In a year filled with uncertainty, changes and monumental challenges, Michelle Clarke and Scott Daugherty still call their terms as Student Government Association president and vice president a success.
Clarke, a communications senior and SGA president, said that Hurricane Katrina “changed everything” in her role as head of the organization. “We had to curtail it to what the students needed, and what they needed post-Katrina is different than pre-Katrina,” she said.
“Especially with the changes in the university; to really stick up for the students – I think that’s one of the most difficult roles I’ve had to play.”
Daugherty, a psychology senior and vice president, said that the storm made all of his and Clarke’s pre-term planning worthless.
“Michelle and I were here all of last summer planning stuff for the fall semester, and when the hurricane happened, it kind of threw everything out the window,” he said. “Then it became more … everything was a little more spontaneous. I was used to having everything planned in advance.”
Part of Daugherty’s job as vice president is to oversee the student budget allocations process. Because so many students returned, the budget was relatively unchanged and SGA set aside $15,000 for student groups’ service projects.
“It kind of made a bad situation … a lot better. The students really utilized that fund,” he said.
So far, student groups have used $12,841 on hurricane relief-related projects.
The two also mentioned the creation of the Magis Fund, which will award grants to Loyola community members hard-hit by Katrina, and the blocking of a proposal to make meal plans mandatory as some of their successes.
“We just recently had the ‘Pack in Action’ community service that we put on,” said Daugherty. “There was a really good turnout, and there were three different projects, and everyone really enjoyed it and had fun.”
Clarke said that this year, she strived to represent the student voice to the president and administration, which in turn were receptive to her suggestions.
“With the administration, I’ll sit in meetings, and they’ll say, ‘What do the students think? How do they feel?’ They stay in constant communication,” she said. “With Father Wildes, if we have an issue, I’ll e-mail him or call him on his cell.”
Daugherty, who will attend LSU’s School of Medicine in New Orleans, has been a part of many student organizations, including Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, the Awakening retreat, and the Pack Pride committee. He is now co-chairing the Senior Class Gift fund.
He said that his time in SGA has given him more than just leadership skills.
It’s given him “the ability to work with others – and not just other students, but administration; the social skills involved, and just being able to sit down and communicate.”
He ran for vice president because it seemed the “natural step” after serving as a congressperson sophomore year and working on the allocations committee his junior year as congressperson-at-large.
Clarke, who in her four years has been a part of Delta Gamma sorority, University Programming Board, Pack Pride, the Ad Team and Awakening community, plans to “take it easy,” at least for a little while, after graduation.
“I need a little break right now in my life, but eventually I want to work for an ad firm,” she said.
She added that she will take her experiences on SGA with her throughout her life, “in everything I do.”
“I think there’s so many life lessons that are learned in working with so many people,” she said.
For her part, Clarke said she was attracted to the position of president because she wanted to give back to the university.
“I love this school, and I wanted to be here for students and work for them, ultimately,” she said. “I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.”
Kelly Brown can be reached at [email protected].
