Spotlight on MSUM Student Senate
We took some time to chat with your MSUM Student Senate President Cody Meyer and Vice President Matty Rezac to learn more about these two campus leaders.
Tell us about being Student Senate President. I get to wear a lot of really cool hats in this position. I work with faculty and administration to create policy, opportunity, and take part in the decision making process as the voice of the students and help create an educational experience that is best conducive to their success and development.
I also get to sit at the Board of Directors for MSUSA (Minnesota State University Student Association) and do the same thing working with state level faculty and legislators for the entire MNSCU system with other Student Body Presidents.
How did you get involved with the Student Senate Presidency? The President before me, Kevin Struxness, was a good friend and mentor to me, and pushed me to run when I was the Student Affairs Oversight Chair. I took his advice, ran for election, and won.
How does being involved with Student Senate help you be active, connected, and involved at MSUM? Everyday I get to come into a place I love and work with all kinds of rock stars, whether that administration and faculty, professors and athletic staff, or student leaders, I get to come and try to make MSUM a better place and work on projects I am passionate about. Even on the worst days, its pretty awesome.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to get involved with Student Senate? Just do it. There are a million and one different capacities that you can fulfill in Student Senate, regardless of your passions, major, year, or residency, and it’s not all boring meetings and parliamentary procedure. We get to work on a lot of awesome projects and make MSUM a better place in the process.
How do you think Student Senate will help you in the future? I would argue that it’s made me a more patient leader, and developed my ability to think across many different approaches, philosophies, and disciplines to solve problems.
Tell us about yourself: I am the Student Senate Vice President along with being the Academics chair in Delta Zeta, a member of the Dragon Leadership Program, and a member of the honors program. I am a sophomore double majoring in criminal justice and sociology with minors in honors, psychology, and juvenile justice. I graduated from Fargo South High School in 2013 (go bruins) and quickly found a home here at MSUM (go dragons).
How did you get /involved with MSUM Student Senate? I was very involved in athletics in high school and wanted a change of pace. Coincidently, I ran into two senators within my first week on campus who convinced me to come check senate out and I was hooked.
How does being involved with Senate help you be active, connected, & involved at MSUM? I have gotten to meet so many different kinds of people, friends, administration, teachers in fields very different from mine, etc.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to get involved with Senate? If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns you can stop down in the senate office. If no one is available (which is rare, Cody and I practically live in the office) we have contact information on our web page along with an online application if you are interested in joining.
How do you think Senate will help you in the future? It has allowed me to do so much networking that my support system and contacts has double in size. If I need help I know who to talk to and where to go.
And now a little more about MSUM Student Senate…
Tell us about Student Senate. Student Senate is the voice of the students on campus. We work with the faculty and administration to create policy and opportunity for students, protect your student rights, and generally do everything in our power to assure that you are getting your moneys worth out of your educational experience and are afforded every opportunity that is possible.
How long has Student Senate been active at MSUM? Quite a while. We have meeting minutes and awards dating back to the 50’s. I am sure the organization is even older than that.
What are some of the activities Student Senate does throughout the year? We participate with all of the First Year Programs and Freshman Orientation activities, along with many of the CMU programs through out the year. We have our weekly meetings and also sit at all the major university committees, and in addition, we also have a senator dedicated to local and municipal meetings in the community.
How can someone join Student Senate? Stop into CMU 108 and talk to us, or fill out an application on the Student Senate Webpage.
Anything else we should know about Senate? If you ever have a problem, we can fix it, and if we can’t, we will get you in touch with someone who can. Come find us.