SGA Senate Candidate Profiles

Rebeca Gamboa | rgamboa@butler.edu

Grace Reynolds | greynolds@butler.edu 

Maya Illanes | millanes@butler.edu

Nole Beran - Jordan College of the Arts

Nole Beran is a junior at Butler University. He is a theater arts major and post-graduation plans on pursuing an acting career. He hopes to make real change in the world and leave a significant impact. 

Q: What made you decide to run for senate?

A: I have had a great experience already in my short time this year with the Senate and would love to foster that relationship even further. I think being a part of this organization allows for students to make real changes for students. I want to leave the most positive impact on campus before I leave, and I think this is a great step in doing so.

Q: What would you do if you were elected?

A: I have had a great experience already in my short time this year with the Senate and would love to foster that relationship even further. I think being a part of this organization allows for students to make real changes for students. I want to leave the most positive impact on campus before I leave, and I think this is a great step in doing so.

Q: Why would you like to be elected?

A: I think that being a Senator offers an abundant amount of opportunities that could lead to great changes on this campus. I want to be a part of that change and advocate for all students here at Butler.

Q: Is this your first year running? If so, what made you decide to run? 

A: Technically yes, I was appointed to my position last semester, so this is all new to me. I decided to run because of the positive and thought-provoking experiences I have had this past semester and a half. I believe this trend will only continue and get stronger.

Q: What aspects of SGA do you enjoy/least enjoy?

A: I enjoy the room for open discussion and the level of teamwork it requires, not only within SGA but also when working with faculty and staff. I have honestly yet to find a part I "least enjoy" besides maybe not being completely familiar with all of the "ins and outs" since this is my first full semester working with the Senate.

Q: What would your main goal be in SGA?

A: I want to promote the well-being of all of my peers and work to find and fix flaws that may come up in our University. No system is perfect, but I will work my hardest to get it close.

Hadassah Brent - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Hadassah is a first-year student from Avon, Indiana. She is a political science and criminology major. She comes from a family of ten and wants to be a judge, acting as a friendly face for the community, especially working with children, and giving an impartial voice to those not as fortunate.

Q: What made you decide to run for senate? 

A: Running for senate will better prepare me for a future in law and becoming a judge. It will create in me a sense of fearlessness and power. Additionally, the SGA community is filled with such great, diverse people, who I know I will grow with and will help empower me.

Q: Why would you like to be elected?

A: I want to be able to make people feel comfortable, create new ideas, and give the students what they want. That is one of the reasons I want to become a judge, as well; there aren’t many females in that position and I want to inspire others and make them know that if I can do it, so can they.

Q: What aspects of SGA do you enjoy/least enjoy?

A: There is a lot of passive-aggressiveness in SGA, but I think it will help me develop better people skills and learn how to combat that in my future. It will push me out of my comfort zone. I hope I can also create a better environment in the senate, eliminating some aggressiveness.

Q: What would your main goal be in SGA?

A: My main goal would be to make everyone feel comfortable, and just be a friendly, welcoming face in SGA for those joining, as well as the student body as a whole. Within LAS, I hope to create a better support system for the political science major and be a person that anyone can come and talk to and voice their concerns to. If I feel something in my heart, I will reach out to others and make sure they know that I am there for them.

Aidan Kohnke - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Aidan Kohnke is a second-year student from Milwaukee, WI. Aidan is one of the five College of Liberal Arts and Sciences candidates this year. He is a Political Science major and currently an SGA Senator representing LAS. He is in hopes to be re-elected this year to fulfill one of the 4 spots open for LAS. 

Q: What made you decide to run for senate? 

A: I heard about SGA my first semester freshman year in September through one of the SGA committee chairs at the time. I was interested in not only becoming involved on campus but becoming involved in something that would be a good experience given my Political Science major. I got the position as LAS senator my freshman year. This year is my second year holding the position for LAS Senator. I hope to be re-elected this year to continue making improvements to better the student body. SGA is something that has benefitted my college experience for the better. 

Q: What would your main goal be in SGA?

A: I have created four pillars within my campaign. All four pillars are improvements I wish to create resolutions about. 

1st Pillar: Advocating for all students. Making efforts so all students have a voice and are heard at the table. 

2nd Pillar: Advocating for better mental health resources. After reflecting on last year’s mental health weekend BU|BeWell hosted and hearing student complaints about the effectiveness of that said weekend. I would like to make ties between BU|BeWell, and Senate to co-create a mental health week for students. I think making ties with the senate would be beneficial as senate representatives are essentially the student body's voices. My idea is to have a mental health week before final exams, where teachers should plan accordingly to assign less homework so the transition into finals week is less stressful. 

3rd Pillar: Advocating for better class course descriptions. I have noticed from my own experience that when picking classes for the following semester the course description is only a short 2-4 sentences. The course description should be more descriptive and students should be able to see either the teacher’s past or current syllabus. Seeing the course syllabus would be helpful to look at as the descriptions for core classes are vague. 

4th Pillar: To set up a meeting with administration and advocate for improvements to be made in Jordan and Gallahue. It has been said by word of mouth that Jordan and Gallahue are not accessible for students with disabilities. I would first like to get in contact with students who receive accommodations with SDS and figure out the areas of concerns within these buildings. Furthermore, get in contact with administration and discuss renovations that could be made to benefit students.  

Q: Why would you like to be elected?

A: I would like to be elected as I can continue to advocate for students in what ways benefit them the most. I think the new downsizing of SGA this upcoming school year will make all senators more involved in making good, smart decisions for our student body.

Serena Stayer - College of Communication

Serena Stayer is a first-year student and a current SGA senator this year representing Residential College. She is a Journalism and Strategic Communications double major. She is in hopes to be elected as the College of Communications Senator for this upcoming school year. 

Q: How did you hear about SGA?

A: I heard about SGA at the beginning of the school year. I went to Block Party and SGA had a table set up to promote themselves. I eventually went to the call-out meeting and got engaged from there on out as I landed the Residential College Senator position. 

Q: What made you decide to run for senate? 

A: I am currently the Residential College Senator, which I love and gave me a good introduction to take on a bigger role this next year. I really enjoy having a first-hand experience of impacting and making a difference within our school. 

Q: Why would you like to be elected?

A: I really enjoy having a first-hand experience of impacting and making a difference within our school. As the communications Senator, I want to make sure that students are able to voice their concerns and really feel seen. I want to be a voice for a college of individuals whose strongest asset is their voice.

Q: What aspects of SGA do you enjoy/least enjoy?

A: I most enjoy my appropriations committee meetings because I really feel like we are helping with these student-run clubs.

After reaching out on Friday, February 18, 2022, the following candidates did not respond in a timely manner for an interview.

  • Kennedy Culbertson - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

  • Nick Durst - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

  • Haley Harper - Jordan College of the Arts

  • Liam Moore - College of Communication

  • Maggie Spence - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

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