By Cait Kemp
@caitlinkemp09
Junior Doug Wydom was just recently elected by his fellow classmates as the 2022-2023 Student Government Association (SGA) President. He previously has served as the Class of 2023 Treasurer since his freshman year and has become a leader on campus in many different roles. Get to know your new President and what his plans are for next fall!
Kemp: How did you get involved with SGA freshman year?
Wydom: I kind of got thrown into it. Bobby Bordieri, he was the class president a couple years ago, he was kind of just like, ‘You should do this.’ I had no idea what I was doing. Once we kind of started getting a hang of things, COVID happened so then navigating it with COVID was a little difficult but during that time our main focus was trying to do things for our class.
Kemp: What made you want to run for SGA President?
Wydom: We had two weeks of events [freshman year] where it would get canceled because we would plan it for the week and then we got sent home, so it was difficult. So at that time we started trying to work on instead of doing things for our class, what we can do for the student body. So we started working with [administration] to try to improve a lot of the things during COVID. That’s when I started to become more interested in working with the [administration] side of things rather than the class event planning type of things. That is why I ran for this position, because it will give me the opportunity to continue working on behalf of the student body and more at the policy side.
Kemp: What is your favorite event that you planned as part of the 2023 Class Officers?
Wydom: We did two giveaways this year. We did a cup giveaway, which was a big hit, and the bucket hats were a big hit. I think those were my favorite because it genuinely got people excited for something, and it was specific to our class so there was a lot of really good feedback from that. Also to do it you had to fill out a survey to qualify to get one so that’s going to help me improve a lot, which I’m always looking to improve. Now I have 136 responses that I can use to make sure I do better, so it’s a mutual benefit which I love.
Kemp: What are your goals for next year as President?
Wydom: I think that’s a difficult answer because a lot of our time here has been mostly COVID. I kind of want to push PLT, COVID’s not over, but let’s start focusing on the things beyond COVID as a school. There’s a lot of areas that need improvement… trying to help Res Life improve, working with facilities to make sure they’re getting everything done. A lot of people this year have been complaining about mold and stuff like that so right now I’m working with one of the VPs on SGA for what is the plan for summer to do basic maintenance and fix problems before they arise. So, getting back to the things that should matter, it kind of got side tracked because of COVID. Another one of my goals is to open up a few SGA meetings throughout the year to allow people to see what exactly SGA does, as well as give them an opportunity to bring up issues they may have difficulty getting resolved.
Kemp: How has being involved in SGA helped you personally?
Wydom: Prior to Springfield, I was never in a leadership position. [Class treasurer] was one of the first, and I think once I kind of got one position, it made me more confident to get others. Now I have facilitated leadership lock-ins, I’m a New Student Orientation leader, I just have gotten a greater understanding of what it means to be a leader and have been able to apply that to a lot of other things on campus.
Photo Courtesy Doug Wydom