The newly elected SGA officers for 2012-2013 are: President Robert Fisher, Vice President Steven Palmer, and Treasurer Brandon Harden.
Robert Fisher
Robert Fisher, a sophomore from Clarksville, Tennessee, and a student in the UTC University Honors Program, was recently elected president of SGA. Fisher served as treasurer of SGA during the current academic year.
With a double major of political and legal studies, Fisher wants to attend law school following his graduation from UTC. He is interested in education law and education policy. His career opportunities could include service as a policy consultant or general counsel at the state or federal level of government.
Fisher received good news this semester when he was accepted into The Institute for Responsible Citizenship’s prestigious summer leadership program. Among the hundreds of applicants who applied for the program, Fisher was one of 12 selected. He will have an internship in Washington D.C. and may have the opportunity to meet with Supreme Court justices, U.S Congressmen, and CEOs of major corporations.
Fisher will pursue three goals as SGA president. He wants his team to be great advocates for students and open the dialogue on student issues such as parking, housing, and food services. The second goal relates to bolstering student organizations so that they grow and flourish.
“As treasurer, I oversaw the distribution of nearly $12,000 used to send students to national conferences, to buy supplies for student groups, and for other leadership opportunities. I want to encourage students to find an organization to join,” Fisher explained.
Steven Palmer
His final and perhaps most important goal: to support the campus initiative to increase the rate of retention at UTC. “It is especially important now because state funding is directly tied to retention under the Tennessee Complete College Act. Retention directly impacts student success,” Fisher said.
Steven Palmer began his career in SGA as the community service chair of Freshmen Senate. He initially joined Freshmen Senate to meet new people.
“I came from a small town, so I was interested in meeting people who were different from me,” the junior from Springfield, Tennessee said.
According to Palmer, the leadership and communication skills he’s learned while in Freshmen Senate and SGA will help him in his new position as vice president.
“SGA has been formative experience of my college career. It taught me to be a leader. It taught me how to take an idea and make it into a real campus event,” he said.
Palmer, a political science major, hopes to attend law school after graduation.
Newly elected treasurer Brandon Harden is used to balancing more than budgets and spreadsheets. The junior from Nashville is triple major in entrepreneurship, economics, and marketing, and regularly takes 18 hours of classes a semester. In addition to SGA, he is also involved in Alpha Phi Alpha and the UTC Orientation Office.
Brandon Harden
“It’s tough to balance it all, but I’m passionate about what I do. I love being surrounded by other campus leaders. They push me to do more and be a better person,” he said.
In his position, Harden hopes he can become an advocate for students.
“I want to see campus get more involved. I want students to feel like their voices are being heard and they’re making a difference,” he said.
Harden also hopes to inspire his peers through his work as treasurer.
“If I can be successful in my position, then anyone can. I want students to look at me and think they can do it too. That they should get involved and make a difference,” he said.
