By Eden Savoy, Assistant Editor of Publication Design
Meet the faces behind the new Student Government Association Executive Board, new leadership ready to step up and guide decisions for the Riverhawk campus community. From shaping policy to organizing student events, these officers will play a key role in representing and governing the student body.
Kyra Keenan serves as the executive president of the Student Government Association, where she chairs weekly senate meetings and SGA executive board meetings. She also serves as a liaison between the student body, senate, and administration.
Keenan said, “Ever since I joined SGA I’ve wanted to remain on the executive board. It was only recently- in the middle of my junior year- that I really committed to running for president of SGA. I really wanted to amplify the student voice in a professional manner, which I feel I’m well-equipped to do. I’m so passionate about everything that I’m involved in, which makes me feel like an involved member of the Susquehanna Community. Getting to know so many people on campus is definitely one of the best parts of this position. I truly get to hear everyone’s voices.”
Keenan made it clear that she appreciates her fellow executive board members. “This year’s executive board has been focusing a lot on communication and discussion. We have been working to make SGA accessible and easy to digest for all students, not just senators. I’m so glad I have the privilege to work with this great team of dedicated students. Without my team’s support and their tireless efforts, I would not be able to have a successful year. Huge shout out to all of them,” Keenan said.
Grace Reusing serves as the vice president of the Student Government Association. Reusing is one of the key representative voices for the student body at weekly SGA meetings, as well as taking over the responsibility of fundraising, whether it be for senior week, a class project, or other student events.
Reusing said, “I joined SGA last Fall after talking to an executive board member. They were doing a call to candidacy for Class of 2026, and I wanted to become more involved with the decisions on SU’s campus. Before joining, I felt like I was missing a lot of events and the background information behind things. It also provided me with good leadership opportunities as well, so I ran and eventually won elections.”
Reusing remarks that she believes involvement in other campus organizations is key in the success of this year’s SGA executive board members, “I think this year’s executive board is unique because we aren’t just involved in SGA, most of us are a part of multiple organizations and bring the knowledge from them. This keeps us in the loop and ready for any challenges that comes to us.”
Olivia Ormsby serves as the executive parliamentarian of the Student Government Association. Her responsibilities include helping students navigate SGA processes such as starting clubs, requesting funding, facilitating elections, and answering questions on the SGA Constitution, as well as ensuring that all SGA processes remain constitutional.
“I originally joined SGA as vice president of the Class of 2028 during my first year because I wanted to represent my classmates and advocate for their campus concerns. I have always been passionate about advocating for others, and SGA felt like the perfect place to channel this passion. When I was a first-year in Class Council last year, the SGA processes felt very complicated. After serving on the Constitution Committee and thoroughly reviewing the implementation of all processes, I learned that they are not as tricky as they seem. I wanted to make SGA processes less intimidating and more readily accessible to students and faculty, which is why I applied for the position of Parliamentarian,” said Ormsby.
Ormsby also believes that the executive board has a broad range of student interests:“This year’s executive board is so unique because we have such a variety of majors. Many of us are in different departments. I am a double major in history and legal studies, Kyra is a graphic design major, and Grace is a management major, among others. I think this variety is a wonderful thing because it allows us to receive perspectives from different departments. In turn, this will enable us to represent our student body uniquely and diversely.”
Jaidyn Steinbrecher is the secretary of the Student Government Association, where they write and send the SGA minutes each week on top of other behind-the-scenes work like notetaking, keeping data on events, and service hours. They have also taken it upon themselves to keep other members engaged. “This year I am trying to get people more involved in their positions because SGA isn’t just any other club, it is an organization of students helping other students and faculty members understand what is happening on campus and share their feedback on those things,” Steinbrecher said.
“I originally joined SGA as the first Blough-Weis Library Liaison in my sophomore year. The SGA President at the time, Kendra Kent, alongside the Librarians and myself, wanted to see the library included as a position in SGA because it has always struggled to get information out to the student body, as well as receive feedback from it. I personally chose to be part of this role, and SGA as a whole, to create this connection between the students and staff of the University. I also wanted to have a space where my voice and that of my classmates could be heard. The first time I went to an SGA meeting in my first year, I felt heard for the first time at SU, which I had struggled with a lot as a first year and even second-year. Since then, I have gone to every SGA meeting and have grown close with my SGA family,” said Steinbrecher.
Steinbrecher, like many of the other executive board members, believes that their advantage is in their diverse campus involvement. “Typically, there are a couple of people that have the same or similar majors, mainly business or communications related. With that, many of us are a part of different clubs and jobs and bring a lot of differing opinions to the table. As I said before, we are trying to get the Senate and student body as a whole more involved in SGA, and the best way to do that is to have connections from all around campus,” said Steinbrecher.
Noel Bailey serves as the executive communication chair. Bailey runs the SGA Instagram account and makes graphics for SGA events and meetings. She also finds information on people who share her role in other campus organizations and shares that information at SGA meetings. These meetings are recorded in the SGA minutes to keep track of events and happenings within the group.
Bailey said, “I originally joined SGA last year because my position was Class of 2028 secretary. I love working with graphics and using social media as a way of marketing events and things, so I thought it would be a good fit to start there. I love knowing what’s going on with the school and being involved in big decisions, so SGA was a perfect fit for me.”
Bailey believes that this year’s executive board will be successful in making the right choices for the student body, and that they are very serious about their roles. “This year’s exec board is a lot of fun because I think we have lots of different kinds of people with different majors. Everyone suits their positions and takes their roles very seriously. Collaborating with them is a lot of fun because you get lots of different perspectives. I am working closely with Kyra so far this semester because she was past comm chair and is a graphic design major, so she has been very helpful for me when I need it,” Bailey said.
Kagan Watkins serves as the treasurer of the Student Government Association. Watkins oversees the budget of SGA, specifically giving clubs funding for activities, conferences and more.
Watkins said he enjoys his position because it pertains to his interests, “I consider myself to be a bit of a numbers guy, math has always been a strong suit for me. I […] am also in the business school with management and finance, so I just thought it would be very fitting, especially the finance aspect of that.”
Watkins believes that this executive board is especially unique: “Everyone seems to be very supportive of each other here. I wouldn’t really say much on clique-ness here. I know it has been said in the past sometimes too, but I’d say no this year. I’d say we’ve been going pretty strong,” Watkins said.
“We’re always welcoming to anyone who wishes to stop by, even if you’re not in SGA. With the budget and finance committee, no you don’t have to be in the committee to see where all the money goes, you’re always welcome to attend,” said Watkins.
To learn more about the Student Government Association or to get involved, meetings are open to all students on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Blough-Weis Library room 104.