By Joe Wlos
wlosjose@grinnell.edu
This semester, SGA is adding new members to Cabinet after two resignations before winter break. Allison Wong ’12 will replace Maria Higgs ’12 as Student Services Coordinator, and Phil Brogdon ’12 will take over for Paul Dampier ‘12 as Films Chair.
SGA President Gabe Schechter ’12 praised Wong and Brogdon, who both learned of their selection shortly before school started.
“Allison is highly qualified,” Schechter said, “and she’s got great ideas. She’s already picking up the new job and all of its responsibilities very quickly. We are glad that she can join us and hit the ground running.”
“Phil’s also got great ideas,” Schechter continued. “He will hopefully bring some new creative energy to the Films Chair position.”
Higgs and Dampier both resigned for personal reasons. Their replacements will officially take over after being approved by Joint Board, which has not yet convened for the semester.
“The time and effort that Maria and Paul put in as Student Services Coordinator and Films Chair was great,” said Schechter. “We appreciate all the effort that they expended last semester. We are sad to see them go, but we wish them the best of luck in the next semester.”
Wong and Brogdon originally applied for their new positions last year, at the same time as Higgs and Dampier. Schechter, VPAA Wadzi Motsi ’12, VPSA Chris Dorman ’12, and Treasurer Kathy Anderson ’13 chose the pair through a selection process during winter break.
“We thought that we had a great set of candidates already,” said Schechter, “so we decided that there was no reason to run a full, campus-wide application process.”
Now, SGA will continue its work unimpeded by a lack of staff.
“We were very concerned about ensuring that when this semester started we had a full cabinet, which helps all of SGA run efficiently,” said Schechter. “Dynamics are fantastic. Everyone is pleased to have a full working unit.”
Wong fits in with the Cabinet especially well. She is no outsider to SGA service projects, having worked for Grinnell’s Fog Fest, the Halloween carnival, and blood drives.
“I’m really excited about this position,” said Wong. “I’ve been involved with the services committee for all of my four years here, so I’m happy to take on this leadership position to ensure that services at Grinnell continue to run smoothly.”
Although his new occupation is cinema services on campus, anyone who knows Brogdon knows that these are hardly a new interest of his. In addition to his academic interest in films, Brogdon helps coordinate Friday Fun Night, which travels to Des Moines to host events for local kids. His managerial skills were also proven on the Student Publications and Radio Committee (SPARC), where he served as treasurer until he was offered the SGA Film position. He is resigning from SPARC to be Films Chair.
“[The new position] has been overwhelming, because I’ve had a lot thrown at me in the past few days, but I’m excited for it,” said Brogdon. “I knew it would be a large commitment, but that’s what I’ve been looking for.”
Wong agrees that taking on the new position is a whirlwind.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time going to meetings with people to find out what this job entails and to find out how to make this transition as seamless as possible,” Wong said.
Despite the caveat of still needing to be confirmed by Joint Board, both new members have big projects on their plates. Brogdon already started working with several Cabinet members on events, including Motsi, with whom he is planning an African film festival.
Wong focused her initial efforts on a jobs fair for careers in service. She also wants to get Grinnellians more involved in service.
“I’m interested in making sure that there is a lot of communication with the campus community about services,” said Wong. “I plan to get in touch with a lot of people I know in student groups, to see what they have to say about services.”
“We haven’t had our first committee meeting yet, which is on Sunday,” said Brogdon. “I’m excited to be working with other people on campus who are excited about movies, and it should be great.”