All-female board to lead Student Government Association for 2024-25 academic year
Published on: May 6, 2024
In Fall 2024, the Student Government Association (SGA) at Guilford Technical Community College will welcome a new group of students to lead the way for students at the college.
The new board consists of only female students this year. The winners of the elections, held in the spring semester prior to the start of their year-long terms, are as follows:
- President of SGA: Catalina Aldana-Archila
- Vice President of Clubs: Nahid El-hemaidi
- Vice President of Special Events: Selah McAdams
- Secretary: Krichella Gotico
The new SGA president, Aldana-Archila, has experience being part of student government. She currently serves as the secretary of SGA.
“It opened so many doors for me. I wanted to continue that and improve things that I saw while I was secretary,” explained Aldana-Archila. She originally planned to run for her current position again, but after she was told she would be a good fit for the president position, she reconsidered.
“After that, I had an introspective moment with myself and decided I was going to try it so I could do great things for this school,” said Aldana-Archila. “I knew it would be challenge for me, but I love challenges.”
Aldana-Archila already has plans for her term as SGA president. Recognizing the importance of fostering safe and fun social spaces for students, she hopes to make the college’s events more well known by the student body.
“We create events to connect with other people and the community. I think that’s really important, especially since we are a community college,” said Aldana-Archila. “Opening those spaces to meet new people is what dictates your social life here, so it has an important place and role in the students’ lives.
“One of my goals is to make our events more well known, because a lot of students don’t know about us and they’re losing that resource to make their GTCC lives better.”
McAdams, vice president of special events, has similar goals for her term.
“SGA really is for the students, by the students. We want our events to help students succeed in their time here, but also when they leave,” said McAdams. “I want SGA to be more than a club, but something that can help them succeed in their future careers.”
When McAdams first started her academic journey with GTCC, she felt less social than she would’ve liked. It was attending college events hosted by Student Life that helped her make friends.
“I wanted to be a part of what helped me come out of my shell and maybe improve some events we already have,” said McAdams.
McAdams has some ideas for events in the future, including inviting small business entrepreneurs to campus to inspire students and give them ideas for their futures. Her main goal, however, is to expand campus events and make them more accessible.
“I want to bring events to all of our campuses to include all of GTCC, not just Jamestown,” said McAdams. “I want to market events more and host events that are in the community and bring people together.”
Vice President of Clubs El-hemaidi agrees with McAdams that promoting the opportunities GTCC offers students is a main goal for the upcoming year.
“I really want to focus on establishing more clubs, and getting existing club involvement up,” said El-hemaidi. “I want to spread awareness about what clubs we have, and I want to help with scheduling so that most club meeting times don’t overlap.”
El-hemaidi explained that many of the college’s student clubs meet at the same time, limiting what options students have for involvement. She also explained that making students aware of all the student organizations will benefit the GTCC community, as people explore their interests and find their crowd.
“I really like getting involved in the community, especially the college community here,” said El-hemaidi. “I’ve had a lot of fun making friends here, and I to help people start the clubs they want to be a part of.”
Secretary Gotico is excited to work with the rest of the team to make their goals achievable. As secretary, she will be responsible for keeping the board organized and informed.
“Ever since high school, I've always been leading people and helping with the needs of the student body. I’ve always had this passion for student advocacy and making changes for the community,” said Gotico. “I thought this opportunity would help me grow as a student and as an individual, as it would allow me to enhance my leadership skills.”
Gotico’s main goal for her term is to enhance transparency and communication within the student body. She hopes to inform and encourage students to participate in SGA’s initiatives.
“A lot of students don’t know about events, programs, and resources at the school, and I want to inform them on what’s happening on campus,” explained Gotico. “Plus, I think having suggestion boxes for things they want to do on campus would be cool.”
When the fall semester begins, the new SGA board will begin their year as elected student officials.
“We are excited to create events that will bring students together and make connections with others to grow professionally and establish long-term friendships,” said SGA president Aldana-Archila. “We look forward to working as a team on all the things that we proposed during our campaigns, and in this way, we will make GTCC a better place for students.”
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