When the polls closed on the night of the Student Government Association elections in late February, the watch party for candidate and rising senior Samatha Simmons’ campaign blew up as she was elected the 115th SGA president.
Simmons, a political science major and accelerated masters student in public administration, is from Hartselle, Alabama, and has participated in SGA every year she has been on campus. She was sworn in as president at the inauguration ceremony in April.
She started as a member of the First Year Council, a group of 65 freshmen that represent their classmates and gain experience writing legislation to address issues that impact them. Simmons said this was an experience she would “highly recommend.”
“When you’’re a member of the Student Government Association, you really do have a voice in campus decision making,” she said.
Simmons then became the chief administrative officer for the vice president for academic affairs her sophomore year, before she was elected to the SGA executive council becoming the vice president for academic affairs as a junior.
In her tenure as vice president, Simmons had many notable accomplishments. One of those was creating Try Tuscaloosa, a program that connects students to paid, possibly credit- bearing internships.
“One thing parents and students will see when they attend the University of Alabama, particularly Bama Bound orientation, is they’’ll find that President Mohler and our key leaders in Rose Administration are really passionate about providing students with internship opportunities before they graduate,” she said.
Another aspect of her previous position Simmons highlighted was getting all students free access to the Wall Street Journal.
“One of my roles as vice president for academic affairs was visiting with all of the University’s deans,” she said. “And so during those visits, I asked deans to provide me with some funding for students to have access to the WSJ. And so we raised about $17,000, and now every student can have free access.”
As Simmons begins her term as president, she will work to hold true to the promises she made to students during her campaign, including expanding Try Tuscaloosa and providing Canva Premium to students for free.
“The goal for my campaign was to make campus more affordable and accessible for student success,” Simmons said. “We want students to have all of the tools they need to succeed, so when they walk their graduation stage, they feel prepared to conquer the real world.”
Simmons has already made progress on some projects during the first few months of her term. This includes the creation of a “spirit committee” that, in collaboration with the Athletics Department, would allow students to work prior to kickoff of home football games and get paid for working and get free entry to the games.
Simmons will preside over the Student Government Association until next April. While she may not be able to meet every student, she did posit some advice as new students experience orientation and move to Tuscaloosa in August.
“I think that it’’s critical to take opportunities, give yourself grace and understand that even though campus feels extremely large right now, trust me, in three years, it’’s going to feel very small,” she said. “You have the ability and potential to take this campus by storm, and I encourage you to make new friends and develop communities, because forming relationships makes you a stronger person in the long run.”
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