Team EXELerate

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Team EXELerate

Student Body President: ­David Millet

Executive Vice­President: ­Jared Roberts

Academic Vice­President: ­Daniel Diaz

Activities Vice­President: Madison Leavitt

1. How do you feel about transparency?

We think transparency is necessary in any organization for it to function correctly. Leaders need to have transparency with those they represent. This type of transparency creates a good community where leaders respect and serve their constituents, and the constituents respect and honor their leaders.

 

2. Why do you think students don’t care about campus elections, and why should students care about elections?

We are not really sure why students don’t care about the elections. It is probably the same reason why people don’t care about general elections. Our thoughts are that students just come to class and go home, and they do not care what UVUSA does, or they don’t feel that their vote will mean much so they tend to not care. Students should care because their elected officials are the ones that represent them across campus. The elected officers have a voice in things that greatly affect students such as the length of spring break, the end of semester finals schedule, the commencement speaker, student fee dollars, new buildings on campus, parking, etc. Whatever students want their UVU experience to be is directly affected by UVUSA. Our whole purpose is to design a custom collegiate experience for each student based on the feedback and direction we get from our students. When we are elected into student government we pledge to fight for the students, and that is what Team EXELerate will do. We feel this is why students should care about who they elect into office.

 

3. What is the most important part of your platform?

We do not feel that any platform is more important than the other. We would not have included them all in our platforms if we did not think they were all important. We do think that it is important for us to stay flexible to the changes that come with a year in office, and we want to be able to adapt our platforms to fit the needs and situations of the students and the University.

 

4. What makes you the best qualified for the position, explain each of your qualifications/experience?

 

David Millet: I am the most qualified for this position because of the experience I have. I appreciate that any student can run for Student Body President, and I think that is great; however, there is a huge learning curve to the position, and that learning curve is much smaller if the candidate has been on the Executive Council before. Because of my experience throughout this year as the Academic Vice President I am prepared to “hit the ground running” once I am elected into office. The other two candidates are great people; however, they cannot honestly say that they are ready to “hit the ground running” because they will have to learn so much. I am also the most qualified for this position because I know how policies and procedures work here. I have met with all of the administration in preparation for this campaign, and I know what is on the horizon for the University, and I know where students need to be involved. I am prepared to lead students in the providing the student voice during these upcoming changes. I have a strong passion and love for UVU that I know is not matched by the other two candidates, and I feel that this passion will push me to be a successful Student Body President.

 

Jared Roberts:  Of all the characteristics that set me apart, I want to focus on one that both of my opponents for this position fundamentally lack: experience and know?how. Over the past two years I have learned how to navigate the course of working with both administrative and student?based organizations across this campus to accomplish an incredible amount of good, including the hosting of a petition drive last October where nine separate student groups on campus collaborated to gather over 3,000 signatures from students and faculty to promote a higher education initiative. This entire year I have worked with the current Executive VP to learn all about the workings and responsibilities relative to his position. In other words, I have already surmounted the inherent 3?4 month learning curve that my opponents would experience if placed in this position, to say nothing of the fact that the Executive VP runs the daily operations and internal affairs of an organization that neither of my opponents has ever even been a part of. In short I am easily the best choice for this position because I have the necessary traits needed to get the job done quickly and to get it done right.

 

Danny Diaz: I am the most qualified candidate to be the VP of Academics because I have experienced working with the Senate and serving UVU as both a Senator for the CHSS, and this year the assistant to the VP of Academics in the Academic Senate Branch of UVUSA. I feel confident knowing what the responsibilities are and how to fulfill them to a high degree of quality and exceeded expectation. The most noticeable aspect of me that I bring to the position is my determination, commitment, and drive. I bring my whole heart into anything that I take on, and know that I can do an absolute successful job at serving the University beyond what is outlined in the position description. I am confident knowing firsthand how I want to help President Holland fulfill his objectives and vision for the University with helping promote 3 core themes: to make the institution more serious, more engaged, and more inclusive. I strongly believe in the platforms we have outlined and will structure the Senate to reflect those core themes and goals. I am committed to UVU. This school has offered me so many opportunities to gather a quality education, and not just education that is found inside the classroom or inside a textbook but hands on, and in leadership experiences. I have come to understand how the Community works, and how each of us can be a part of it. I have come to understand how to be an effective leader and how to have a strong voice both small and large scale. I have had the opportunity to serve UVU in many capacities, from UVU Student Alumni, to the Multi Cultural Department, to The REC program, and the College of Humanities and Social Science. I have worked side by side with the Mentor program, the service council, and the Honors Program. I am involved with multiple clubs here on campus, and serve in a variety of different leadership positions. UVU is my passion and it is my best interest to make a better UVU today, and leave great legacy for tomorrow.

 

Madison Leavitt: I am the most qualified for the VP of Student Life position because I have experience as a leader especially within the realm of planning activities for students. I have been working with UVUSA for the past two years and I have learned how to effectively plan, promote, and execute events. I have also done event planning for various clubs on campus including Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and the Applied Behavioral Science Club. I have held leadership positions within UVUSA and clubs that have equipped me to serve as an effective leader in this area as well. Because of my experience with planning events, I am well aware of the processes and procedures that are necessary to plan a successful event. I know the resources that are available on campus and can utilize them for the production of events. I also can effectively implement student feedback to make improvements for the future. Most importantly, I have an incredible passion for developing school spirit on our campus that I would like to continue to share with the students. I believe the development of school spirit is crucial to the success of recruiting students to UVU and making a name for our university within the community and across the nation. After spending the past year as the Spirit Chair on UVUSA, I have been able to serve as an example of school pride and have a better understanding of where improvements are needed can be made to enhance school spirit.

 

5. What efforts will you make to include staff, students, and the community with your endeavors?

One of our platforms includes raising awareness of student resources, and we feel as though we can work with the staff of many departments here on campus to accomplish this goal. We will set up meetings with these departments to discuss how this can be accomplished, and we hope to continue these conversations throughout the year.

 

Another one of our platforms is increasing community engagement. We feel that we can accomplish this through working with Val Hale and his office to provide opportunities for the community to see UVU. This includes more business partnerships, and more events in which the community is invited. We definitely want to include the students in our plans and decision making. This would start immediately as we begin to plan for the upcoming year. We will do our best to talk to students and to survey students about what they wanted. We will work to utilize the suggestion boxes around campus more effectively. We will also work to make student fee hearing more well known among students so that they could attend if they so desired.

 

6. What is one tangible thing that you plan to do if elected, that you will be recognized for?

The first thing we would like to do is help implement and grow a campus philanthropy fund. We feel that this would be a great way for students to donate to great causes without being asked to donate after every disaster or tragedy. We have met with Marc Archambault, and we know that this can be done. We also would like to add a few more campus landmarks around campus that would help aid in the feeling of seriousness on our campus. In meeting with Cory Duckworth we know that we would have the support from the administration to get this done. This would be something that would definitely be seen and improve our campus.

 

7. What motivates you to be involved with UVUSA, and run in the elections?

As a group we all have a strong desire to be involved, to participate, and to influence people for good. This is the driving force behind why we are involved with UVUSA. We have seen the good that UVUSA does for the school, and we want to be involved in that. We are motivated to run for office because of our strong desire to continue the work we have been doing. As members of UVUSA we have all enjoyed our time in our positions, but we want to continue to do more. We want to represent the students better, and we feel we are qualified for the job. We all have a strong love for this University, and we want to EXELerate it into the future.

 

8. What sets you apart and makes you different in comparison to other teams?

We are an extremely qualified team for the positions we are applying for. All of us have gotten to the point we are at now in different ways, and that makes us unique. We have been the students who did not care, vote, or know who UVUSA was. We have been the students that have felt misrepresented. With that experience and the experience we have gained in our current positions, we now know how to reach out to those students and individuals. Our team is an extremely cohesive unit, and this is different than the other teams out there. We are all friends, and we have been planning, discussing, and working together since September. We all have the same goals in mind, and we work as one unit. There is no “I” in team, and there is no “I” in EXELerate. We are committed to working as a team and as friends. If we are elected I can guarantee that you will see the most cohesive Executive Council ever. We all have the strongest desire to see UVU grow, and I am sure more school pride than the other teams running. We are proud of this University, and we are proud to serve UVU students. We are unique, and we are the best candidates for our positions.

 

9. What do you consider your weakness, and how do you plan to improve it?

As a team that is made up of candidates from UVUSA, our weakness is breaking the stigma that we are stuck in our ways and cannot change. We all came to UVUSA from different situations and backgrounds, and we know what other students are going through. It is sometimes thought that members of UVUSA do not have the perspective of other students because they have always been involved in UVUSA, but we would tell you that we do have those perspectives, and our experiences have been enriched because we now have seen both sides. We feel it is a strength that we have experience in UVUSA, and we feel we are better prepared to serve the students because of our experience.

 

10. Is there anything else you would like to say or add?

The members of Team EXELerate are the best candidates for your Student Body Officers. We are ready to serve the students of UVU, and we are committed to making UVU a better place.