Recently, Oakdale High School had its Student Government Association (SGA) elections that announced its newest officers: junior Emily Kerns as President, sophomore Aditi Bandyopadhyay as Vice President, and junior Phoebe Kim as Secretary.

There are many reasons someone might run for an SGA position. The reasons  that stand out are representing Oakdale, helping the community, and getting more involved with the school. 

“I love the community that is fostered by our school’s SGA, and how welcoming everyone is,” Kerns explained.

Along with representing the school as a whole, being an officer on the SGA comes with lots of responsibilities. The president has to deal with relieving the responsibilities of the SGA advisors, Ms. Jessica Miller and Ms. Elizabeth Mulcahy, such as planning school meetings and representing the school for county wide assemblies.  The vice president assists in all duties that the president has.

The election itself is a stressful process. Each runner has to make an argument on why students should vote for them, and they also have to be considerate to other candidates. Campaigning can come in a lot of different forms, many candidates made posters to put up around the school as well as buying candy to persuade voters. 

Though it can be difficult, campaigning can really help with the runners’ public speaking skills. According to Bandyopadhyay, she had to talk to lots of people she didn’t know as well as create a personal connection, no matter what it is. 

“I think SGA elections can be a super helpful process when it comes to learning to speak up and connecting to people on a personal level,” Bandyopadhyay described.

Throughout the election, every candidate still experienced support with their campaign. According to Kerns, most people on the SGA are good friends and kind to each other, so it wasn’t difficult to find help when needed. SGA’s current president, Madi Tribitt, was a big help through this process since she had already been through the process . 

“[I want to] shoutout [Tribitt] because she was super supportive the whole election and helped me stay chill while putting myself on the line for my peers’ judgment and support,” Kerns elaborated.

Overall, disregarding how stressful it could be at times, the election was a smooth process.  Now, the SGA  has a very solid group of elected officials who are ready to work hard and prepare for what’s to come in the 2024-2025 school year.