{"id":27583,"date":"2015-04-22T15:03:46","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T19:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/?p=27583"},"modified":"2015-04-22T15:26:22","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T19:26:22","slug":"27583","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/2015\/04\/22\/27583\/","title":{"rendered":"From One Generation, to Another: Advice on Successful Student Group Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"2014-2015<\/a>
The 2014-2015 CGS SGA E-Board poses for a photo as they film\u00a0for SAO’s Excellence in Student Activities awards. Pictured left to right: Jennifer Wong, Anushka Pinto, Casra Salehomoum, Amanda Gee, and Anna Barnes. (Photo courtesy of SGA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the 2014- 2015 academic year draws to a close, many student groups are transitioning leadership, inducting the next generation of executive boards and charging them to continue the legacy. While this is bittersweet for some\u00a0and exciting for others, it’s the perfect time to reflect on this year’s accomplishments, and pass along\u00a0wisdom for next year. CGS sat down with this year’s Executive Board of the Student Government Association (SGA) to gain insight on their secrets for success. Not only did the SGA make a huge impact on the CGS community, organizing numerous successful events, they\u00a0were also\u00a0nominated\u00a0as a top group across campus for\u00a0the\u00a0prestigious\u00a0Excellence in Student Activities award, given by Student Activities. CGS thanks the SGA for not only sharing their wisdom and advice below, but for all that they’ve done to make the CGS community more vibrant than ever!<\/p>\n

Advice on…\u00a0how\u00a0to work together as a leadership\u00a0unit\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jennifer Wong, President\u00a0(CGS 15, COM 17): <\/strong>CGS represents scholars with a multitude of majors, talents and passions– and this benefit\u00a0is what makes our college so unique. In any team setting, respect and communication are crucial. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other beforehand, grabbing meals and constantly planning logistics over the summer before the semester started. Everyone on the e-board is extremely dedicated and like we tell our general assembly members, being a student leader should be considered a 24\/7 commitment, not just a role you play during a weekly meeting. We wanted to \u201ctake the politics out of politics\u201d and create a community rather than a bureaucracy. We aimed to create an environment that fostered genuine leaders with a passion for making a difference. We always like to say that this community has become so much more than just a student government, we’re a family.<\/p>\n

Advice on…\u00a0working with administration<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"CGS<\/a>
In partnership with the Center for Career Development, SGA hosted a Career Open House night this past spring\u00a0to review resumes and cover letters, review LinkedIn and take professional headshots, discuss the job and internship search profess, and more.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anushka Pinto, Student Senator\u00a0(CGS 15, CAS 17): <\/strong>It is extremely important to build relationships with the faculty and administrators\u00a0because they are a key resource when it comes to event execution and operations.\u00a0Communication is critical. We proactively\u00a0set up meetings, emailed, or stopped by for an informal conversation to let them\u00a0know what we were planning and how things were going. That way, we could work together to\u00a0offer the best events possible. This approach worked well– it\u2019s\u00a0much more pleasant to be nice and respectful\u00a0rather than throwing in last minute surprises (or demands).<\/p>\n

Advice on…\u00a0running effective meetings and planning events<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Anushka: <\/strong>Always have an agenda. That way, meetings are structured, conversation\u00a0runs smoothly, and\u00a0you stay on time. Activities and events should always be planned sooner, rather than later. With more time to plan,\u00a0you can work out the details that otherwise might\u00a0be overlooked, have time to sold any\u00a0unforeseen obstacles or challenges,\u00a0and ultimately create\u00a0a better\u00a0event experience.<\/p>\n

Advice on…\u00a0member recruitment and engagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"SGA<\/a>
SGA hosts a table in the CGS lobby for students to sign cards and express gratitude to soldiers over seas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anushka:<\/strong> It\u2019s important to recruit members in a way that highlights the benefits of being a member.\u00a0While SGA is about helping others and catering to the CGS community, our recruitment efforts are framed around\u00a0what\u00a0SGA can deliver to\u00a0the potential member.\u00a0We\u00a0position it as a great way to\u00a0gain leadership skills, build your resume, make friends at CGS,\u00a0and form relationships with the administration. Students are more likely to join if they know they can get something out of joining.<\/p>\n

Advice on…\u00a0event execution<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Amanda Gee, Secretary\u00a0(CGS 15, Questrom 17):<\/strong> Plan ahead.\u00a0 Events seem simple but they actually take a lot of planning and creativity.\u00a0 Making reservations and marketing events should be done 1-2 weeks in advance to create awareness and to make sure everything is in place.<\/p>\n

Advice on… anything else!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"And,<\/a>
And, SGA kept spirits up and energy high by giving out donuts and snacks during finals and the Capstone kick off.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jennifer: <\/strong>We strive to cultivate an environment of positive change by building student leaders who excel both within the College and across the greater BU network.<\/p>\n

A new initiative we started this year is the CGS mentorship program. We understand that continuing from CGS into another college can be complex, so we matched freshmen with sophomore student leaders who are planning on going into the same major field as them to guide them academically, provide support and follow our theme of building community here at CGS. Mentorship is a valuable resource that I would like to see SGA exhibit for years to come.<\/p>\n

The purpose of being a leader isn’t to grow more followers, it’s build more leaders, and that’s what we at CGS Student Government aim to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the 2014- 2015 academic year draws to a close, many student groups are transitioning leadership, inducting the next generation of executive boards and charging them to continue the legacy. While this is bittersweet for some\u00a0and exciting for others, it’s the perfect time to reflect on this year’s accomplishments, and pass along\u00a0wisdom for next year. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8955,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[334,1,340,4205],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27583"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8955"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27583"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27597,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27583\/revisions\/27597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}