The Student Government Association (SGA) officers for the 2015-2016 year are President Hannah Turcotte, Vice President Kelsey Weaver, and Treasurer Abby Kinnard.
Hannah Turcotte, a junior pre-professional biology major from Jackson, Tennessee, sees student advocacy as the forefront of SGA’s mission. During her time in SGA, she has enjoyed connecting with students across campus to gain a deeper understanding of the needs and concerns of her peers. In addition to serving in SGA, Turcotte has also enjoyed working with the Women’s Center to plan Elect Her, a women’s leadership experience, and working with other students to plan another TEDx event coming to the UTC campus in 2016.
Kelsey Weaver is a sophomore majoring in business from Dickson, Tennessee. Kelsey has been involved with SGA for several years as a Freshmen Senator and Chairperson of the Social Issues, Equity, and Diversity committee. In addition to her work in student government, Weaver has worked with the First Year Experience program to mentor freshman students, research curriculum, and plan events, as well as enjoyed her work helping plan the 2015 Tennessee Association of Residence Halls conference.
Abby Kinnard is a sophomore majoring in Accounting from Columbia, Tennessee. In her role as Treasurer, Kinnard looks forward to helping students engage with the campus and find their home at UTC. Kinnard was a member of Freshman Senate and has spent the year serving SGA as the University and Academic Affairs Chairperson. Abby is also a Resident Assistant and serves as a Chancellors Ambassador. She credits all of these experiences as the reason she is so passionate for advocating for student issues on campus.
In addition to their SGA work, the three newly elected officers also have something else in common. They all participated in the Elect Her–Campus Women Win! program at UTC.
“Elect Her is a day-long training that brings inspiring female elected officials and powerful women leaders from our campus and community, current female students serving on SGA, an AAUW facilitator and 50 rising female leaders at UTC together,” Cassie Nice, Assistant Director of the UTC Women’s Center, said.
“In this training participants are empowered by women in our community who are shaping our future and they spend time practicing hands-on campaign skills that transforms their passion into strong messaging for change,” she continued.
UTC is the only university in the state of Tennessee to offer the program.
“Hannah went through the program her first year, served on the Elect Her Planning Committee her sophomore year, and was moved to run for Vice President of SGA. We’re thrilled to see the trajectory she’s taken and how she continues to embody the essence of Elect Her,” Nice said.
