Our campus community is my favorite thing about BSU. Our students, faculty and staff are dedicated to building a welcoming, empowering and compassionate community.

As Student Senate President, I have been a part of so much inspiring community here. I found community at our dining hall in Walnut, in our residence halls which housed over 800 students this year, at our outstanding Sustainability Office that continually accomplished environmental work on campus, and in our powerful student Senate, made up of about 13 students who passed over 10 pieces of legislation impacting the student body this year. Many students found community at classes, the Hobson Memorial Union, athletic events, the Gillett Wellness Center, or off campus. The places you can find community here are endless, and students are always creating new pathways to connect with others.

At this point in time, students are facing many challenges globally, nationally and regionally: the rising cost of higher education amidst continually falling governmental support to higher education institutions, food insecurity, textbook costs, overcoming the lingering mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate anxiety, campus safety and discrimination and student loans. Our university is facing many of these problems, but they have the unfortunate impact of negatively affecting our financial position and requiring the reorganization of our colleges and departments.

I am proud of our students every day for working to overcome these challenges. BSU students are passionate about earning their education, and our faculty are dedicated to giving students a valuable, regionally-relevant and useful education. Our students are capable of facing everything the future holds thanks to their determination and the high-quality education they are receiving here. I can’t wait to see BSU succeed in the years to come!