Archivist Note: Originally published on the Elections wordpress site. Sep 18, 2015 @ 01:28, “CANDIDATES STATEMENT September Elections: 2019 Class President (s)”
Lillian Oyen-Ustad & NIki Shakamuri:
Hello Mawrters!
Our names are Lillian Oyen-Ustad (she/her pronouns) and Nikki Shakamuri (she/her pronouns) and we would be honored to serve as your class presidents. We can be reached at loyenustad@brynmawr.edu and nshakamuri@brynmawr.edu or at Rhoads South Room 102, so please contact us if you have any questions! Also, please know that we’ll most definitely be the ones to say “hi” around campus; we’re both very social people and we cannot wait to have the chance to learn more about each one of you!
A little bit of background on the both of us: Lil has been in student government since Middle School, holding Student Council President for three years in high school, and secretary before that. She applied ED with SGA being a large contributing factor alongside Bryn Mawr’s true sense of community and support. Nikki had the same type of experience. She applied Regular Decision and knew that Bryn Mawr was the school for her when she visited an SGA meeting during infocus. She has held multiple executive roles in clubs and was also captain of a varsity sports team in high school.
Being a member of the SGA in any capacity is a time consuming thing. Not only are we dedicated to serving our class as a whole, but we also know how unique the SGA is to Bryn Mawr, and plan to uphold it’s values to the best of our ability. As for time management, we’ve both done varsity sports our entire lives, as well as balanced school and extracurricular activities, so we believe we’re quite prepared to handle the load that comes with being your presidents! Luckily, we’re roommates, and very good friends with similar schedules, so seeing each other and keeping open communication will be an easy thing for us to do.
If elected, we plan on having office hours, regularly updating the Facebook page, sending out class wide emails, creating a class twitter for updates on events, having “day in the life” on instagram, another things to keep class discussion alive. As for class events, we can’t wait to get to know more about the wonderful people in our class and give each and every one of you the feeling of a family, rather than a class. We both love food, music, and getting to know people so between impromptu dance parties, tea parties, movie parties, cards against humanity, and various other events, we hope to build the sense of family in our class.
We know that we’ve only been apart of this amazing community for a short time now, but we hope to be the kind of Class Presidents that help assure that Bryn Mawr becomes your home. For the both of us, we have been in love with Bryn Mawr since the first time we stepped foot on campus, it was our dream school, probably like many of you. We both came from close knit high schools where community was everything and after singing Hillary Duff in Goodhart, Parade Night, step sing, and surviving customs week together, we cannot wait to spend the next four years with all of you amazing people by our sides. Whether we win or lose, we will always hold SGA near and dear to our hearts as well as all of you, but we want to be your presidents because Bryn Mawr is our home, and you are our family and we want to make sure that you all feel the same way we do when you walk around this campus…respected, supported, and loved.
Margaret Gorman:
My name is Margaret Gorman, and I am a candidate for Class of 2019 President. I am extremely excited to be a part of the Bryn Mawr community and, whether elected or not, I plan to be an active participant in the Self Government Association. My passion for SGA comes from my belief that we are very privileged to be able to go to a school where our voices are so respected and have so much power. We, as students at Bryn Mawr, are responsible for creating the community that we want to be a part of; upholding the Honor Code and crafting a welcoming, safe atmosphere where students can fully engage with their learning. I know that having a say in my own education makes me much more enthusiastic about learning. I want to be Class President because I know that I can be a voice for the first-year class. I want to help create this community and support the individuals inside of it.
I have experience in leadership and student government. My high school, H-B Woodlawn, had a very unique system of governing: every week, students and teachers would gather in the library for a “Town Meeting,” during which we discussed issues and changes within our school and voted democratically on how to address them. These meetings were run through a modified version of Robert’s Rules of Order, so I already have some familiarity with the rules that govern SGA meetings. In addition to being an active participant at Town Meetings, I was often chair of the meetings, a job that involved regulating discussion and maintaining order.
I was also elected by my peers to serve as representative to the Student Advisory Board (SAB), a group of students who meet with our county’s School Board to discuss issues within the school system. As a representative on the SAB for four years, I was able to have input on issues such as budget, transportation, and scheduling. In my senior year, I became chair of the SAB and led the meetings. At the end of the school year, I gave a presentation to the School Board about what we had accomplished and what our goals were for the future. A short article about my presentation can be found here <http://tinyurl.com/opxhr6e>.
I also have spoken at three School Board meetings as an advocate for my high school during a lengthy process to solve the school system’s overcrowding crisis. A video of me speaking at a school board meeting can be found here <http://tinyurl.com/p8jbm7q> (I am Speaker #2 under Student Speakers; skip to 1:30 minutes to avoid the speaker guidelines).
I know that being class president will require me to effectively listen, communicate, and manage my time. As an SAB representative, I listened to the opinions of my peers and relayed them to the other students on the SAB as well as to the School Board. I was also committed to service with my school’s Action Team, involved in school plays, and an active member of a writers’ group. Because of these experiences, I understand how to effectively coordinate a number of commitments and how to prioritize my responsibilities. As I said during the Candidates’ Forum, I am always happier when I am a little bit busy.
I will bring enthusiasm, experience, and passion to the SGA as Class President. I want to foster a sense of trust, inclusiveness, and community within our class and within Bryn Mawr as a whole. I look forward to learning more about the Bryn Mawr community — especially about the Class of 2019 — during my years here!
I can be reached at mgorman1@brynmawr.edu or 571-289-7691. Please don’t hesitate to email, text, or call me with any questions you may have!
Felicia Grable:
My name is Felicia Grable (fgrable@brynmawr.edu 202-297-0014) and I am running for Class President of 2019. I am interested in this position because I believe in giving everybody a voice and unite us as a class, especially as we are the new faces on campus. I live in Radnor 3rd and I have a small customs group but everyone comes from different walks of life. All of us accept different roles; some of us lead and others are content to follow. However, we all band together, enjoy each other’s company, and make sure we include everyone. That’s what I want our whole class to be like. I want people, extroverted or introverted; to feel as though they could approach me with any problem they have and feel as though I could properly express their concerns and feel as though we are all together.
I know that being president is more than being a friendly face; it’s also about being a leader and someone who people can look up to and trust to bring the community together. That said I know this is no easy job, as it requires dedication to the class I am representing. Organization is key to keep on top of thing such as meetings and teas. I have a little bit of experience in representing my class back in England when I was form captain, comparable to class representative, in sophomore year. As I have said before, the best ways to make the most out of this position and make it better is being easily approachable and listen to the needs of everyone and by doing so, making our transition into the Bryn Mawr community a smooth one. I want everyone to speak up, even if they have quieter voices, and bring any concerns to me.
One of things I want to do, as president, is to solidify what the position has achieved and what the SGA has achieved in the community. I would like to make sure that everyone is included in the teas that I will host, including those in our class who live off-campus and even McBride students. This all part of the job of SGA to make sure that they accurately represent the student body and mediate between the college and the students. They also serve as problem solvers and we are in a unique position where we can control how students are treated when they break the Honor Code. I hope to be one of those representatives that work towards helping the community.
Colleen Williamsn & Kat Margaret Phifer
Hello, Mawrtyrs!
Our names are Colleen Williamson and Kat Margaret Phifer and we are running for the Class of 2019’s Co-Presidents. We are very excited to run for this position! Our goal is to equally represent every student in the Class of 2019 and to create a safe space where everyone feels welcome to share their voice. We are organized, dedicated, and welcoming people who want the student body to feel comfortable coming to us for anything. We take this role very seriously, but also want to have a lot of fun with it!
Kat (she/her): In high school, I was the president of the Vocal Arts Club and the president and founder of the Spoken Word Poetry club, as well as the secretary of my school’s a cappella group. I have a lot of experience with leadership and organization. Along with these, I was, and continue, to be very active in theater, dance, vocal arts, and social justice. I am very involved around campus, which helps me know what is happening as well as what is working and what needs improvement. SGA is very important to me and, in my opinion, is an integral part of our Bryn Mawr experience; I want to make it a bigger part of the lives of the greater student body!
Colleen (she/her): I was the founder and treasurer of an Arabic club in high school; thus, I have experience with budgeting and leadership. I am also a very active member of multiple dance groups and am passionate about sustainability. I hope to create and improve sustainability projects around the campus. I am a very fun-loving, open, caring person and I would love to talk to each and every one of you about questions, comments, concerns, or just saying hi!
E-mail us with any funny kat (ha!) videos, cake recipes, or topics actually pertaining to our campaign: cwilliamso@brynmawr.edu, kphifer@brynmawr.edu. Thank you; we hope to see you around campus! J