Student Government Association (SGA) President Brendan Hawkins plans to use this school year to grow student awareness of SGA and senator involvement. Hawkins took over the position of SGA president after former SGA President Ellie McGowan graduated in spring 2024.
“My love for the organization, really, is what inspired me to run,” Hawkins said. “I’ve been involved in SGA since my freshman year and it’s something that I see a lot of value in. I think that it’s extremely important to have students representing other students because there’s no one that’s going to know better about what students want.”
Hawkins has been involved in SGA through many roles, including senator-at-large and University Relations Senate Chair in the Student Senate. As he stepped into his new position this year, he undertook many new responsibilities.
“It’s kind of shocking how many responsibilities (the University) puts on a student, how much trust they put in me. I have a voice, as a student, in the Board of Regents meetings,” Hawkins said. “It’s just really cool to see that the University cares that much about our students. I’ve met with student body presidents at other universities, and if there’s one thing that Murray State does right, it’s that it really cares for its students. I truly believe that from the bottom of my heart. At the center of every decision is: how will this affect the students? And that’s how higher education should be.”
One of the main ways SGA hears student voices is through the Student Senate. The Student Senate is a diverse group of representatives for the student body. It includes three senators from each academic college, two senators from each residential college, two freshman senators and eight senators-at-large, who can be any member of the student body.
“A lot of schools have senator positions that anyone can run for, but Murray State has it broken down so we actually represent different organizations and kinds of bodies on campus,” Hawkins said. “So I think the way that we break it down makes sure that we have a fair spread of our whole campus and a true voice of the students on campus. I think we represent our students very well.”
Hawkins said his plans for the upcoming academic year include allocating new responsibilities to senators, which include having academic senators meet with the deans of their colleges, sending freshman senators to Freshman Council meetings, and encouraging more reports from all senators. Hawkins said he believes that the more involved senators are, the better the organization will perform.
“My goal right now, at least for this semester, is to kind of look at things on a small scale. We want to build this beautiful skyscraper, but first we need to build a strong foundation for that skyscraper,” Hawkins said. “And so that’s why I want to give senators more responsibilities and to develop a greater buy-in from the Senate into SGA as an organization. In the past, there were a lot of vacancies, but now we have, like a full senate, which is unheard of. I mean, basically since COVID, we haven’t had a full senate. We haven’t had a full judicial board. Now, a lot of our students are very excited and want to join and be involved and so that’s just awesome to me.”
Hawkins is currently working on a breakdown of responsibilities he would like to see from each student senator. His goal is to have every senator speak at least once a semester. To achieve this goal, he plans to have alternating weeks, such as an ‘academic week’ or ‘residential college week’ in which certain senators will be given more time and encouragement to give reports.
Hawkins said the hope is to highlight each part of the senate and make sure the voices of the students they represent are heard.
“We represent you,” Hawkins said. “You’re the reason I’m in this position. When I am speaking at Board of Regents meetings, I’m not speaking as Brendan Hawkins, I’m speaking on behalf of the students of Murray State. And so if there’s anything you want on campus, come to me, come to any of our senators. The reason why we exist is to support you.”
While SGA exists to serve students, many students are unaware of how the organization serves them. Hawkins said when he was running for president last year, he was disappointed to see how many students were unfamiliar with SGA.
“If a student doesn’t know what SGA is, I see that as a failure of our organization, and so that is something I really want to change,” Hawkins said. “I want every student to feel comfortable coming into this office, coming and talking to me, coming and talking to any of our senators. That’s a big thing for me. I think I’ve kept very open and clear lines of communication and I think communication is key. I’m trying to lead by example and I hope that will have a trickle down effect through SGA and help us build more of a community.”
Hawkins also plans to build awareness by sending an SGA representative with the Office of Recruitment when they do high school visits to encourage incoming students to get involved and take on leadership roles.
“It’s planting those seeds early on and I think that will be a phenomenal investment for our organization,” Hawkins said. “And even if I’m not here to see it, I’d like to start that now and so in the future, we’ll keep growing.”
Kade Gambill, student activities coordinator and adviser to SGA said working with Hawkins and his executive team this year has been a great experience.
“They have all brought a great attitude and new ideas to the table,” Gambill said. “I’m excited to see what SGA is able to accomplish this year!”
To learn more about SGA, visit their Murray State University website page. To speak to Hawkins or Gambill, visit the Center for Student Involvement on the second floor of the Curris Center.
