Meet USG’s New Directors and Speaker
This semester, the USG Forum invited three members to new positions:
Andrew Larson, as the new Speaker of the Forum
Samia Abdulle, as the new director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
Addie Sweeney, as the new Student Life and Wellbeing Committee Director.
Each of these members were elected to their respective positions at the first Forum meeting of the year. Each of these individuals are looking forward to stepping into their new roles, continuing work from the previous semester, and expanding on the impact of their role by initiating some new projects for the remainder of this year.
Larson, previous Director of the Student Life and Wellbeing Committee, was recently elected as Speaker of the Forum
Larson, Class of 2025, first became involved in USG as a Student Group Representative for the United Nations Student Association in spring 2023. He became more involved during the summer and joined as the Student Life and Wellbeing Committee Director last fall. His experience with the USG Forum for the past year inspired his pursuit of the Speaker role.
Sweeney is a first-year student that joined USG earlier this year. She was interested in USG’s advocacy and the ability for students to use their voice to make a tangible difference in college-related issues. She worked with Larson on USG’s Student Life and Wellbeing Committee over the past semester, and stepped into the Director position upon Larson’s vacancy of the role.
Sweeney, as the newly elected Student Life and Wellbeing Committee Director, leads a meeting with her committee
Both the Student Life and Wellbeing Committee Director and the Speaker of the Forum have plenty planned for the rest of the year. Some of Larson’s goals include organizing legislation passed on the floor of the Forum and allowing more space for USG representatives to explore items of advocacy they’re interested in. Sweeney, along with the rest of the SLW Committee, hopes to continue working on PELRA, a project that supports the ability for undergraduate student workers to form unions, as well as promoting a variety of mental health resources for student groups on campus.
The goals of USG’s Forum and Committees is not solely based in action and advocacy, but also in amplification of student voices as well as undergraduate student engagement. “If somebody just has even a small problem, they can come in and work with an awesome group of people who are really dedicated and have a lot of connections though the University and be able to get things accomplished.” shares Sweeney, as she reflects on her perspective about USG. Larson feels similarly, and wants students to know that USG is a resource for student voice. “Anybody is welcome to come in, stop in, help write resolutions, speak on the floor, and to make their voices heard as students.”
Interested in following the progress of USG’s Committees or reaching out directly to the teams involved in a project you’re interested in? Feel free to reach out to us by email, visit our website or stop by our office at Coffman Memorial Union.
