Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Hey I am running for Appointments Chair, if I were to be elected I would try to bring more connection between our council with the neighboring community. One of my passions is education, so I would try incorporating more underrepresented cultures in on campus events. As appointments chair, I will try to hard to advertise committees to people who are underrepresented on Swat committees. I would do this by posting fliers and hold info events in the BCC and ICC so students of color, who historically have been underrepresented on committees, will have the opportunity to learn more about the committees and how to serve on one. Some things that I personally support are using funding to create programs where we could expand more into the neighboring community and teach not only the college but also neighboring community about important issues. Some ideas that I had were we could have more students from SWAT go into Chester and mentor underprivileged students of color (students traditionally not applying to college) helping them to apply to college, and get them more involved in the greater community.
I not only have ideas, but I also have experience with working on student council. In high school I was treasurer of the African-American Scholars club, with that I learned many skills of handling the budget of a club, coordinating meeting, and working well with faculty. Also over this last summer I volunteered as a Mandarin Chinese teacher for underprivileged students of color at Seattle University. This helped me greatly in improving my communication skills and also having to lead a class improved my leadership abilities. I also have another year of experience in a leadership role, when I was in House congressional page program (a program where I lived in DC and worked on the house floor with my congressman). In my first semester, I was elected the chair of the Volunteer Committee while in DC. My roles included finding and organizing volunteer trips for the entire page class to attend. This gave me insight into what it took to chair a committee, and improved my listening and communication skills. In the second semester, I was elected treasurer and chair of the finance committee. My responsibilities were conducting the finance committee meetings, running the student store (handling the budget also), managing funds for class T-shirts and prom. From this I learned a lot how to be an effective leader within group, and how to organize large projects. I now currently serve on the Student Advisory Committee to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. This position has really given insight how into how admissions and financial aid works at SWAT. Additionally, applying to be on Student Advisory Committee to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid has given insight in to the committee member selection process, form the candidate’s point of view. This experience will help me in making better decisions. Other campus positions are I am now the treasurer of ABLLE (an African-American/ Latino leadership group); I and other treasurer in the group represent this group at SBC meetings and help to manage funds allocated to the group. I am also the Public Relations intern for Global Neighbors (social action/volunteer group on campus), my roles are organizing and publicizing campus events. I also talk to the member of the greater community about our group. All these experiences and a long history of employment have taught me responsibility and time management.
I have two main goals. One is self growth; I hope to grow more as a leader and a responsible student. Â The other is to serve Swarthmore by providing education about global awareness and more cultures.
I also have spent two years away from home, and one was aboard studying in China and went to school in Chinese. This experience away from home helped build my sense of independence and maturity. I can speak 2 foreign languages fluently, Mandarin Chinese and Tigrinya (an east African language), these skills can help the student council to branch out to other communities and help us to be more impactful in the community. As a member of student council I will make sure that the decisions being made by the council are not closed dialogues, I will listen to ideas my classmates to ensure that every decision made by the council is conversation between the students and the council . You can count on me to be dedicated, hard working, and give 100% to the SWAT. Thank you for reading my platform I really appreciate your consideration. (I know this was a little long, if you have any questions please email me at phaile1 )
thank you,
Philmon Haile