Katie Chong
Hometown: Agoura Hills, California – a suburb in LA County. My favorite thing in Agoura is the cheesecake at my childhood restaurant.
Major: Anthropology and Spanish double major.
I joined SGA as a first year mainly because my Bridge House Manager at the time – Milanes Morejon – was also in student government and encouraged me to join. Milanes always stressed the fact that representation matters, and that more POC representation in student government was important and valuable. Also, my SGA President in my sophomore year, Meghna Purkayastha, was an incredible mentor and is one of the main reasons that I am SGA President today.
Running for SGA President was pretty unique – I ran uncontested and had informally assumed the position the previous year. My main duty as President is to support the student body in any capacity I can. I am also the liaison of sorts for the student body to the Board of Trustees, and work with administration around various areas of campus. Basically, I’m a megaphone for the student body – tell me what’s wrong, what you need, what could help – and I’ll scream it out to whoever will listen. [As far as] my plans after Smith [are concerned], seeing as my dream of being the first Asian-American country superstar didn’t come to fruition, [perhaps] one day I will be living in the White House as President of the United States.
SGA has influenced me a lot at Smith. But I think my area of study has influenced me more in my role in SGA. I’m an Anthropology major and have been taught how to be critical of institutions and systems of power, how to notice the effects of those institution on people etc. And so, in a way being an anthro major has been an incredibly important part of my life at Smith, and it has been key to a major facet of my life. I also like to think Student Government has been a wonderful practice round for running for office in my future.
Toula Sierros
Hometown: Northampton, Massachusetts, and my favorite thing about it is that Smith College is in it!
Major: Sociology and American Studies
I joined SGA because I had a lot of ideas and felt that the best way to get things done was to run for cabinet! Running for election as 2020 Class President was a very positive experience for me. I ran against two other very qualified and amazing candidates. I enjoyed speaking to students and creating a platform that I thought would create a better environment for my community.
My main duties as Sophomore Class President are to organize events to bring the class together, act as a liaison between the student body and the administration and voice my peers’ concerns about campus life to those in power in order to create a better, more inclusive Smith for everyone. While SGA has not necessarily changed my area of study, it has given me a different view of the world and my place in it. I am coming to understand that leadership is not an individual act, but one that can only be successfully performed by collaborating with others. I have learned to trust my peers and ask for help. These are tools that I will carry on with me way past my Smith career! After Smith, I plan to move to New York City and enroll in the Fashion Institute of Technology to pursue my dream of a career in Fashion Design.
Rosalie Toupin
Hometown: Dracut, Massachusetts. Shaw Farms has the best chocolate milk
Major: Government
I wanted to get more involved in the Smith Community and I wanted to know and help fix the different problems on campus. It was scary running for SGA Secretary. I was up against another amazing candidate, and I really wasn’t sure if I would be elected. My main duty is to take minutes for both Cabinet, Senate and Five College Student Government meetings, but I also organize the office and events and advertise SGA’s work (follow @smithcollegeSGA!)
I hope to attend law school and ultimately I want to be an elected official. SGA has taught me to be very organized, and I am learning how to best reach out to the Smith Community which will be helpful skills in my career of politics.
Carrie Lee Lancaster
Hometown: York, South Carolina. It’s a small, rural town about an hour outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. I love going home because there is so much open space and it’s quiet, so there are times it feels like a much-needed escape from the rush and business of the world.
Major: Government and Spanish.
After I stopped playing basketball after first year, I was in search of a community and a space to learn and share ideas about the college. SGA was the first place I found and I quickly realized I needn’t look any further because the people are uplifting and genuine. It was great to run for office but it was somewhat challenging. The hardest part was making the decision to run in the first place. I ran last spring on a co-ticket with Bei Heald, who is studying abroad right now in India. We approached the election this way so that we could both could serve and still be able to go abroad – I’m going to Argentina in the spring. As the VP of SGA, I am also the chair of Senate. My main job is to lead Senate meetings – I set the agenda for every meeting, ensure that the whole of Senate runs smoothly and I invite speakers to our meetings so senators can learn about the college.
I am planning on applying to the Joint BA/MA Program in Geneva through Smith in February 2018. I plan on getting my masters degree in Political Science/International Relations, and I’m sure I’ll seek more degrees after that. In the future, I hope to work with immigrants and refugees in some capacity. SGA has made me sure of the path I want to take. I recently looked back on a journal of mine from high school and saw that I had written goals for my college self and beyond. I wrote that I wanted to be involved in student government at Smith and pursue a career to elevate the voices of marginalized groups. The person I was a few years ago was dreaming about the person I am now, which I think is really exciting to see.
