Have a Say in the Future of PVCC

For those who do not feel involved enough in their community, want to expand their connections, or just want to have their voices heard, the Student Government Association (SGA) provides a cordial atmosphere designed to change PVCC for the better. Ashab Alamgir, vice president of the SGA, and Shawn Anderson, director of student engagement and student life, shed light not only on what the SGA does for PVCC, but what it does for the students themselves.

The SGA often meets directly with faculty, staff, and administrators to make connections. The SGA typically meets once every two weeks on Monday at noon for its general assembly members. The Executive Board meets every Thursday. Both meetings occur for an hour each. In these meetings, they discuss a variety of topics and issues to increase the quality of life for students at PVCC or facilitate the hosting of communal events, such as the Drive-In Movie Night or Casino Night. 

“This year, what we’re trying to do is hopefully increase student engagement by maybe having more flexible hours,” said Alamgir. “A lot of students want to be more involved with the community, which is one of the things we’re working on right now.” 

Another element of focus in the SGA this year is integrating the clubs into the SGA more than they have in the past to ensure all voices are heard. everyone’s voice is heard.

One of the many unique factors about the SGA is that club representatives attend the General Assembly meetings, along with the Executive Board, to share or receive feedback on how or what their club is doing. 

“If you’re a student at Piedmont, and you wanna dip your toe in the water and get involved, the SGA is the perfect opportunity for that,” Anderson said. Students who want to engage with the SGA but do not want to be in a larger executive position can apply for the General Assembly and attend the biweekly meetings.

The SGA currently fosters a warm, welcoming atmosphere and a diverse roster of representatives in culture, age, and gender. 

“We want to make sure that we have representation for everyone because that’s only going to make the SGA better in what it does for the college and for the students,” Anderson said. 

The benefits of a smaller community college, such as PVCC, demonstrate themselves in ways that students might not even consider. 

“SGAs at four year institutions do a lot of huge things for their colleges and universities, but they can’t always have access to their administrators in the way that the SGA at PVCC does. The president and vice president of the SGA get to meet with the President of the college once a month to discuss what they’ve been up to, and that’s really awesome and unique in the world of student organizations,” Anderson said.

One of the most essential parts of the SGA is the development of social skills and connections. 

“The most rewarding experience for me is to really get to know other people or have my voice heard while establishing certain policies. Knowing that you can actually make a difference and actually see things from a different perspective is the most rewarding thing for me,” said Alamgir. The SGA relies on working with others and seeing different perspectives to get a better understanding of the student body as a whole. 

As the SGA meets with different committees, such as the Student Service Committee, Administrative Services, Curriculum Instruction Committee, and College Senate, they all reference back to one group in particular: the student body. Joining the SGA not only gives students the opportunity to represent themselves and their diverse interests, but it allows them to represent others who are similar to them. 

“I encourage students to use it to change the college and to change the experience for students in a positive way, but also use it as a way to advance where you want to end up in your careers. It’s a really good opportunity to network and meet some really good people,” Anderson said. 

This month, they are running the 25 Days of Giving event to donate 1,000 pounds of food to the PVCC pantry (If you’d like to donate money to this cause, click here and select PVCC SFRC).If you’d like to sign up for the Student Government Association, click here to be brought to a Google Forms signup sheet (This can also be found on the SGA page on PVCC’s website).