by Kistler Hunt
For the second year in a row, an Honors College student has been elected as the Student Government Association’s (SGA) student body president for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year. On March 28, Kathryn Long, Honors College senior and communication sciences and disorders major, and Amarah Din, departmental Honors senior and political science major, were elected to the roles of student body president and vice president respectively. Long served as the Honors College Student Orientation Undergraduate Leader (SOUL) for 2022. Long and Din will serve as the first female student body president and vice president since the 2011-2012 academic year.
Long and Din both attribute their success in part to their Honors education. Honors College students are actively engaged across campus, the community, and world. The pair reflected on their Honors experiences below.
Long explained,
“The interactions I had as the Honors Orientation Leader allowed me to learn how to communicate with students and how to support them, which is vital for the role of Student Body President. Honors taught me how to have professional relationships with faculty and staff to express my needs as a student. Having professional relationships with faculty and staff is essential for the Student Body President and Vice President as those relationships allow us to create change on campus for our students.”
Din explained,
“Being in the Departmental of Government and Justice Studies Honors Program has allowed me to deepen my connections with professors and faculty over a variety of topics, including advocacy work at both the collegiate and justice system levels. Departmental Honors has allowed me to feel empowered to take advantage of amazing opportunities, from study away trips to the role of Student Body Vice President, to learn how I can effectively advocate for others. It's important for students to understand that being an Honors student is more than what is on paper: being an Honors student also means demonstrating professionalism and leadership. In my role as Student Body Vice President, I look forward to bridging the gap between students and faculty and to continue to promote accessible and engaging opportunities to every Mountaineer.”
Equally important, Honors College interim dean, Dr. Vicky Klima, explains how the Honors College encourages student engagement, through benefits like priority registration, with which Honors students are able to craft schedules that allow them to seize opportunities to engage meaningfully with our campus community and beyond. As part of our Honors College mission, faculty, staff, and students embrace opportunities, explore new avenues of learning, and connect with our community to collectively address complex challenges. Epitomizing this, Long explained in a recent interview with the Appalachian, that their SGA platform encourages engagement and participation in campus conversations. She stated, “How do we leave SGA, but also how do we leave the lives of our students and the town of Boone better than we found it when we got here three years ago.”
Top photo features SGA 2024-2025 student body president Kathryn Long and vice president Amarah Din, in front of the App State university sign in Founders Plaza. Photo submitted by Kathryn Long.
