SGA Freshmen Council met Thursday night and began to learn more about how to be a leader on the UTM campus.

At the last meeting, the council made nominations for President, Vice President, Secretary, Parliamentarian, Academic Affairs Chair, Campus Observations Chair, Multicultural Affairs Chair, Procedures Chair and Communications Chair. The nominees for each position were called one office at a time to make a short campaign speech. After each office’s speech, the votes were cast and tallied.

The newly-elected officers are as follows: President Cody Martin, Vice President Ashley Tankersley, Secretary Rachel Stevens, Parliamentarian Ashley Henery, Academic Affairs Chair Justin Sims, Campus Observations Chair Josh Isbell, Multicultural Affairs Chair Jonathan Cox, Procedures Chair Mandy Hilliard and Communications Chair Amber Carson. All of the races were very close; some being decided by only one or two votes. Twenty out of the twenty-five Freshman Council members ran for an office.

The Freshman Council is a group of students who serve as a representative of the freshman class to the SGA. Council members are expected to do everything SGA Senators do, including attending all Senate meetings and maintaining two office hours a week. They also work closely with the Senators to accomplish any task at hand.

The council is an introductory process to prepare for the SGA Senate. The council gives freshmen the chance to improve in the areas of leadership, public speaking, teamwork, management and interpersonal relations so they will be ready for other leadership positions on campus.

Many of the leaders on campus today started out as Freshman Council members. SGA President James Orr started out in the Freshman Council where he was elected president. Orr said he is looking forward to working with this year’s Freshman Council.

Cody Martin, Freshman Council president, is an energetic freshman from South Fulton, Ky. He is an Agriculture Business and Political Science major. Martin is currently working for U.S. Congressman John Tanner. Martin, along with all of the other well-qualified newly-elected officers, are planning on doing whatever it takes to serve the UTM community.

“I’m excited about this year’s Freshman Council. They are energetic and eager to serve the student body. Chris Cherry and the committee that chose the Freshman Council did a great job. The future looks bright for SGA,” said Orr.