My name is Yarelis Batista, and I am serving as the vice president of election and legislation for the 2020-2021 Student Government Association (SGA). This is my second year working for SGA, and I wanted to share a little of my experience.
2020 has been a difficult year for all of us, but I am grateful for the challenges I have faced this semester. The current Senate has faced quite a few challenges, and creativity has become our main tool to find effective solutions. Being a part of this organization and working alongside people from all walks of life has taught me patience, hard work, teamwork and love.
My favorite part of the week is going to the weekly Senate meeting and hearing the senators’ ideas on how to help our lovely community get together, how to improve the weaknesses of the John Brown University campus and how to bring joy and fun to the students during this difficult time.
The current Senate has so much passion to serve the community, which makes our job a lot easier. The passion and love for the JBU community is evident during every meeting, and it is one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced.
The last SGA event, “Meet Your Senator,” was probably our greatest challenge, as well as success, this semester. The event took place on Nov. 5 during lunch time on the Quad. We provided 180 donuts and five liters of coffee and hot chocolate. The senators had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the people walking by and to talk about how they serve in the SGA.
The atmosphere was full of joy, laughter, music and the smell of coffee. I enjoyed this event a lot because it provided a space to take a break, talk to people, eat something sweet and drink a good cup of coffee.
We were happy with the outcome of this event, despite organization being such a challenge. The weather of Siloam Springs was a huge setback since it rained for a whole week, and we were forced to modify the date a few times. The “fall break Friday” was also a setback for the event because this made us move to an earlier time frame. It was an amazing event, but it involved a lot of work, too.
Every year SGA encounters challenges, which keeps our job interesting and helps everyone involved learn and grow personally and professionally. This was my experience with SGA. The learning curve is so constant that I am always improving my skills and abilities while developing in this leadership position.
The greatest gift from SGA to me has been the friendships I have been able to create. Working towards a common goal with a God-oriented team has been a joyful experience that I will cherish forever. I would like to encourage every student on campus to try a leadership position where their skills and abilities will be challenged. I promise it will make a difference.