SGA selects new members of Executive Cabinet for 2009-2010

As the 2008-2009 school year comes to a close, the Student Government Association is beginning its transition. Members are graduating or taking on new positions within SGA, creating a fresh group of student leaders to represent the Loyola Evergreen Campus.

New members of the Executive Cabinet were recently selected by the Cabinet Selection Committee, which is composed of a student body president, two student body vice presidents and three class presidents. After much debate and discussion, twelve students were chosen to oversee various aspects of the Loyola community, from academics to technology.

Santina Craze, '12, will be the chief of staff. A Psychology major with a Spanish minor, Craze was a member of the freshman assembly this year and is the photography editor for the Evergreen Annual, Loyola's yearbook. She has an entire desk drawer dedicated to SGA-just one example of her organization, an essential quality to be an effective chief of staff.

"My biggest goal for next year is to provide more transparency between the executive cabinet and the rest of the Student Government," Craze said.

The new director of academic affairs will be Dennis Delany, '10. Delany is a Biology and Spanish major and has been on SGA since his freshman year. He plans on building upon the work of past administrations, which includes developing the advising program, trying to get major GPAs printed on school transcripts and pushing to get an MCAT course on campus.

"I want to work with some first year programs, international programs and academic mentors to try and better communication and help students to know what their options are," Delany said.

Kelsey Powell, '10, will step into the role of director of resident affairs. Powell is a Psychology and Public Relations major and was a member of the junior assembly. She has many ambitious aspirations for her time as a member of the Executive Cabinet, though the Selection Committee believes that "if anyone can do it, Kelsey can."

Powell plans to work a lot with Student Life to get students' voices heard. She also wants to push for a more spread-out housing process and would like to form an international event where different parts of campus represent various countries of the world. These are just a few of her plans for the 2009-2010 year.

Akash Chadha, '12, will fill the director of commuter affairs position. Though he is a commuter student, Chadha, a Biology major, arrives on campus at 6 a.m. every day to study and does not leave until 7 p.m. He devotes a lot of time to community service at the Don Miller House, Little Sisters of the Poor, and St. Agnes Hospital.

Chadha plans to "bring students to new levels and challenge them." He wants to do this by improving advertisements so commuter students are more aware of campus events. Some of his ideas for this include putting advertisements on shuttles and the school website.

Matthew Rosa, '12, will take on the title of director of finance. Though only a freshman, the Selection Committee felt Rosa possessed the necessary professional qualities to fulfill his duties. A Finance major who worked with finances at his high school, Rosa proposed an impressive finance scenario during his interview that proved he can think on his feet and that he understands what goes into managing finances. "If it pertains to finances, he will do what is in the best interests of SGA," the Selection Committee said.

Robert Mulcahy, '12, will be the assistant director of finance and was chosen for many of the same reasons as Rosa. With a brother and father in finance, dealing with money is something Mulcahy has been doing for a long time. He majors in Finance and interned at a car company where he gained a lot of experience. The Selection Committee sees Rosa and Mulcahy working well together well as they handle the school's budget.

The new director of diversity will be Thomas Anderson, '11, who is a Business Administration in Finance major. Anderson is involved in many things on campus that gave him lot of experience with Loyola diversity. He works for ALANA and was the publicity chair of BSA. He has also been involved in SGA as a sophomore assembly member, in addition to running for freshman and junior class president.

"I want the community to be truly exposed and cognizant of issues and groups that they normally may not come upon," Anderson said.

Paulina Stachnik, '10, will be the director of community relations. A Global Studies major, Stachnik has been involved in SGA since her freshman year as an assembly member and Director of Communications. She tutors at Cristo Rey, participated in Spring Break Outreach, and is also involved in UNITE, CSC, and Our Daily Bread. One of her main goals is to develop a stronger relationship with the York Road community. She also plans to work closely with CCSJ. "It will be our job as we transition into a university to reach out," Stachnik said.

Alyssa DeLisio, '10, will take on the role of director of communications. With an Advertizing/Public Relations major and a Marketing minor, Delisio has plenty of background to succeed in her position. She also interned at Bonnier Corporation, a media company, and was an administrative assistant for the dean of students.

She plans to work with on-campus organizations such as WLOY and the Greyhound to get the word out about SGA. She believes that using technology as opposed to flyers on campus will inform more students. One thing she will be working on is getting an SGA "weekly update" section in the Greyhound.

The business manager for next year will be Meaghan Sullivan, '12, a member of the women's lacrosse team. In addition to being a Business major, Sullivan is also involved with Event Services and was the co-manager of the snack bar at her local yacht club, giving her a strong background in business management. "As a member of SGA," Sullivan said, "I hope to use my leadership skills and dedication to…plan fun and interesting events and activities, produce new ways to fund raise and generate aid, and demonstrate to the student body that students are here to help other students."