By Sean Hutchinson

As I reflect upon my last days here as an undergraduate student, I remember just how eager I was to join a club and make a difference, leading me to SGA as freshman with hopes of learning what the Hofstra “community” was all about. I joined the appropriations committee and devoted my years to creating diversity and equality in a room where decisions were made on behalf of the interests of the entire student body.

I re-started the NAACP chapter here in my sophomore year because I felt that it was time that the African-American and Latino Community regained the sense of community that I found through my interactions with SGA, and created programming that challenged ALL students. While I’d planned to bring a feeling of togetherness to the university, what I did not plan on happening was having each and every one of you teach me great lessons on community. Together, we joined forces and helped build a school in Uganda. We celebrated 100 years in the NAACP by bringing Elizabeth Eckford to Hofstra, and finally you showed me what true community could be like when you elected me as the President of the student body.

Akeem and I truly hope that we lived up to our end of the bargain by taking a grassroots approach in re-structuring SGA. We re-designed our logo and website and challenged the students to take interest in who we are as senators by becoming involved. We started with our launch and then moved into a week of activities for HIV awareness. In the spring, we started our “Think” campaign by raising $2000 to go towards the abolishment of human trafficking. On April 30 the SGA “Think” campaign will anchor its final leg of the year by uniting various clubs and organizations together to help build a school in Haiti under the Edeyo foundation. This couldn’t have been done without your continued support.

I would like to thank you again for allowing me into your hearts and truly giving me the opportunity to devote my entire collegiate career to serving the student body. I would like to encourage each and every one of you to get involved in your communities and become Change Agents, because as college students this is truly the time to discover what you are passionate about. I would like to wish you all a wonderful summer, and never forget that someone on campus devoted their time to making sure that you had a voice.