The elected officials of the very first Student Government Association have a wide variety of ideas for the campus community, including improving communication between students and the administration, increasing the retention rate and even an on-campus thrift shop.

Joseph Legate, sophomore accounting major, was elected as executive vice president and spoke to The Mirror on behalf of himself and the Student Government Association’s president, Nathan Miller, sophomore psychology major.

“This is a new chapter in the legacy of Lakeland College, and I am glad I can help pioneer the way for future members of the Student Government,” Legate said. “(Miller) and I will work to better the communication between the college and the students.”

Darrin Pribbernow, sophomore criminal justice major and one of two social science division senators, will also focus his efforts on communication.

“My biggest goal is to maximize communication between the student body and the staff,” Pribbernow said. “It seems this year has been disappointing from a student’s perspective in regards to the effectiveness of communication, and it’s my goal to bridge that gap.”

Nathaniel Cooper, sophomore computer science and international business major and vice president of student affairs, believes his new role will provide him “opportunities to learn, develop and be a change maker.”

“My mission is integration—bringing together the talents, skills and voices of everyone for overall success,” Cooper said. “I also plan to develop programs that make students successful socially and academically. Those programs include, but are not limited to, revamping the convocation time and setting up a thrift shop on campus.”

Cooper said he hopes to use the old daycare facility for a real thrift shop on campus.

Le’Shay “Shay” Jones, junior criminal justice major, will serve as vice president of student services.

“My goal is to build a relationship with the student body so that they are more comfortable with expressing their opinions on some of the changes happening on our campus,” Jones said. “I want to help the school retain students (by aiding) the administration and faculty in understanding what current and future students are looking for in a college.”

Some of the elected officials are still exploring their new roles.

“Given that the Student Government Association is a new program, I hope to do some good within the social science division while developing a better understanding of the goals and abilities of the entire association,” said Alister Kohls, junior sociology major and one of two social science division senators. “I would guess many of the students alongside me are likewise a little uncertain of their new roles, and I believe that will keep the creative doors open for truly and honestly connecting the administration to the students again.”