Ayah aligabi

What relevant experience would you bring to the position you are seeking?

In 2016, I served as the youngest, elected Student Governance Association President at Prince George's Community College. I was enrolled in a middle-college program where high schools students, such as myself lacked representation on the current college's SGA. The lack of representation was influenced by the unfortunate fact that the SGA did not include the students of our program in their outreach and recruit efforts; hence, many of the middle college students were not even aware of the SGA and its governing role over many aspects of our social programming.

During my term I managed to create a "Street Team," where students could serve as volunteers for the SGA without having to worry about all the responsibilities that the higher positions on the E-board entailed. For the first semester of my term, I juggled my own responsibilities as president alongside those of the unfilled senatorial positions. At the end of my term, however, I was able to complete and enhance my administrative team with 15 senators total; a feat that yet had to be accomplished throughout the existence of our governance association. One of our largest campaign efforts was to ensure that our governance reflected our student body, and this meant the inclusion and representation of high school, part-time, full-time, and returning education students. I am proud to say that our e-board members and senators were representative of that population.

As President, I had many responsibilities including serving on committees, attending monthly meetings, and performing the duties of unfilled roles until they were filled. Of these responsibilities, I served as a voting member of the Finance Board and fortunately gained extensive experience and knowledge in allocating funds for student organizations. I am adept at presenting at board meetings and communicating with staff, students, and other relevant members across various organizations.

Given these valuable experiences, I naturally intended to apply for a SGA position and serve, once I transferred to UMBC. However, I found that the time commitment required for me to properly dedicate my efforts to such a position have been incompatible with my mandatory scholarship courses over the past couple of years. As a rising senior, I knew that my schedule allowed for that necessary availability and to prepare myself for such a position, I decided to expand upon my previous experiences through becoming a treasurer for Erickson Hall Community Council over the last year. Through this position, I was able to familiarize myself with the role of a treasurer and UMBC's resident association structure, while also creating and fostering new connections with the students I hope to potentially serve through this new position.

How do you intend on fulfilling your role while working alongside other members of SGA? What strategies do you use to address conflict?

I believe that working as a team alongside members of the SGA is crucial for me to be able to fulfill my responsibilities as a potential SGA treasurer. Further, I understand that communication with other SGA members and student organizations is key to my success within the role. I would encourage constant communication with senators for all events that may require funding. In addition to this, I would be attending finance board meetings and familiarize myself with the members of the board as we would work alongside one another. The ability for me to function in the capacity of a treasurer and manage SGA funds is dependent on the effectiveness of communication of the SGA members as a whole. I would like to function as a resource and expect the same from the other members. I believe that we can work harmoniously together and accomplish our collective goals of achieving proper representation and advocacy for the needs of UMBC's student body.

I believe when faced with conflict the first thing to do is to have an open and honest discussion with one another and attempt to come to a compromise. If this does not work, I would bring in a mediator, and in terms of SGA- the advisor.

From personal experience, while I served as SGA [at PGCC] president, the elected treasurer on my e-board had run into some personal issues and it hindered their ability to communicate and work as efficiently as they intended. To resolve this issue, I took the time out to inquire about their situation and see if there was anything I could have done from my end to accommodate them and assist them in working as the best treasurer they could be. When this did not work, I tried three more times before I decided to involve the SGA advisor [at PGCC] into our situation as a mediator. Our advisor helped our treasurer work out their personal issues and manage their SGA responsibilities.

What is your vision for maintaining good relationships with all the people who have a stake in how SGA spends and allocates the Student Activity Fee?

Drawing from my previous leadership and SGA experience, I learned that a effective and open communication between SGA members and the student body that we serve is crucial to the success of not just individual projects but also to the extent and depth of our reach as an organization. My plan to facilitate this reality for the UMBC SGA relies heavily on holding regular (open) meetings with relevant SGA members as well as any other stakeholders and members of the student body to discuss the allocation of finances throughout our term. This way, all stakeholders are aware and involved in the decision-making process and can also provide any input or suggestions to improve our budget plans so that we meet our collective goals of broadening our impact while minimizing the costs. The frequency of these meetings will depend on the nature of the events and other dealings that the SGA has planned for the term, as the financial plan should be revisited periodically to ensure that funding is available and appropriately allocated. Through such transparency and inclusion, we can maximize our efficiency and budget distribution to ensure that our team can adequately support, meet, and follow through with the expectations of our student body and staff.

How do you plan to be a resource to student organizations?

Having extensive, personal experience with student organizations, outside of my time as a former SGA president, allows me unique insight into the three main parties that the SGA interacts with and serves: the SGA board members and staff, the student organization officials/ representatives, and finally, the members of these organizations (the rest of the student body). As a current UMBC student that regularly attends events held by other organizations, while also possessing experience facilitating events as a student organization official, I understand the necessity of funding for these enriching aspects of university entertainment/networking culture. Outside of funding that organizations may already possess (be it inherited from previous semesters, sponsors, or even through fundraising efforts), the extra boost of funding from the SGA not only shows their support for your organization and cause but also is crucial for the rise and survival of new clubs and organizations. This funding is also relied on to fund very important school-wide functions and programming ranging from informative discussions and town-hall meetings to more exciting social events central to the college experience. Hence, as a potential mediator and manager of these finances, this position would provide me the honor to serve as a central point of contact and symbol of financial support for the causes and spaces that these organizations create and foster.