With new club registrations increasing and the Career Center expanding, this year's Student Government Association (SGA) executive board leaves office after a year focused on strengthening campus involvement and improving connections between students, clubs and university resources.
The 2025-2026 executive board included Student Body President Jack Vaughn, Vice President Bryce Miller, Treasurer Ewa Pekala and Secretary Sumaiya Illyas. The group campaigned on increasing awareness of the Career Center, streamlining communication with student organizations and making SGA more accessible and approachable on campus.
Vaughn said those priorities were reflected in their accomplishments, particularly through initiatives tied to the Career Center.
“It was something that I wanted to help reform as president, and through my term, I was able to integrate [the Career Center] into the university's five-year strategic plan,” Vaughn said. “I currently serve on three committees, overseeing its execution and implementation across campus. We're currently discussing new locations for an expanded Career Center, which we're really excited about.”
Miller also worked closely with the Career Center and the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to create new experiences for students.
“I did a lot of research," Miller said. "And basically just taking things outside of the classroom and sort of implementing them within the daily life of the students is something that is really [hit] home for me."
Alongside career-focused initiatives, the board also emphasized improving communication between SGA and campus organizations. Pekala and Illyas led the effort, expressing a need for a more detailed system for club communications.
“A lot of organizations felt like they didn't have a clear sort of communication between administration and the students or the club leaders in that sense,” Illyas said. “And one of my main goals coming in was to strengthen that communication, and I think that I can very happily say that that has been accomplished, and I hope the next executive board continues that as well.”
To address those concerns, Pekala and Illyas created a Registered Student Organization (RSO) email list to provide clubs with updates about deadlines and events. Pekala said students responded positively to the change.
“One of my peers also mentioned that he felt like this was the first year that student government really communicated with students,” Pekala said. “They actually knew what was going on in regards to deadlines, and important events, and things of that sort. So, absolutely, I've definitely seen that impact on campus.”
Illyas also launched the Secretary Newsletter, a monthly publication featuring updates on new clubs, events and notices from the Office of Student Engagement.
“We received such good feedback on [the newsletter] that we continued it throughout the entire year," Illyas said. "So that was also something huge that accomplished a lot for SGA, in terms of communication strengthening.”
These initiatives resulted in an increase in budget requests and new club registrations. Under the board’s leadership, 20 new clubs were approved and 85 RSOs submitted budget requests, compared to 60 last year. With this influx of clubs, the administration allocated the entire supplemental funding budget.
Vaughn credited Pekala and Illyas’s leadership for helping students feel more supported.
“I think having these two in my two club-facing roles has been the biggest reason why those interactions have been so positive,” he said. “Samaiya brings a lot of experience as a club leader herself so she can relate to clubs a lot in that way. And Ewa worked in the finance office at Seton Hall…what she was able to do as treasurer was really, really impressive, and I think we've seen the club leaders respond really well to them.”
For all four members of the executive board, serving in SGA was not part of their plan when they first came to Seton Hall. Vaughn said he began his journey with SGA when he met former SGA President Kai Hansen through the Buccino Leadership Institute.
“He invited me to be on his second ticket as treasurer my junior year,” Vaughn said. “And I had to make the decision whether I’d run to be his successor and I ended up going for it, which is something that I did alongside these three wonderful people beside me. It’s defined my college experience.”
Vaughn said he chose Pekala, Illyas and Miller because of both their leadership experience and the bond they shared as friends.
“You always have to sort of be on guard, and having a group of people that I trust so close to me has made it a lot easier to manage,” Vaughn said. “So having Samaiya and Ewa to help me on the club side, and Bryce, to help me as one of the most prominent figures on this campus…I can't thank them enough for their help over the past term.”
While acting as SGA secretary can be daunting, Illyas said she developed her leadership skills during her time as president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA).
“When I was…MSA president [I was] a sophomore, which is obviously very young to become president," she said. "I was put into the position without any prior guidance at all. "
Illyas said the experience taught her to be a versatile leader, motivated her to take on the position of SGA secretary and inspired her to help other student leaders feel supported within their organizations.
“I had to figure out a lot of that role, that position myself,” Illyas said. “That's something I don't want people to have in the future.”
Echoing Illyas’ sentiment, Miller, who had no prior SGA experience before joining Vaughn’s ticket, said adaptability became one of the biggest lessons he learned during his time in office.
“I have a lot of different leadership experiences and backgrounds, but just taking that and being able to alter it and apply it to the student government space and learn new things on the fly, I think that’s just something that's sort of held true with me throughout my entire life,” Miller said.
Looking ahead to the next board, Vaughn encouraged the next executive board to be open to new experiences and ideas, as handling the student body can be challenging and unpredictable.
“My biggest piece of advice for the next president is whatever you think next year is gonna look like, get that image out of your head.This role is all about being able to roll with the punches,” Vaughn said. “I’m confident the next president understands what he signed up for and I’m confident that he’s gonna do a great job. I wish him the best of luck.”
Michela DiLorenzo is a writer for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at michela.dilorenzo@student.shu.edu.
