S1: E:11 | Finding Your Voice: Inside Student Leadership at LSCO

What does it mean to find your voice in college? In this episode of Gator Bites, host Daniel McLemore sits down with SGA President Joshua Taylor and senators Reid Burman and HeavenLeigh Hughes to talk about leadership, campus involvement, and community at LSCO. From funny behind-the-scenes stories to real lessons on confidence and connection, this episode dives into how student leaders are shaping campus life while finding their voices along the way.

About Lamar State College Orange:
Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) is a two-year, state-supported institution located on the banks of the Sabine River in Orange, Texas. As part of the Texas State University System, LSCO is committed to transforming lives and communities through the continual pursuit of academic, professional, and personal excellence. Serving more than 5,500 students, the College offers associate degrees and certificates in academic, technical, and workforce fields, providing new and unique opportunities for growth and success. With a focus on accessibility, affordability, and innovation, LSCO serves a diverse student population, including a high percentage of first-generation college students. Through strong community partnerships, dedicated faculty and staff, and innovative student support services, LSCO is the bridge connecting those it serves to a bright, Orange future.

Transcript

00;00;08;06 - 00;00;32;07
Daniel McLemore
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Gator Bites, the official podcast at Lamar State College Orange, where we interview faculty, staff and students to give the community an inside look into life here at LSU. So today, we're sitting down with a few of our SGA students and that student government association, some of our leaders, to talk about what it's like to represent the student body, plan campus events, make an impact here at LSU, and lots of other things.

00;00;32;10 - 00;00;47;09
Daniel McLemore
We'll hear about their experiences, their goals, and then also kind of like what motivates them to serve as, serve their fellow gators. So let's start by just kind of introducing who you guys are. So, can you tell me a little bit about yourself, what your name is, what you're studying, and what role you have in SGA.

00;00;47;10 - 00;00;50;03
Daniel McLemore
I'm going to go around the table. There's there's three students that we have with us here.

00;00;50;05 - 00;01;13;15
Reid Burman
Yes. My name is Reed Burman. I'm a freshman, technically a freshman, but I'm a sophomore with credits. And I'm studying business at Lamar Orange. And, I'm an SGA senator. So, my favorite thing about SGA, honestly, is the community. And like, I've made so many friends, like when I came to Lamar Orange, I was not expecting like to like for it to be a college experience at all.

00;01;13;15 - 00;01;29;14
Reid Burman
I was kind of like, dang, whatever, I guess so, but now that I'm here, like, it really is like a it's an amazing experience and SGA really is a social thing. And we also get to see like we have the community so much like for one event, we went to the soup kitchen and we fed the homeless. And that was a really fun thing that we did.

00;01;29;14 - 00;01;31;06
Reid Burman
And I don't know, I really love SGA.

00;01;31;13 - 00;01;32;17
Daniel McLemore
And how long you been serving.

00;01;32;17 - 00;01;35;22
Reid Burman
It? Oh, this is my first year. So first year, one semester so far.

00;01;35;23 - 00;01;36;18
Daniel McLemore
Gotcha, gotcha.

00;01;36;22 - 00;01;37;13
Joshua Taylor
Many more count.

00;01;37;18 - 00;01;38;20
Reid Burman
Yes, yes, yes.

00;01;38;22 - 00;02;00;18
Joshua Taylor
I'm Joshua Taylor, and the student government president here at AE. You know, saw me last episode. So my degree is in business. And, you know, SGA has always been a focal point for me as well. You know, we offer opportunities for everyone. You can you can have any background you want. SGA is for everyone.

00;02;00;25 - 00;02;14;20
Joshua Taylor
We've had, you know, different backgrounds from different people being senators and they've really improved, you know, our how we operate as an organization. So just meeting the new people and getting opportunities for other people as well.

00;02;14;22 - 00;02;38;04
HeavenLeigh Hughes
My name is Heavenly Hughes. It is my freshman year at AE. I am currently studying general studies, but once I transfer, it's going to be sports med and musical performance. I am a senator for SGA. It is my first year, so it's only been one semester. And not to copycat, but I think my favorite part of SGA is probably definitely the community that comes along with it.

00;02;38;12 - 00;02;51;02
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Yeah. I definitely am able to talk to any and everyone, but it's kind of like easier whenever you have a certain group that you know for sure you can always go to for a conversation. So.

00;02;51;05 - 00;02;59;09
Daniel McLemore
Gotcha. So, first question here. What made you decide to join Student Government Association in the first place?

00;02;59;11 - 00;03;15;07
Reid Burman
I'll start that. So, I wasn't in, but I'm an ambassador as well for the more orange. And we were I worked a couple of events, and, I got to meet Josh these events, and and I also know the vice president and Zoe Royer really well. I went to high school with her, and they, like, really convinced me to join.

00;03;15;08 - 00;03;31;15
Reid Burman
And I like their, like, energy so much and whatever. And, when I found out, like, I get to do more service hours and be more involved because I love being involved with ambassadors so much that it really was just it was I got to do more and I got to meet more people as well. Was really fun.

00;03;31;18 - 00;03;36;07
Reid Burman
So Josh honestly kind of recruited me and kind of kidnaped me into this. That's right.

00;03;36;09 - 00;03;49;28
Joshua Taylor
It's good because it's a seamless transition, you know, between really is ambassadors and SGA. It's like they're both really incredible organizations. So, I mean, for me, I don't even know how I kind of forgot how I've been here for so long. Yeah.

00;03;50;03 - 00;03;51;26
HeavenLeigh Hughes
I was told that they kidnaped you or something.

00;03;51;26 - 00;04;14;00
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. I mean, that's usually how it goes. And, you know, if they will, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But, no, it was, I got introduced by my mentor, Raoul. Met me more and was kind of thrusted upon the opportunity to go and do, like, a conference. So that kind of got me really into it.

00;04;14;03 - 00;04;18;09
Joshua Taylor
Just seeing the opportunities that lie ahead through SGA. So.

00;04;18;11 - 00;04;36;13
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Yeah. Okay. I definitely need to start talking first, because right now it just sounds like I'm copying right after dancing. I'm also a student ambassador, but it's a little bit different from I did see Josh and Joey Zoe at the events, and they were like both fantastic people. But I didn't really think about joining until Mister Moore, my math lab professor.

00;04;36;14 - 00;04;49;22
HeavenLeigh Hughes
He was like, you're already an ambassador. Why not just go for SGA as well? Like you can get more service, be more involved. And it was the last day to turn in an application. And I was like, you know what? Why not? So and now I'm here. So I love that.

00;04;49;25 - 00;04;57;20
Daniel McLemore
So what's something fun or maybe unexpected that you've learned about being part of SGA? And you can start this one. How about that?

00;04;57;23 - 00;05;19;23
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Being something fun about SGA is like, you never know what to expect whenever it comes to the groups that you're with, because it's similar people every time, but they feed off of each other's energy, and no matter what, there's going to be some kind of ridiculous conversation that happens ten times out of ten. Or you know what? We're just chillin in the SGA office playing Kahoot!

00;05;19;24 - 00;05;21;04
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Like, it really just depends on the day.

00;05;21;11 - 00;05;46;08
Joshua Taylor
Yeah, it's a lot of you know, we're similar minded people, but it's all different personalities. And that's what kind of, you know, we want to encourage that. You know, we don't want to like mold anyone to what we expect them to be right. So that's kind of usually what SGA is like. I mean, the biggest thing we do, for me at least, is, you know, positive physical change on campus has always been something I've lived by, you know, and brought that to SGA.

00;05;46;08 - 00;06;05;00
Joshua Taylor
And, I mean, the culture of SGA itself is, you know, been more fun, even with, you know, just the popularity that's grown with it. And seeing the new people come in and the new energy, I it's it's really incredible to see like how much has changed just in the past two years I've been here.

00;06;05;00 - 00;06;24;17
Reid Burman
So and for me like, when I graduate high school, I was going to miss, like, the schedule and like, having to come and talk to people and so be social. But when I joined SGA, like, if I ever wanted to be social, like to have class that day, I could still come into the SGA office. The door is always open and there's always people in here, and we can always just joke and talk about having a bad day.

00;06;24;22 - 00;06;33;26
Reid Burman
I can come in here and just, talk about it or we can I can not talk about it and just laugh and it's just better, like, I really do appreciate that state office. Like the space they provide for us.

00;06;33;28 - 00;06;49;28
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. And that's actually kind of a good point too. You know, coming out of high school, that's a highly involved community in a sense. Right. Because you're with these these other friends of yours and stuff eight hours a day. Right. And so then you leave that community and you go into an in college community where it's a little bit less regimented.

00;06;50;03 - 00;06;56;28
Daniel McLemore
It's not daily. You see, sometimes you may only see somebody once a week. And so it's kind of hard to build that community at times, right?

00;06;56;28 - 00;07;00;21
Reid Burman
Yes. It really is. And when I come in here, there's always someone to talk to. And it really is nice.

00;07;00;27 - 00;07;02;15
Joshua Taylor
Yeah, freedom is weird now.

00;07;02;15 - 00;07;03;07
Reid Burman
You know.

00;07;03;10 - 00;07;05;20
Joshua Taylor
High school is so weird.

00;07;05;23 - 00;07;18;06
Reid Burman
I have to, like, wake up. It's just what's. We're not making it past. So we are waking up early, like, around six in the morning, like I usually do. Like, I'm stuck, like, like I'm busy. I'm sleeping in too much now.

00;07;18;06 - 00;07;18;17
Joshua Taylor
After.

00;07;18;24 - 00;07;20;14
Daniel McLemore
High school, you get into a routine.

00;07;20;14 - 00;07;24;17
Reid Burman
It's not lost I routine. So now I'm trying to get routine again. And, I mean, it really is so.

00;07;24;19 - 00;07;25;25
Daniel McLemore
So no. Any classes.

00;07;25;25 - 00;07;26;29
Reid Burman
That right? No. No no.

00;07;27;01 - 00;07;28;10
Joshua Taylor
Never. Have you kidding.

00;07;28;10 - 00;07;28;16
Reid Burman
Me?

00;07;28;16 - 00;07;32;02
HeavenLeigh Hughes
I would never my only rarely do that starts at 11. Oh.

00;07;32;05 - 00;07;33;13
Joshua Taylor


00;07;33;15 - 00;07;42;29
Daniel McLemore
So, kind of if you had to describe to somebody who had never heard of what, heard of SGA in general, how do you tell them what SGA is and what they do?

00;07;43;01 - 00;08;15;19
Joshua Taylor
A big thing from that I've always used is, you know, we're the voice for students on campus, right? In every capacity. So a lot of how we worked in the past, like with our student worker paid and all these initiatives, is how do we voice the students needs and concerns to higher administration. And that's the the conversation that I try to bring up to, like, new recruits or, you know, people who are here who want to know about it.

00;08;15;21 - 00;08;30;03
Joshua Taylor
And really, like I said, our mantra like positive physical change on campus is our goal. And so being able to voice those concerns and be able to champion those concerns for students is really what we're here for.

00;08;30;06 - 00;08;52;04
Reid Burman
And so to piggyback off of that, Josh said SGA honestly is like kind of like student council to an extent. We are the voice of the student. So if you have an academic problem or you're like, there's something wrong with you, professor, or if you're ever in trouble and you have a you have a complaint you want to voice, you come to SGA and we'll figure out the steps of it means a service to help you out and fix that problem for you.

00;08;52;06 - 00;09;08;02
Reid Burman
Or if you have an event or an idea for a club or or anything positive on campus that you want to see, you can come to SGA and bring your idea. And we we as a team gets a brain brainstorm and figure out what what the next move is to help make that happen for our students on campus as well.

00;09;08;04 - 00;09;13;19
Joshua Taylor
And it's not it's not like just us doing it, you know, if we ask the students and all.

00;09;13;19 - 00;09;20;17
Reid Burman
The student orgs, every SGA meeting, there's always people from every student org there. And it it's it's like we get the whole campus involved and everything. It's really nice.

00;09;20;17 - 00;09;37;09
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. It's you know, I've heard the statement like blanket, you know, put a blanket over everyone. That's SGA. But really it's not, you know, it's the community that we build within student cause like we can have success as SGA, but if we don't help other orgs have success, then what's the point here?

00;09;37;11 - 00;09;38;10
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Yeah.

00;09;38;12 - 00;09;49;22
Daniel McLemore
So what about a project that you guys have worked on recently? I know you guys are new, obviously, but Josh has been here for a little while. Is there any projects that you've worked on recently that you'd say, man, I'm I'm proud of that.

00;09;49;25 - 00;10;17;27
Joshua Taylor
I mean, a big thing that we've started now, is our newest initiative is our, student spotlight. So, on social media, we're going to start like, building these not accounts, but like posts tailored towards, like, letting students know exactly what these words are for and, like, hopefully that brings more attention to them, you know, and, brings people to join these orgs.

00;10;18;00 - 00;10;37;14
Joshua Taylor
And then hopefully, you know, eventually we'll have episodes on this podcast as well. Yeah, that will have soon spotlights that will come and interview like the student presidents. I know there's already been one about FBLa, so it's kind of like our first one, right? Yeah. So that's like our, our UN, unofficially the first episode for students works well, right?

00;10;37;14 - 00;10;38;22
Daniel McLemore
By episode -1 or 2.

00;10;38;22 - 00;10;41;03
Joshua Taylor
Yeah, yeah. Episode 0.0. Yeah.

00;10;41;08 - 00;10;41;27
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Five.

00;10;41;29 - 00;10;51;27
Joshua Taylor
Right. All right. So that's basically, our initiative this semester, just because, you know, SGA has gotten a lot more popular since I've been here, but.

00;10;51;29 - 00;10;53;04
Reid Burman
Any synergies we have,

00;10;53;06 - 00;10;56;00
Joshua Taylor
We have, like 12 candidates, and I think that's the most.

00;10;56;07 - 00;10;58;15
Daniel McLemore
That's the most I've ever seen run since I've been here. Two.

00;10;58;15 - 00;10;59;18
Joshua Taylor
Yeah, I think that's the most ever.

00;10;59;18 - 00;11;02;02
HeavenLeigh Hughes
So it's you know, campaigning was wild.

00;11;02;02 - 00;11;03;11
Joshua Taylor
It was pretty, pretty fun.

00;11;03;11 - 00;11;03;28
Reid Burman
It was crazy.

00;11;04;01 - 00;11;17;03
Daniel McLemore
Well, and maybe, you know, we can kind of talk about that too. How what was it like going through that process of, oh, I actually have to I have to run for this and people have to want me to serve for them. Like, is that did you all serve on student council or anything before this or.

00;11;17;04 - 00;11;35;20
Reid Burman
Yes, I did in high school. I never made the board, but I was a I was a member of student council. But when it came to this, running for SGA, I got the dates mixed up and I didn't even remember that I had a run for SGA. And my friend Darian was like, hey, I haven't seen any posters around.

00;11;35;20 - 00;11;51;06
Reid Burman
And she was like, do you mean to just put your face on on our On my fire? We'll run together? I was like, yes, thank you. She saved my life. And then after that I really went all in and I came to campus with her. And the rest of the week that was left of the campaigning. I came and we handed out fliers and people to vote for us as well.

00;11;51;13 - 00;11;51;27
Daniel McLemore
Yeah.

00;11;52;00 - 00;12;04;01
Joshua Taylor
It's such a weird world because me and Jessica never ran like we we got thrust into the position, which is a whole nother story in itself, but it's kind of crazy. Like, I never had to do that.

00;12;04;01 - 00;12;05;18
Reid Burman
Yeah, it was stressful.

00;12;05;21 - 00;12;24;28
HeavenLeigh Hughes
So I was never on student council, but I wasn't a lot of like clubs and extracurriculars. And whenever I was in choir, I was like voted in a section leader. But I was also kind of just pushed into that spot. Yeah. So it was really weird having to be like, hey, I want this vote for me. Like, I need, I need you to be behind me so I can get behind this.

00;12;24;28 - 00;12;28;16
HeavenLeigh Hughes
It was fun, but a little difficult.

00;12;28;16 - 00;12;29;11
Reid Burman
It was hard.

00;12;29;14 - 00;12;36;19
HeavenLeigh Hughes
It was really hard. I felt so weird going up to people studying, being like, hey, so let me interrupt you real quick. You want to vote for me?

00;12;36;21 - 00;12;37;26
Reid Burman
Yeah, it's it's a little me.

00;12;37;26 - 00;12;46;03
Daniel McLemore
Like, I'm in marketing, obviously. And my role is to to sell and market the college, but I, I'm horrible about selling and marketing myself at times too.

00;12;46;03 - 00;12;46;13
Reid Burman
Yes.

00;12;46;20 - 00;12;55;29
HeavenLeigh Hughes
I think being a waitress definitely help me with that. It's easy to talk to strange groups of like big groups of people. I didn't mean strange. I meant strange big like strands of.

00;12;55;29 - 00;12;58;28
Daniel McLemore
People like you students. It's a strange group of people.

00;12;59;00 - 00;12;59;19
Joshua Taylor
What? I mean.

00;12;59;24 - 00;13;02;09
Daniel McLemore
I don't want your slogan. No, no.

00;13;02;11 - 00;13;06;03
Joshua Taylor
That was part of the campaign. I saw the posters. What?

00;13;06;05 - 00;13;24;10
Daniel McLemore
So, let's, let's talk about some of the growth that's been going on. So LSS has been growing a lot. There's a lot of new buildings, new programs, more students. How has this growth kind of changed the student experience from your perspective specifically? I mean, you guys, y'all, y'all are new. So this is like it is what it is to you.

00;13;24;10 - 00;13;29;29
Daniel McLemore
But Josh is kind of seeing a little bit of the past too. So what if, what have you all seen whenever it comes to growth?

00;13;30;01 - 00;13;52;18
Joshua Taylor
The biggest thing that I've seen now is, you know, Covid five years ago. Right. It was a huge, huge hit to student life. I've heard so many, like, almost horror stories about it. Right. I think coming up this like this semester, this new fall, like we were at orientation and, you know, we see Student Appreciation Day.

00;13;52;21 - 00;14;26;06
Joshua Taylor
I think everyone's now finally going over like the Covid hump. Right. We're on the down the downhill of that. So now people are getting more involved. People are seeing, you know, being on campus more, even for a community college. And, you know, they're in the environment itself. So for us that to be able to foster an environment that not only encourages them to, like, join orgs, but also bring change to campus, that's basically like our goal now.

00;14;26;06 - 00;14;47;12
Joshua Taylor
And seeing that change kind of happen pretty quick, like I've never seen it like it is now. Like with 12 candidates, even for being senators, like we've had to fight for like even six people, you know, for four positions. So yeah, it's it's wild. And that that type of change I think is happening not just here but everywhere now.

00;14;47;15 - 00;14;52;02
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. How many, how many positions does SGA have?

00;14;52;05 - 00;14;59;02
Joshua Taylor
So right now we have, six center positions and then we have five, executive officer positions.

00;14;59;04 - 00;15;01;28
Daniel McLemore
He did just say it in the. Yeah, I know everybody heard it.

00;15;01;28 - 00;15;02;28
Joshua Taylor
I said six.

00;15;02;28 - 00;15;03;24
Daniel McLemore
And what did you say?

00;15;03;24 - 00;15;06;29
Joshua Taylor
I think I said five.

00;15;07;02 - 00;15;08;09
Joshua Taylor
Okay. Well.

00;15;08;11 - 00;15;09;13
Daniel McLemore
My kids, I'll have to call you on that.

00;15;09;14 - 00;15;15;08
Joshua Taylor
I'm sorry, I honestly, I don't know. No, I'm not on social media. And people try to people try to explain to me and I'm, I don't.

00;15;15;10 - 00;15;18;19
HeavenLeigh Hughes
I feel very I have tried multiple times. It's horrendous.

00;15;18;22 - 00;15;19;09
Joshua Taylor
Yeah.

00;15;19;12 - 00;15;20;03
Daniel McLemore
Yeah it's.

00;15;20;04 - 00;15;35;17
Joshua Taylor
Okay. But yeah a lot of those. So those are the voting members in SGA. And then everyone's a member of SGA whenever they apply and are a student here. So and with those senior positions are, you know, scholarship based and volunteer our based as well. So,

00;15;35;20 - 00;15;45;00
Reid Burman
I think the biggest, growth I've seen, I mean, have you all seen the academic center, like, I can't, I honestly don't, I cannot imagine, like, this campus without that. Like gorgeous building.

00;15;45;00 - 00;15;46;11
Joshua Taylor
Like. Yeah. No doubt about.

00;15;46;16 - 00;15;48;12
Reid Burman
Like, I don't even know what building what was there before.

00;15;48;12 - 00;15;50;03
Daniel McLemore
It's just it's not there anymore.

00;15;50;03 - 00;15;53;16
Reid Burman
That's that there wasn't a building. Yeah. I think on building.

00;15;53;18 - 00;15;54;06
Joshua Taylor
That other one.

00;15;54;06 - 00;15;56;12
Reid Burman
Oh, it's so nice. I just I don't know.

00;15;56;12 - 00;16;09;19
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. I mean, downtown orange, growing up myself, it, it always felt old to me. And because it was a historic downtown. But now that it's new and refreshed, it still feels historic, but it feels fresh, like the.

00;16;09;21 - 00;16;13;23
Reid Burman
The variety building. The old church. Yeah. Like, that building is awesome. I mean, the glass windows.

00;16;13;23 - 00;16;15;17
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Old architecture of that. It's just like.

00;16;15;19 - 00;16;41;29
Daniel McLemore
And what I love too, about something like that is you walk in and everybody asks that go, is that the original stained glass? And you say, yes, and they go, it was already orange and green. Yes. It was. Somehow it matched everything we already had. So yeah. I love seeing all this improvement and all these things, but, improvement in the infrastructure doesn't really do anything unless you've got those, that, that, that lift and students and the things that are going on with the campus involvement and the engagement and all of that, too.

00;16;41;29 - 00;16;51;25
Daniel McLemore
So, you know, we've got a lot of events that are coming up this fall. What are what are some that are coming up? I don't know if this is Aaron before or after October Fest, but I know we have that coming up.

00;16;51;25 - 00;16;53;01
Joshua Taylor
Oh, yeah. October Fest is.

00;16;53;01 - 00;16;54;10
Reid Burman
Huge. I'm so excited.

00;16;54;17 - 00;17;14;25
Joshua Taylor
It's very cool. So we'll you know, October fences are basically for anyone who's been to Orange Tober. It's kind of similar. But it's on our campus and it's community based. So we'll have like, community partners out here. All the orgs will be a part of it. Actually is gonna have snow cones, so y'all can get some things if you haven't gotten already, but, it's gonna be really fun.

00;17;14;25 - 00;17;20;10
Joshua Taylor
And then a lot of, like, our volunteer stuff we do kind of, internal.

00;17;20;13 - 00;17;26;19
Reid Burman
Yeah, yeah, we're we're going to be working some, Southeast Texas foodbank, volunteer opportunities pretty soon.

00;17;26;19 - 00;17;29;21
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. And some like boys having club as well and all these things.

00;17;29;21 - 00;17;30;13
Reid Burman
Rodeo as well.

00;17;30;13 - 00;18;10;13
Joshua Taylor
Angel rodeo. Yeah. A lot of events coming up. Winter jam is a huge one too. It's it's changed a lot since the past couple of years. Mainly due to just, like, situational, budgeting. So last year it was student or ran, like, we, we funded it sooner or funded. And I think that was such a huge change that I think honestly is something that moving forward is going to help it, because being able to run events from students, for students and you know, not to like bring down staff or faculty, right?

00;18;10;13 - 00;18;12;12
Daniel McLemore
It's perspective. Right? It's a matter of perspective.

00;18;12;12 - 00;18;20;04
Joshua Taylor
Exactly. And so like I think it, it it puts more of like a, I don't know what the word is I guess.

00;18;20;07 - 00;18;22;17
Reid Burman


00;18;22;19 - 00;18;26;20
Joshua Taylor
Be kind of it's, motivating. It's more motivating for students.

00;18;26;21 - 00;18;27;20
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. Like when you build.

00;18;27;20 - 00;18;28;01
Joshua Taylor
These, when.

00;18;28;01 - 00;18;43;02
Reid Burman
You see someone your age doing something in like, planning and making it happen, it makes you like, oh, wait, I can do that, or I can join that now. Like, you won't feel like weird. I don't know, because it's from like from my point of view. Like, sometimes I don't want to go do things of like knowing my age will be there.

00;18;43;02 - 00;18;49;16
Reid Burman
But when you see everything on campus is student or grand, everyone is your age. It's more welcoming and makes you want to be more involved.

00;18;49;19 - 00;18;51;17
Joshua Taylor
Absolutely. Yeah.

00;18;51;19 - 00;19;03;17
Daniel McLemore
So what's, what's maybe one lesson or maybe an experience from SGA that you've had already that you think you'll carry with you throughout the rest of your career here, or even through graduation?

00;19;03;19 - 00;19;24;11
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Definitely just the ability to be able to talk to people. SGA is very well, like we said, very out there, very wants to be known, wants to help people. And it's made it a lot easier for I know, like everyone in it, to be able to talk, maybe not speaking in front of groups, even though Josh is really good at that.

00;19;24;11 - 00;19;36;08
HeavenLeigh Hughes
I am not, sure, but conversations and like getting behind people and being able to help them is something that I've definitely, like, started loving a lot about. Last year.

00;19;36;10 - 00;19;42;17
Reid Burman
And I honestly like, it's not it's not perfect yet. I'm getting there like my professional filter.

00;19;42;19 - 00;19;44;23
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Like 100% speak.

00;19;44;24 - 00;19;46;00
Joshua Taylor
Professionally.

00;19;46;02 - 00;19;48;04
Reid Burman
And like to speak in a, I'm.

00;19;48;04 - 00;19;48;24
Joshua Taylor
Never gets easier.

00;19;48;25 - 00;20;03;13
Reid Burman
You know, it's hard because, like, yeah, coming out of being a kid, like having, like, big boy pants and like, you know, do you do do you think that, like, you're in college now? Like, I like being able to talk to adults in not sound like, oh, he's a kid, you know? Right. A professional filter filters it, I call it.

00;20;03;16 - 00;20;38;11
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. That's a huge one, actually. I think, you know, some of the best lessons I've learned is just advocating not only for, like, yourself as, like a leader, but also advocating for students who, you know, need somebody. You know what I mean? That's been a huge thing that I've, I know I've like, I've gotten better at and I hope you know, it shows, but, it's something I'm still working towards, you know, and I think that's something that everything that we've said you can always get better at, you know what I mean?

00;20;38;14 - 00;20;44;13
Joshua Taylor
100%. So, like, there's always growth no matter what aspect of, you know, SGA you're looking at.

00;20;44;13 - 00;20;58;29
Daniel McLemore
So yeah, I love it. So last question. We'll wrap it up with this one. But for students that are thinking about getting more involved on campus, what would you tell them? What's what's the selling point. What's what's the point? Why don't you why don't you want to get involved here?

00;20;59;02 - 00;21;16;18
Reid Burman
Well, whenever you whenever you leave college, the goal is to be not just say, I have a degree, and that's it. Like when you leave college, you want to say, I got this many service hours. I learned how to be how to how to speak in front of crowds. I was involved, I made community like college is not just a degree.

00;21;16;18 - 00;21;29;05
Reid Burman
A college is an experience like you want to say. You want to be involved because you just don't want to just go to class and just go home. Like, like there's stuff on campus, like there's there's outlets for a reason. There's a student center for a reason. Like, why not take advantage of it?

00;21;29;08 - 00;21;31;29
Joshua Taylor
And.

00;21;32;02 - 00;21;56;20
Joshua Taylor
I think a big thing to, to getting involved is you never you you never want to regret your time here at college. Right. And so when you look back at it and you take a lot of the opportunities given, you can say, oh, I've done this in my past that has led me to do these things in the future.

00;21;56;23 - 00;22;18;27
Joshua Taylor
Instead of looking back like, oh, I really wish I would have done that, you know? And it's different for everyone, right? College is usually a gateway to a bigger, you know, job or career, right? The biggest thing I would tell them is, you know, love the process. Don't focus on the end goal because you're going to get there.

00;22;19;03 - 00;22;43;25
Joshua Taylor
Right? And that's the whole point. But to fall in love with the journey and, like, build yourself through that experience instead of where you're going to end up, then you'll it it builds much more, builds a lot more character and builds build yourself a lot more. Just even confidently and, you know, in different ways.

00;22;43;25 - 00;23;02;14
HeavenLeigh Hughes
So you also definitely don't want to I know that me starting out just on basics, I'm studying a lot of the same things that I was in high school, which is kind of like aggravating knowing that I'm not going towards my degree plan yet. But if it was, if I was just doing those classes, I would hate my college experience.

00;23;02;14 - 00;23;20;07
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Like, let's be so for real. If I wasn't involved in ambassador SGA and like getting into FBLa, if I wasn't in all of those orgs or like talking to people, I would not be enjoying my college experience as much as I am now. That community is what's helped. Like me, actually want to come to school and me like want to learn.

00;23;20;12 - 00;23;41;24
Daniel McLemore
So and that's kind of a good point to also. But sometimes building a foundation is not glamorous. It doesn't it doesn't feel great. It doesn't look fun. It's just a sometimes it's just a big ol slab of concrete on the bottom. But if you build anything on top of an unsafe foundation going into those courses that are the upper levels and the things that are in your major, it's nothing to stand on.

00;23;41;24 - 00;23;50;26
Daniel McLemore
Right? So sometimes I feel like that's what students drop out in, is they they forget that, hey, I'm building something important here. Yeah, yeah, I can build on later.

00;23;51;00 - 00;24;08;16
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. Because student I mean, we build our foundation together as students. You know, it's never a single. You can't build a foundation by yourself unless you want to take a long time to do it. Right. So like in these groups and these people that you network with, like this is, this is the time where that foundation is being built.

00;24;08;20 - 00;24;24;09
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. Right. And then when you go and do all these things, you have all these things to fall back on, right? Like, I hope you know, in the future I'd be able to, you know, if I need Reed to give me some concert tickets, right? Yeah, I can go. I can go online and be like, hey, man, remember me from 15 years ago, right?

00;24;24;12 - 00;24;32;25
Joshua Taylor
Yeah. It's those connections that, like, build yourself and also help build others as well. And that's truly what the college experience is meant to do.

00;24;32;25 - 00;24;39;25
Reid Burman
And the best way to learn is from people who are doing the same thing you're doing now, like learning to learn study habits, like, I mean like a.

00;24;39;25 - 00;24;40;25
HeavenLeigh Hughes
New perspective always.

00;24;40;25 - 00;24;50;05
Reid Burman
Helps new perspective, like everyone and everyone in SGA and everyone in other student orgs are in the same shoes you're in. And it's just it's nice to know that you're not alone.

00;24;50;13 - 00;25;11;28
Joshua Taylor
Yeah, I learned something in one of the, trainings that we've been to was, you know, it can be really isolating in a university, like in any college, really, because, you know, you're your own person, you have your own things, and, but you're not alone. Like, everyone is a college student, right? Nobody's above like, I'm actually a president.

00;25;11;28 - 00;25;25;11
Joshua Taylor
I'm not above anybody. Right. So being able to relate to those students and build those connections through relatability, like that's everyone's in in the same boat, let's just, you know, steer it together, right?

00;25;25;14 - 00;25;34;03
Daniel McLemore
Yeah, I love it. It's all very well set. So we, we always like to take a picture of everybody that's in it. So this will be the if you see the, the, thumbnail of.

00;25;34;03 - 00;25;35;06
Joshua Taylor
This thumbnail here.

00;25;35;06 - 00;25;42;17
Daniel McLemore
It is as a thumbnail. So that's what we're doing right now. So everybody join in right here. Jessica's in it in the back too. She wasn't in on microphone but it was.

00;25;42;19 - 00;25;44;03
Joshua Taylor
She was mentioned.

00;25;44;06 - 00;25;45;11
Daniel McLemore
All right we got it there. When I see.

00;25;45;11 - 00;25;47;16
HeavenLeigh Hughes
It to make sure I don't look.

00;25;47;18 - 00;25;48;29
Daniel McLemore
You can have editorial access. Yeah.

00;25;49;04 - 00;25;49;28
HeavenLeigh Hughes
Perfect.

00;25;50;00 - 00;26;06;04
Daniel McLemore
So thank you all for joining us today and for sharing your thoughts on SGA. And it's just it's been great hearing all this, and I hope that everybody listening was able to grab something from it too. So to our listeners, be sure to keep up with the latest Gator Bites podcast episodes on the AE website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

00;26;06;06 - 00;26;09;24
Daniel McLemore
Thanks for tuning in and we look forward to bringing you another conversation soon.