Dylan Kowlessar / The Avion
Sophomore, BS Aerospace Physiology
"I have served as a 2023-2024 COAS Senator, and I have tried in many different ways to enhance the lives of COAS Students. I have worked with other senators to host the COAS Mixer, I have worked with Career Services to develop the first COAS-wide Networking Night, I have worked alongside the COAS Advisory Board to create the first COAS Canvas Page, and I have helped another senator develop T-shirts just for COAS Students If re-elected, I will focus on creating more opportunities for COAS students to have career opportunities at Career Services events. I will work with the Office of Undergraduate Research and COAS Faculty to make research projects more attainable for students in all years. I will work with all parts of the SGA to make sure that COAS Students are recognized for their contributions to the school and the accolades that they have achieved!"
What makes you a qualified candidate for this position?
"I previously served as College of Arts and Science Senator, meaning that I am already on the ground running and will not have the disadvantage of having to learn about the position. Furthermore, my two focuses of interest in this coming term would be Career Services and Undergraduate Research, meaning that ample experience with these two groups would be required for a successful year. These past two years I have been involved with not only several labs within my program but have l also worked with labs from other programs as well. These labs include Anatomy and Physiology, Nanotechnology, Aerospace Physiology, and numerous more. I have also familiarized myself with several members of faculty from different departments so that if I am elected, communication will be smooth, and any problems that I convey to the faculty can be promptly handled. These individuals include the department head of Human Factors and Neurobiology and the program coordinator for Aerospace Physiology. These connections will prove invaluable when making changes and planning events for our college. Additionally, I have worked closely with Career Services this past year while planning the COAS Networking Night. I have worked with several members of their staff, including the executive director so that any future interaction and plans can be completed quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, when it comes to leadership and event planning, I have planned and led three different international events focused on leadership, service, and professional development. The largest of those events had approximately 1,000 attendees. Overall, I have dedicated myself to making myself and this campus a better place, and the best place to start is with the best college on campus, the College of Arts and Sciences!"
What is the purpose of the SGA Student Senate?
"The student senate, in general, is responsible for advocating the issues and problems of their respective constituents to the faculty and the higher authorities of SGA. However, this can certainly be broken down into three main categories: quality of life, professional opportunities, and answering the problems of the students. A major part of the student senate is to positively and significantly impact the college experience of their constituents. This can be in the form of stress relief during exams, encouraging or advertising research opportunities, creating fun and entertaining events to celebrate the student's accomplishments, and overall, helping the students to make the most of their time at Embry Riddle. The students of the College of Arts and Sciences have not always had the best opportunities with professional opportunities on campus. That leads to the senator's responsibility to work with the different departments on campus to ensure that opportunities are provided. This can be through working with career services to make sure we are represented or working with the Office of Undergraduate Research to ensure our students have the proper information they need to begin research. Another major portion of the Student Senate's job is to answer the problems that arise for the students. This has been handled in the past with office hours and open forums for students. I think that another great way this could be addressed is by using an open Instagram account that is just for submitting problems within the colleges, with the expectation that not everything can be resolved as we all hope. This account would function similarly to the unofficial posting board account, Riddle Regards. Overall, the Student Senate should aim to positively and significantly impact the lives of the students."
How do you plan to elevate and communicate issues that your constituents are concerned about to the Senate?
"As stated previously, I think an excellent way for the students to communicate their concerns with the senate could be through a public Instagram account where its sole purpose is to convey issues and problems within the colleges. I have worked with another COAS Senator to create a COAS Instagram account this past year. Additionally, I would work with future Senators to ensure that this account is not lost and will continue to be a source of information for students. I also think that open office hours are certainly a decent way to provide a solution for the students. They just need to be advertised more openly. One way this could be handled is by having a representative from the senate speak at the Univ 101 class and educate the students on the different opportunities that are available to them. This could also increase the involvement of the general student body and incoming students with the SGA. Furthermore, I am aware that most, if not all, of the programs have regular communication with their students through email blasts and general announcements. This form of communication can be utilized by the Senate to send out messages to their constituents. Obviously, this will not get the attention of every student, but it will certainly get more than if it was not done at all."
How will you improve the ERAU experience for your constituents?
"As mentioned previously, the Senators should always aim to positively impact the student’s experience at Riddle and within their college. I have several ideas in mind for how to go about this such as increasing lab and research participation, ensuring that COAS Students are represented at career and professional events, and creating more fun events for the COAS students. As the COAS Senator, one of my primary missions would be to encourage joint program research projects and the education of all the amazing opportunities that are available to us. This will be through working with the faculty to have clearly stated prerequisites for their labs and then providing resources for the students to reach those requirements. I will also encourage the programs to hold seminars for the different faculty projects and to highlight the projects of the students. There is already a similar concept within the AP program, so I will build upon that. If re-elected, I will focus on creating more opportunities for COAS students to have career opportunities at Career Services events. I will work with the Office of Undergraduate Research and COAS Faculty to make research projects more attainable for students in all years. I will work with all parts of the SGA to make sure that COAS Students are recognized for their contributions to the school and the accolades that they have achieved!"
