Brooke Carter, who is she? If you don’t know now, you will definitely hear about her soon. Standing firmly for what she believes students deserve is what makes her an important aspect to the RISE campaign. As the treasurer, she is ready to take on the responsibility of giving money to student organizations based on their needs, and understanding why it is important to them. Beyond her duties as a treasurer, Brooke is excited for the vision RISE has for the community and cannot wait to share the experiences with you! She proves that if you want to see change, be the change, and with a great foundation and support system, she is doing just that. The passion she has, her bubbly personality, and heartwarming smile alone, will show and tell you what she is like as a person, but there is much more to Brooke than just that. So without further ado, this is Brooke Carter:
Who else is involved on your ticket, and what is the overall platform?
My partners in crime on the RISE ticket are Ammishaddai Grand-Jean (President) and Ripken Gorman (Vice President). After much time, tweaking, and research we finally agreed on our three platform points: Efficiency, Community, and Engagement.
Efficiency, in its simplest form, means “making things at UGA work.” With this point, we want to improve different types of UGA resources – transportation, campus reservations, WEPA printer accessibility, the trademarking process for student organizations, etc. – in hopes of making everyone’s lives a bit easier!
When we say that we want to focus on community, we are not just limiting that to strengthening relationships among students and organizations. We will also strive to improve the relationship between UGA and Athens-Clarke County! Hosting mixers between leadership of different organizations, increasing turnout at all UGA sporting events, SGA sponsored service initiatives, and using SGA’s social media presence to highlight any and every organization are some of our ideas in how to intensify the spirit of the Dawg Nation.
Increasing student engagement may be our ticket’s first priority if we were ever to step into office. Student engagement in SGA consists of two main goals – for SGA to be more transparent in its initiatives and accountability mechanisms, and to make SGA more easily accessible to all students that walk the campus (not just simply ones involved in student organizations). We want to recruit representation of all types of student groups and pair them with experienced SGA policy-makers to ensure that legislative initiatives are parallel to the needs of the groups they will be affecting.
Why did you choose to run on an SGA Executive Ticket?
Last semester, Ripken and I had become increasingly more discontent with organizations and leadership bodies on campus not being utilized to their fullest potential. We were growing weary of the students that had phenomenal ideas or large amounts of concerns and just didn’t know where to go with them. It was an honor to formerly be a part of organizations that served specific groups of individuals, but I wanted to reach further than that. I want a way to take the inconsistencies and slight burdens I have seen in student life thus far and fix them (or at least die trying).
I decided after little contemplation to run because I knew that I had every student and every type of student in the back of my mind making the decision for me. Every friend I’ve made in class, every story someone has shared with me at a retreat, every high-five I’ve gotten at a football game, every stranger I’ve shared passions with talking at activity fairs, etc., are the people I’m running for. As soon as Ripken spoke into the existence that SGA may be the vehicle we needed to make the changes we think need to be made at this university, it was firm in my mind from there.
How does it feel to be running for a prominent position within SGA as a woman?
Wonderful!!! Being a woman is wonderful! I get to do everything that Ripken and Ammishaddai are required throughout this process, but I just look prettier than them while doing it. Honestly, I don’t know that it feels any different. I have been treated with such respect in this endeavor and cheered on so heavily by my friends and then some. It is truly an honor to not only show all of my lovely UGA women that they can embark on any adventure that they put their mind to, but to work with some INCREDIBLE women while doing this. Shout out to the women of the staff and support of RISE—You are phenomenal, you inspire me, and our community of women is so lucky to have you represent us with such high esteem. Woman power! (But also man power – everyone power!!)
What advice do you have for women who desire to serve in leadership positions?
I have a little quote from Pinterest that I would love to share with all of my lovely ladies who work in leadership: “Be a pineapple: Stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside.” It cannot get more simple than that! I am a complete and total nerd when it comes to leadership (Business Management major, forgive me) and I feel as if this quote so simply covers how leaders should act. It is so vitally important to me that people in positions of power keep two things in mind: 1) To act and treat organization members with the same qualities that you want your organization’s environment to encompass and 2) Being disrespectful is inefficient!!
Who has been an inspiration to you recently or throughout your life? Did they play a role in your decision to run on an SGA Executive Ticket, and if so how?
Sorry if this is cliché, but my mother Justine Carter inspires me every day that passes during my college experience. She is so patient with my lack of time to FaceTime, never gets annoyed when the phone calls I do give her are just me asking for grocery money, and never fails to support and encourage me (even when I get bad test grades). Being the first person in my family to immediately go off to college (5 hours away from home, at that) has come with a large learning curve, and my mom has been a rock star every step of the way! I’ve told all of my close friends before and I will now tell you that I’m a firm believer that all of my best qualities come directly from her.
She may have not necessarily had direct influence in my decision to run, but the first thing she said to me when I called her and told her it was official was, “I’ll help buy the swag!!”
What excites you most about running and the possibility of serving in this position?
Ahhh, the whole process of running is exciting!! My FAVORITE thing thus far about running has been the phenomenal humans that I had the absolute privilege of working with. Our campaign staff is comprised of people from all different backgrounds and niches on campus, and they are truly some of the best people I have ever met. I love serving alongside my RISE family!
What excites me about serving in this position?? Again, honestly everything! But, more specifically, the direct contact with students and their organizations. As Treasurer, I would not only get to write a check for an organization that asks for money, but I would have the unique opportunity to listen to why they need the money. I would have the opportunity to hear what passions they have that need funding for their visions to come to light, and to be able to find creative solutions for those unable to receive the funding that they need. It’s a position of listening to others that is unmatched by any other position on campus.
What other organizations are you involved in on campus?
I am currently only involved in my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, as the Service Chair and one of the Assistants to the VP of Philanthropy. This past semester I did not accept any formal positions in organizations because I wanted to give 110% of my focus to the election season. In the past, however, I have had the absolute pleasure of working with UGA HEROs the past two years, working with the Disability Resource Center as a note taker, serving as a counselor for Dawg Camp, participating in IMPACT UGA’s LGBTQ Advocacy & Awareness trip this winter break, and hosting incoming students as an RA for the Terry Business Academy! Attending LeaderShape UGA, being a SWAB mentor, and participating in the Miss University of Georgia pageant this year are also a few organizations I’ve participated in that hold a large chunk of my heart!
What do you appreciate most about the UGA community?
I appreciate how far the UGA community reaches and how deeply the love and loyalty runs through its members’ veins. Being a Dawg is not limited to just current undergrad students. Being a Dawg extends to the awesome faculty and staff we have surrounding us every day on campus. It extends to the people of Athens that cheer on our boys every Saturday in the fall. It extends for the double and triple dawgs that just cannot be satisfied with one degree! It extends to the Alumni spread across the country and the world that still stay involved with and support our university. I’m sure that everyone loves the college that they attend, but I just don’t believe that there is a love for a school quite like the love that people have for the University of Georgia. Go freaking Dawgs!!!!
What is one thing that has had an impact on you while at UGA?
I have such a soft spot for my professors. It is so so so easy to become distracted from academics here with all of the organizations, trips, volunteering opportunities, and events at our disposal, but my professors are always the people that kind of keep me grounded. The professors I have had the honor to learn from in the past four semesters have truly had an impact on both my experience at UGA and the course of my life, for sure. Amanda Farmer made every MWF 9am bearable last spring, and truly gave me her all when I needed help during Accounting Two (who doesn’t need help during Accounting Two??). Charles Lyons has written me countless letters of recommendation, prepped me for the biggest interview of my life and cheered me on when I landed the internship. Our professors are PHENOMENAL human beings with so much depth and life experience. Our university puts so much time and effort in choosing the best of the best to educate us and for that, I am so thankful. The two professors I named are not the only on my list of those who have made a lasting impact on my college experience.
What is your favorite study spot (on or off campus)?
I wish I had a cooler favorite study spot, like some super hip coffee shop or something, but honestly the 4th floor MLC is my place!! I have such wild memories on the 4th floor MLC, from my first freshman year finals week (when goofing off was probably done more than studying) and it is still the hot spot for when it’s cramming time within my friend group ‘til this day. Now that the Tate Starbs (Starbucks) is open, I also find myself there fairly often, rewarding myself for doing work with a nice drip brew.
What is your favorite restaurant in Athens?
Embarrassingly enough, if I was being 100% honest with you, it would be Dunkin Donuts or Menchie’s froyo. I would much rather grab an iced coffee and have 8 pounds of froyo for dinner than go anywhere else! But in regards to all of the local Athens eateries (because they’re ~the bomb~) my favorite would have to be Trapeze downtown! The Quinoa salad is my life, and it’s within walking distance to the Last Resort (so I can grab a slice of cheesecake for dessert).
What would you consider your dream job to be?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I knew! I’m not 100% sure where I want to end up in my career yet, but I’ve been bouncing around a few ideas so far. I would love to end up in Corporate America somehow, working in the Training and Development sector of a company’s Human Resources Department. Eventually I would absolutely love to be some type of business coach to CEOs or small business owners and walk them through whatever problems/ideas they have with their firm! I’ve also been tossing around the idea of practicing Employment Law at some point in time, so who knows where the wind will actually take me.
Is there a quote you live by or feel motivated by when you read or hear it? If so what is it, and why is it so significant?
“Build your eulogy, not your resume.” I don’t know who it’s by, but I heard it years ago and it’s been my favorite since. It’s so significant because it keeps me grounded. Building your resume isn’t bad – in fact, in this day and age it’s necessary. However, anything you do for your resume shouldn’t be completed for that sole reason. Join clubs that give you life. Invest your energy in positions and opportunities that will help you grow and will help you serve others. Participate in experiences that will leave both you and others with memories to cherish and positive things to say. When I die, I want people to list off the memories we shared at “X” event and the impact it had on both of us, not just the fact that I was there.
Be sure to get involved and vote! Voting begins on Monday, March 20, 2017 through Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Voting will take place here. Best of luck to RISE!
Happy voting!