Thank You for Letting Me Serve!

Joey Zeldin

SGA President

My name is Joey Zeldin, and I have had the absolute pleasure to serve as your Student Government Association President for the 2022-2023 school year. I want to thank every member of the UMW community for supporting me in my role as your SGA President. Without your support, I simply would not be able to have done as good of a job as I did this past year. 

I also want to report back to you, my fellow students! You may be asking: “What DID SGA do this year? And why was it significant?” Allow me to share just a few things with you:

Increased Transparency: One of my biggest agenda items was increasing transparency between the University and the student body. Students felt as if they were in the dark on many things, often feeling that had to know the right people or be left in the dark. No more. We’ve had productive and positive talks with administration to create more opportunities to educate, alert, and talk to students about what is happening on campus and how much it impacts them. From holding forums and events around campus to the creation of President Paino’s monthly emails, the SGA has been quintessential in being a liaison to administration on behalf of students, and letting them know students want to hear from them more. We hope to increase the amount of forums and events we hold next year to bring more engagement and more transparency between students and the University, and we hope you’ll be apart of that initiative.

Investments: One of the first problems we faced as an SGA was student services. From frustration on open times to safety concerns, the SGA has worked with University officials to get information and push for more investments around campus. Our library and gym hours have increased, and the push for expanding the times came from student concerns and SGA conversations that urged an increase in hours due to student demand. We are also pleased to see more investments in safety upgrades around our campus, from a $10 million investment for accessibility to new blue lights being installed soon. The SGA will continue to be a proud partner with Campus Police, and capitalize on that relationship to help the UMW community build trust between students and their police force.

Representation: One of the most important parts of being a representative in any capacity is making sure you show up and represent properly. Our members always showed up when  they needed to, and asked the important questions that had to be asked. The SGA increased our student network to further our information stream and make sure we delivered quality reports to the administration that helped administration and other important parties get a feel for what the student body desired and needed. Our increase in student group partnerships has been amazing, but we always seek to work on campus issues with more students, and we hope that if you or your group has an issue, you come to our meetings that are open to anyone and will always have a seat ready for you.

I once again want to thank you for allowing me to serve in such a rewarding and enriching position. I have loved talking with each and every one of you about issues on campus, what the SGA has been up to, helping describe the difference between SGA and Class Council (I love my Class Council friends!), and, most importantly, getting to know you personally and what means the most to you as a person and a student. I hope you’ll continue to engage with your SGA, and maybe even join it if you believe you are ready to take on the challenge and fun of being a student leader!

All the best to you,

Joey Zeldin, SGA President 2022 -2023

“Mr. President”