This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rowan chapter.
Alex LaVallee may only be a sophomore on campus, but he has accomplished what many hope to do in four years. From having a double major in Communication Studies and Public Relations, to being a PRO and president of Rowan’s Future Business Leaders of America, Alex is blazing a trail of his own at Rowan University. Next stop, SGA President.
Check out our exclusive Her Campus interview (below) with the nominee as he discusses his plans for SGA, involvement on campus, and what makes him a great candidate!
You’ve probably seen him around before due to his extensive campus involvement. Here’s some information on Alex and his accomplishments outside his potential SGA Presidency:
“As a student I’ve gotten very involved. Last year I got involved with PROS which definitely kicked off my on campus involvement! After a year with PROS I moved up to a supervisory Team Leader position! I do a lot of things with Leadership Rowan as a Leadership mentor–serving as a mentor for both Freshman Connection Leadership and ASPIRE Leadership retreats. I also started and served as president for Rowan’s Future Business Leaders of America. With that we have done a few things like hosted a keynote speech by the founders of Barefoot Wine, and raised over $5,100 worth of toys that we donated directly to Robins’ Nest, an organization right in Glassboro!”
“I have also been involved with The Rowan Arts Collective and am a big advocate for the fine arts community on campus! Service is also a big part of my involvement–I am the student leader on one of Rowan’s alternative spring breaks. I am leading a team of 13 students down to Florida to volunteer at Give Kids the World Village for children with life threatening illness! On campus, I have made it my goal to try new things on campus and take advantage of the opportunities given to me!”
How does he plan on bettering our campus as SGA President?
“I really like that there is an opportunity to work with the growth of the university. As an individual, I love student development, and the opportunity to take that up a notch to university development is really special to me. I love Rowan and will work my hardest to help the student body grow with the university. With my higher ed administration experience, I would like to bridge the gap between students and faculty by making it easier to communicate between the two. Transparency is important, and I would like to make it so the students are more aware of the changes happening around them. I want to be the voice of the students that I might get the opportunity to serve and work my hardest to help in the development of Rowan!”
How would he bridge the communication gap between teachers and students?
“I would primarily be trying to bridge the gap between students and administration. A lot of students have access to office hours for their professors but meeting with higher administration is really difficult for a lot of students. I would like to implement some sort of public forum for students to come out and freely ask questions to some administrators which would be cool. If students could have periodical access to administrators I think that would encourage students to get more active in the growth of the university. SGA has a hefty budget, which could be used for programs focusing on educating students about growing with the school.”
So, more than just inviting administrators to be questioned at the SGA meetings?
“Yeah I think that setting up a public forum outside of senate would be more beneficial to students who care about what is happening to the university. Senate seems to have an “organization hub” reputation to people outside of senate because it seems to be very club oriented. If a monthly forum was something that happened it would be really interesting to see the people that come out to ask questions and the willingness of the administration to come out and answer those questions.”
And as for what makes him a qualified leader?
“I believe that the strengths that I bring to the table really lie in the diversity of my experiences. I have experience working with students, parents, and administration through PROS. That being said, I also have managerial and team building skills, which I could bring to the SGA eboard. I through my past eboard positions I have also developed a lot of soft skills like one-on-one communication skills, public speaking, and office skills.”
Finish this sentence: “If you vote for me ____ “
“If you vote for me, I will work as hard as I can to give my all to the university and the students that are enrolled. I love Rowan University and the people that I have met here, and I would be honored to serve as SGA President.”
So, how can the student body vote?
“Voting will take place from March 10 through March 12. To vote, log onto Banner, go to Personal Information, click ‘Answer a Survey’, select ‘Elections’, and vote for Alex LaVallee!”
Best of luck to you, Alex!