While everyone else started school on Wednesday, August 21st, your campus leaders have been back to work since early August, training and preparing for the best year yet. I was lucky enough to join in on some of this training and get insight into how the campus is preparing for its students.
SNU has prioritized building up student leaders and has revamped its leadership programs in recent years. Each spring, Leadership Launch begins, allowing hundreds of students to apply for leadership positions across campus. Many of these positions require several rounds of interviews, recommendation letters, and extensive applications before a person is chosen for a specific role. This process of extreme detail and attention is centered on finding the best Christ-like leaders to represent our student body. Some of these leadership roles include “lead” positions for the Student Activities Leadership Team (SALT), where individuals are chosen to lead a team of students focused on a unique area of campus life. Here are some thoughts from your leads below.
Junior biochemistry student, Rachel Fonseca, serves as the campus’ Student Belonging Lead, where she oversees all of the student societies on campus, including the Black Student Society, Hispanic Latino Society, International Student Society, and the Student Society for Women. When asked why she applied for her position, Fonseca explained, “I knew I wanted to be involved on campus somehow, but I just wasn’t too sure where. I’ve known Blair Spindle for a while and he mentioned this position to me last year, but at the time I didn’t have enough space in my schedule for it. This year, however, as soon as the applications opened, I applied. I then went through a fun interview process and got to sit in an interview with so many people I look up to on campus. They’ve loved me so well from the start.” She continued saying, “We are coming in excited for this year and expectant of what’s to come! We have been preparing and diligently working towards making it the best year yet.”
Eli Redinger is a sophomore nursing major and the Social Life Lead. He says that he initially applied for his role to help “build the SNU community and create memorable experiences for students.” This year, he wants to “make social life events enjoyable for all students, where they can have fun with friends and make new memories!” Redinger can’t wait to explore his position and is “excited to see what God has in store for SNU this year!”
Senior finance major, David Omosigho, handles all things moneywise as the Finance, Accounting, Statistics, and Tracking (FAST) Lead. His role is key for budgets to be balanced and funds to be used to make events the best they can be. Omosigho sought out the FAST position because he believed it would help him gain valuable experience in his field of work. When asked about what he is most excited about this year, he shared, “I am most excited about all of the events taking place this year. Students can expect to have fun!”
Emma Long, a senior biology major, and the Community Relations Lead, said that she applied for her position because she “thought it would be a good way for me to give back. I’ve had so many great experiences and memories because of our events and I wanted to be able to try and do the same for someone else.” When asked about how she and her team have been preparing for this year, she said, “We have gone through a lot of training in small group settings that have been good for all of us. Recently, my team and I have been getting everything in order for Wet Bandits, and I am excited for new people to get involved and hopefully create a space where connections and community can be made!”
Carter Brock, junior kinesiology major and Sports and Rec Lead, says he applied for his position because of the past leadership of Brixton Schmidt during the 22-23 school year. Brock states, “Brix was the lead and is now the BFC college pastor and my friend. I worked as a team member when he was the lead and after that, I fell in love with SALT and creating an amazing college life at SNU.” He went on to explain that “the sports and rec team is super pumped for this year! Our focus is to engage the students and bring a lot of energy to our sporting events. We want our athletes and students to be more connected and support one another. This year, our student section will be an emphasis as we want all our athletes to feel loved and supported through other students’ energy and attendance. Also this year, Storm Warning, Fanatics Weekend, Broomball, Powderpuff, and Wiffleball will all be making a return. We are super excited for this upcoming year and can’t wait to see everyone out on the courts and field!”
Carson Shirola, senior mass communications major and Creative Director, says he applied for his position because Hailee Thompson, the former Creative Director, encouraged him to apply. Now starting his second year as Creative Director, Shirola says, “I am excited to promote events at SNU and to make sure it’s better that we have ever done it before! I’m going to give it all I have to make this year the best I can!” Carson is grateful for all of the opportunities this position has given him and the friendships that have come from being involved in SALT.
Allie Miller, sophomore pastoral ministry major and psychology minor, serves as the Student Chaplain Lead. She shares, “Last year I had the honor of being a team member on the Chaplain team and got to truly see how much intentionality goes into the chaplain events. I applied to be the Student Chaplain Lead because Blair Spindle encouraged me to apply. I was worried that I wouldn’t be enough for the job, but after praying about it and looking into the position, I realized that the job didn’t mean I had to be more than I was. Since then, I entered into the position with the understanding that I have tons of mentors to ask for advice and to guide me, as well as a whole team and friends.” Miller continued saying, “I have spent a lot of time in prayer thinking about this semester and what it will/could look like. Through moments with mentors and friends, I have realized how important it is to have people in my life to walk in faith with me. That’s what the student chapels are meant to do–to create spaces for our school to gather together and simply be a part of each other’s lives. Students can expect to see different events founded on ideas of community and worship this year.”
Chase Matson, senior pastoral ministry major and Student Body President, joined SALT because he wants students to love their school. He says. “I want to love this school and by becoming invested in it, I fell in love! This is a special place where you can either choose to just go to college or choose to go to college and call it home!” Matson is looking forward to all that this year has to offer and is thankful to be able to serve.
Hopefully, through this article, you see that SNU has some awesome student leaders. I know from personal experience that every one of these leaders is kind, adaptable, and prepared to serve the SNU student body well. I encourage you to get to know these leaders, show up to their events, and thank them for all that they do to serve you.
Photos by: SNU Creative