Congratulations are in order for Student Senate’s most recent additions. The First-Year Senator election results were announced Friday, Sept. 11, and this year’s representatives will be Grant Hibbard, Gregory Guggenmos, Kencell Nixon, Nathan Devera and Pedro Aragone.
The First-Year Senators will be inaugurated Tuesday, Sept. 15, during Student Senate’s weekly meeting. But in the meantime, check out what SMU’s newest senators had to say about their wins and what they are most excited about for the upcoming year.
Grant Hibbard: “I am honored to be elected as a First-Year Senator and thrilled to be chosen to represent the SMU Class of 2019 in Student Senate for the entire year! To be completely honest, I am still shocked I am one of the five candidates chosen. All of the candidates are wonderful people and I had no expectations of being selected. These past two weeks, I was given the chance to attend Student Senate Chamber Meetings and meet First-Year Senators and I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to work with a group of quality people who care about SMU and their fellow students. I’m happy to say it’s going to be an exciting year! I have no doubt that the First-Year Senators will work hard to best represent this first-year class. The possibilities of what we can accomplish are endless and I’m hopeful that as a whole we will be able to leave a positive impact on SMU.”
Gregory Guggenmos: “I am tremendously grateful for the support and enthusiasm from all across campus. It’s an honor to be representing such great people! As to what I’m most excited about, the opportunity to start to work with other student leaders on problems around campus is what drew me to run in the first place. There seem to be a lot of opportunities to make SMU an even better place, and I get to work with a fantastic group of other first-years!”
Kencell Nixon: “I am so darn grateful to have been elected as a First-Year Senator and am nostalgic about the whole experience already! I’m excited to listen to my peers and use their suggestions to improve SMU! Thanks again, guys! Love yourself and Pony Up!”
Nathan Devera: “More than anything else, I think that my win shows that even smiling at or having a small conversation with someone goes a long way. I love meeting new people and getting myself out there, and I like to believe that that was a great contributing factor in my selection as a Senator for the freshman class. In regards to the role, I’m incredibly ready to attack the Senator position with my full enthusiasm! I want to be able to contribute to the continual prosperity of this school and am very grateful to be able to do so!”
Pedro Aragone: “I am very excited to be a First-Year Senator! It is always special to get selected by your peers to represent them as a class (also a great ego booster). I am looking forward to working with the other four First-Year Senators as well as all the other senators in order to make positive change at SMU. I am expected to be proactive in school and senate and I fully intend to meet those expectations.”
