By Elise Emmert
This is an extended version of our interview with Richard Harris and Catherine Galloway, the newly-elected SGA President and Vice President. To read the rest of the interview, check out page five of The Pulse.
The Pulse (TP): How do you think your involvements in activities on campus, like Enactus and in the Office of Intercultural Relations (OIR), have prepared you for this leadership role?
Catherine Galloway (CG): I feel like being an Intercultural Advisor (IA) has given me a look into what leadership looks like on campus, around events, what weekly meetings look like, and what the structure on campus looks like.
Richard Harris (RH): In Enactus we do a lot of stuff in the Jackson community, so I have that relationship outside of Spring Arbor. That helped me build relationships within the school because not everybody in Enactus is a business major. So that branches me out beyond what I’m studying, and helps me develop more friendships.
TP: What skills do you think you bring to the table, other than what you have learned in Enactus and as an IA?
RH: Personally, I believe our social skills. If you can’t really tell we’re people’s people, and we’re very outgoing. That could actually be a big factor when it comes to standing in advocacy for certain things that the student body wants.
CG: I feel like working for OIR here and doing three and a half years of missions in high school in another country has taught me about what diversity looks like, even on a campus like this, and how to pull it together. (It taught me how to) be able to listen to students and be able to hear what they want and where they’re coming from.
RH: That amplification of diversity is something that we really enjoy, obviously, in ourselves. I’m an African-American male, if nobody knew that (laughs). That’s part of who I am, but that’s literally just one part of who I am. The other sides of who I am, I am a spiritual believer, I have a solid foundation in Christ, I love God with all my heart, mind, and soul, and I plan to radiate that love in this position.
TP: How do you plan to show Christ through your administration?
RH: I would really love to amplify the knowledge of Christian ministries that are here on a Christian university. There’s so many, and I believe the only thing that’s lacking is on the student’s part. There’s a lot of phenomenal ministries, they just need student participation.
