SEMO’s Student Government Association (SGA) elects new members to their executive board every spring semester. Voting opened on April 5, and winners were announced April 7 for the 2023-24 election.
The winning group ran together as a team called ‘DreamBIG’. Together, the three campaigned around campus and on social media to get the word out about who they are.
The team was ecstatic to win together.
“We are really happy that the three of us will be working together. Especially since we have spent the last month working together,” vice president elect Kayla McCain said.
Wildhaber said he was in the car when he found out the team had won.
“I was driving, but I was screaming because we won,” treasurer elect Andrew Wildhaber said. “We’ve campaigned together for the past month, and we have become pretty close, so it wouldn’t have been the same if just one of us won.”
The team said their mission statement would have to be ‘belonging, improving and growing.’.
Together the DreamBIG team wants to help students at SEMO feel welcome.
“We want people to feel involved and included. We want their voices to be heard,” president elect Harry Meyer said. “One of our ideas we were pushing is to create a resource for new international students on campus. This resource would allow them to have access to different parts of the campus, to know where certain locations are for food, transportation, but also showing them areas that aren’t on campus.”
The team says they want to follow up with the ideas they campaigned for.
“We ran on the ideas of belonging, improving, and growing. We want to at least attempt to make all of this happen,” McCain said. “Moving forward, we would like to get as much done as we can.”
Junior emergency preparedness major Harry Meyer won the position of student body president. Meyer is currently serving as the senior senator for the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. He is on the SGA ByLaw committee, president of the Interfraternity Council, treasurer of Phi Delta Theta and the Iota Chi new member educator.
Meyer said he is unique to SGA because he hasn’t been involved for more than four semesters.
“There’s a lot of people who have had a lot more experience than I have, but recently I took up an important role within the Senate as a senior senator, only having half a semester under my belt,” Meyer said. “That allowed me to step up and take a lot more responsibility in the position.”
Junior public relations and political science major Kayla McCain won student body vice president. McCain is currently serving as a senior senator for the Holland College of Arts and Media. She serves on the SGA Public Relations Committee and SGA Bylaw Committee. She is the Honors Council chairperson, Public Relation Student Society of America vice president, an officer for Show Me Votes, and a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, SECreative and SRC planning committee.
McCain said she wants to focus a lot on the belonging of students.
“This includes LGBTQ+ individuals, international students, and we want to really connect with the Title IX office,” McCain said. “I plan to continue that. I want to make all students feel safe and included on campus.”
Sophomore sports management major Andrew Wildhaber won student body treasurer. Wildhaber currently serves as a senator for the College of Education, Health and Human Studies. He is a member of the SGA Funding Board, Bylaw Committee, Attendance Committee and Election Committee. Wildhaber serves as the president of the Sports Management Society and the president of the Strategic Investing Club. He is a member of Emerging Leaders, Presidential Ambassadors and Sigma Nu.
Wildhaber said one of his goals is advertising and funding more.
“I want to get the word out [by] posting flyers all over, newsletters and emailing individual organization leaders,” Wildhaber said. “Also if we do fund people, we want to get pictures we can post on our social media to let everyone know the benefits of getting funding so they can apply for it and also get those same benefits.”
