Grace Halvorson and Daniel Davies ended their terms as the President and Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA) on the first Monday of April, when the term is slated to end according to the SGA Bylaws.
Halvorson and Davies, both being in their last semesters at Concordia, reflected on the successful term that the pair has had within their positions.
“I was really proud of the work that SGA did this year,” Halvorson said. “I think the team was really and engaged and motivated to do work to make things better for Cobbers.”
The pair was able to create tangible changes throughout the year, including adding new equipment to the fitness balcony, launching a food repackaging program and sponsored various programs and initiatives across campus. The new additions to the balcony was Davies’ favorite initiative that they had worked on throughout the term.
“To be able to work on something that meant so much to so many people and to be able to hear the student feedback about it was a really cool project,” Davies said. “Working with facilities in the athletics department was also just a really cool experience.”
Halvorson’s favorite initiatives were much more recent: The Cobbers for Cobbers Food Repackaging Program and providing reusable menstrual products for students.
“I think students have really enjoyed and appreciated those,” said Halvorson. “I was excited about the ways that [they] made a difference on campus this year.”
Though they are both finishing their journey at Concordia College, their impact will be felt by many current and future Cobbers, as they funded a large library renovation.
“SGA allocated $35,000 to renovate the resource room in the library,” Halvorson said. “To have a really intentional community gathering space for group projects or student organizations is really exciting.”
This renovation will be finished in August for the fall semester and was inspired by a need from off-campus students for a space to relax between classes, according to Davies.
“A lot of times when you have those, like, hour or two between classes, you don’t quite want to go home if you live off campus, but you don’t quite want to go sit at a table or the atrium for two hours,” said Davies. “That’s where it all really started.”
Another up-and-coming change that is coming from this team is a partnership with InForum, also known as the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.
“I think it’s a huge asset to Cobbers. It also supports a really important local journalism source in our community,” said Halvorson. “It’s a good way to be responsibly engaged in the Fargo-Moorhead area.”
Moving into a new year, Halvorson and Davies both had advice for both future SGA members, as well as anyone who is holding leadership positions on campus.
“Approaching leadership with the spirit of curiosity is really important,” said Halvorson. “I think that’s an effective way to make Concordia better for everybody.”
After graduation, Halvorson will be moving to Cambridge, Mass., for law school in hopes of doing civil litigation in the public interest space. Davies will be moving to Iowa in hopes of working with local government before starting law school in the coming years. They would like to thank all the departments that they have partnered with, as well as Chad, Jenna, Zoey and Elijah in the Parke Student Leadership Office.
