It's been a year since Samantha and I made the decision to run for President and Vice President. It was not a decision we took lightly. Sam and I understand the great potential of UCCS, its students and its SGA. We have faced many challenges along the way. Working under a new Constitution and Constitutional Bylaws, we learned how important the little things, like conjunctions, are. We worked to reestablish and strengthen relationships with administration, the Board of Regents and student leaders from all over Colorado. We fought hard against major state initiatives that would have caused drastic increases in tuition. We still continue to work against the lack of student knowledge about and participation in SGA. We have never forgotten that we represent a diverse student body of 8900 students, even though only about 2-4% even know who we are. Our vision of a strong Student Government that will represent the UCCS student body as UCCS grows to become the largest college in Colorado has been the motivation behind all of our actions. UCCS will be the biggest college/university in Colorado. This is a simple fact based on the amount of land we have available for growth, and our ever increasing number of students. It isn't about the glory, the benefits, our resumes or the power. It's about the future.
As we move forward towards tomorrow, the SGA needs to be strong. In the early years of UCCS, the SGA was created for the purpose of handling the student newspaper budget. Today, we are the caretakers of over $200,000 in student fee money as well as advocates for student rights, wants and needs. The possibilities are endless, but our time as President and Vice President is nearly at an end.
Samantha and I have decided not to run for re-election. We will both be graduate students next year, and although we still qualify to run, we feel we need to focus on our studies and future careers. Between April 11th and April 15th, students will have the opportunity to once again vote for those they wish to represent them. I ask each student to not take this decision lightly. There are a number of little things that need to be cared for, reviewed and discussed - each that affect students in some way or another. The vision of the future needs to be cultivated and protected. Before we leave office, Samantha and I will take the time to train our replacements as we have obtained a multitude of knowledge that we previously were not aware existed.
As I look back at what we have accomplished, not only as an Executive team, but as an entire SGA, my only true hope is reflected in the following quote by John Quincy Adams: "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader"
