It has been a year since Dylan John and Valencia Warren took on their roles as Student Government Association (SGA) President and Executive Vice President, respectively. As the underdog of last year’s SGA election against the Spence-Wedincamp ticket, the John Warren campaign have had their fair share of ups and downs throughout their run.

Now a year later, the SGA team speaks on partnership as well as what the GS community can look forward to in the 2017-2018 school year.

In the beginning

The partnership between Dylan John and Valencia Warren was one that almost did not happen, but with a little push on Warren’s side, the John-Warren ticket was created. The partnership progressed after both began their run in SGA for the first time.

Both Warren and John were able to come together and come up with a vision of revamping SGA. The time frame is what created a greater bond between the two as SGA Executive Vice President explains.

“Last year, it was a lot of getting to know SGA as well as one another and how we operate,” Warren said. “This year, we know our quirks, what we like and don’t like and we know how to come together even through disagreements.”

Past ups and downs

While on the campaign trail, the John-Warren ticket has had their fair share of ups and downs. Both Warren and Dylan agreed that the biggest improvement and success within the team is the communication inside and out of SGA.

Also included is communication with those of higher positions, as well as transparency and the ability to bring the SGA name to the forefront with ways such as the SGA link on the MyInvolvement page to gaining a greater trust with more students.

The biggest weaknesses they have seen throughout the year is geared more towards the slow progress of the some key elements that they would like to change. Most importantly, as John explains, is the lack of freshman and sophomores who are aware of SGA.

“Some of the juniors and seniors know us personally and we have been able to be engaged with them and they have been able to see what student government does and how it has evolved,” John said. “In all honesty, freshman and sophomore engagement has significantly been a challenge and we can see it in our [Vision 20/20] survey. So that will be one of the main issues we will focus on this upcoming school year.”

Making the dream work

For most, if not all involved in an organization or association, the game of balance is always an issue. Both Warren and John have credited their team of senators and executives for creating a team that has been able to stay consistent within SGA.

Within the John-Warren campaign are department senators as well as student engagement and chief of staff executives. Each of these roles play a particular part within the association.

Senators are given four to five small projects that they are most passionate about and actively go about finishing their project in an effect and accurate manner. This, as well as many other roles that each person plays, allows SGA to flow properly.

“Teamwork is not important, it’s required. If there is a lack on one part, it can mess up everyone else,” Warren said. “As a team, we are dependent on each other to do our job efficiently.”

John also credits the honesty and the trust that is built within the John-Warren team that has helped their make their first year a success.

“We have each other’s back and everyone is in sync with each other,” John said. “I think the greatest thing also is that I have a group of people can tell me when I am messing up and be honest with me and the team so we can move on in the right direction.”

2017-2018-Modeling the Way

For the John-Warren ticket, the next school year will gain an even greater focus for the campaign trail. The partnership will be directing their focus towards numerous goals and issues for GS.

The biggest one is the GS-Armstrong consolidation, which is scheduled to take full effect Fall 2018. The ticket also plans on reconstructing and revamping SGA to keep greater tracking on senators.

The John-Warren team also plans on gearing their focus towards bigger projects including a dual year for Vision 20/20, which will give the team a greater answer to what some of the key issues and concerns are on campus. Lastly, but most importantly, John-Warren will also be focusing on creating a greater bond between SGA and the student body.

John said, “The more students give us feedback, the more we are equipped to work and help students.”