright also put her hard work and dedication during the entire summer to CGA into bringing an event called Meet the President to Bloomsburg after seeing it at Kennesaw State.
In September, CGA hosted its first ever Meet the President event in which students were encouraged to come meet Dr. Soltz and other university administrators in order to increase communication between students and administration. Dr. Soltz had a non-stop line of students waiting to talk to him for two hours so the event was definitely a huge success.
“During my time at CGA, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to these students and help their organizations reach new heights,” Albright said.” As president, I will not fall short of that commitment. I will work hard to move this campus and this community forward.”
Name: Jordan Stimeling
Year: Junior
Major: Interpersonal Communications. Minor: Sociology. Concentration: Family, Children, and Youth.
Current Position: Executive Treasurer
Candidate for: Executive Treasurer
Years of CGA Experience: three years
Stimeling joined CGA during her freshman year because she wanted to become involved within the campus community to make a positive impact on the university.
Stimeling served as an On-Campus Senate Representative for two years. During her time in this position, she was a member of the Finance Committee, which gives student clubs and organizations the opportunity to request additional financial support to attend academic conferences.
She also has helped prep for The Big Event for two years in a row and this year has acted as the Head of the Equipment Committee.
She is a second year Community Assistant in Elwell Residence Hall and a Board of Governors Scholar where she serves as a positive role model to establish an academic and civil atmosphere for residents. As a BOG Scholar, she also serve as a mentor to two Bloomsburg University freshmen to help them become involved in the university and the community of Bloomsburg.
“One goal I have is to review some of the financial and budgetary policies that are in place now,” she said. ” I believe some of the policies could be updated and revised. Another goal is to create better communication with student clubs and organizations to assist them in the best possible way. One last goal I have for CGA is to have students become involved on campus.”
“Since becoming Treasurer, I have gained the necessary leadership skills for this position and will work hard to serve the students of Bloomsburg University,” Stimeling said.
Name: Sean Williams
Year: Junior
Major: English
Current position: Parliamentarian
Candidate for: Vice President
Years of CGA Experience: three years
Williams started as an On-Campus Senator in freshman year, was appointed to Executive Assistant as a sophomore, and was then appointed to the position of Parliamentarian at the end of last year.
“I worked my way up from the bottom and I know what responsibilities I would take on as Vice President,” Williams said.
This year will mark Williams’ second straight year as Chair of the Fundraising Committee for the Big Event where he previously co-raised more than $15,000 towards the project. He has also served on the Husky Student Leadership Conference Planning Committee for two years. The conference gives students a tremendous opportunity to become better leaders and network with alumni. Williams’ work-study position in the Office of Marketing and Communications makes him constantly aware of what events will be coming to BU like lecture series, shows, and campus events.
Williams is also a student writer for BUnow, a brother of Sigma Tau Delta Honors fraternity, and a member of DASL.
Some of William’s goals if he is elected include:
- Continue improving upon the Big Event.
- Serving as a representative to all students at BU.
- Addressing student concerns and acting as a student liaison to administrators.
- Promoting the goals of CGA and making students aware of all that CGA does and all that CGA can do for students.
- Assisting the President.
- Being available to other members of Exec and to all other members of CGA
Name: Sally McAvoy
Year: Sophomore
Major: Early Childhood and Special Education Duel Major
Current position: Executive Assistant
Candidate for: Secretary
Years of CGA Experience: two years
McAvoy was a member of the finance committee during her freshman year as well as a member on the fundraiser committee for the Big Event. She also assisted in Meet the President and was co-chair of the town recruitment committee for this year’s Big Event.
“From my exposure to this position, I have an idea of what will be required,” she said. “I love collaborating with others, and with this position I think that with my time management, and organization skills, I have the possibility to be successful as the CGA secretary.”
McAvoy is a Community Assistant in Schuylkill Hall as well a member of PSEA.
“I have seen the inner workings of the Community Government Association over the past year, and have loved learning about how the association runs smoothly. I would love the opportunity to help the association grow, as well as gain new skills to help myself grow. This would be a great chance to not only meet new people, but help others’ ideas be heard and implemented along with my own,” she said.
Two goals she has for CGA if re-elected are to make the Big Event a more well known event on campus, and also make it a priority to make sure the students of Bloomsburg University feel as if they have the opportunity to have their voices heard.
“I attended the Big Event Conference at Texas A&M in January with three other CGA senate and executive members and learned lots of valuable information that would benefit Bloomsburg’s Big Event.,” she said. “If elected I will continue to share what I learned in the effort to make our Big Event an even greater success.”
