RETURN TO ALL TREASURY BOARD MEMBER CANDIDATES
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Dylan Kowlessar / The Avion
Junior, BS Mechanical Engineering
"I was born and raised in Miami, FL. In the Fall of 2019, I attended Stetson University as a business major and served on the finance committee for a few semesters. I realized my passion for engineering and found myself at Riddle. I first transferred to Embry-Riddle in the Fall of 2022, and I immediately wanted to make an impact on campus. In Spring 2022, I applied to fill a vacancy position on the Student Treasury Board and have been making suggestions to the board to improve the funding process for RSOs. Since my time in the treasury, I voted to reduce and remove many penalties that would negatively impact many RSOs. I am currently working with the new RSO tier system to ensure that we don't just look at the numbers when determining how to make the tiers. Each RSO is unique and should be accommodated as such within reason."
What makes you a qualified candidate for this position?
"I have been serving on the Student Treasury Board since the Fall of 2022. I helped many students create/submit budgeting forms and answered countless questions about our budgeting process. I have been a treasurer for ERAU Motorsports and Engineers Without Borders for a few semesters while I've been here. Before I attended Embry-Riddle, I was a part of the SGA finance committee at Stetson University. This allowed me to see how more than one SGA operates under different circumstances. I have also worked with different presidents, treasurers, directors, and treasury/finance board members. This has helped me get multiple perspectives on how our current system is designed internally and externally. I have been involved with many executive boards for many different organizations, and I love being able to represent those who are not able to represent themselves. I would love to keep representing each student on this campus in hopes to continue making decisions that help the general student body."
What is the purpose of the Student Treasury?
"The purpose of the Student Treasury is to maintain and properly allocate the SGA budget collected from each student's SGA fee. The Student Treasury Board Representatives should also have no bias towards any specific RSO. As a Student Treasury Board Member, I prioritize helping other students understand how we allocate funds and help them receive as much help as possible.
The Student Treasury is also in charge of making sure the entire budgeting process for RSOs is held in a fair and timely manner. The first deadline would be ensuring each organization has their executive officers updated on-campus groups and they are trained for RSO allocations. The second deadline would be to try and make sure that there are no issues on the day that the budgets are due, and if there are, make adjustments accordingly. The Student Treasury will then process the budgets and get back to the student body in about 2-3 weeks with our finalized results. The next major deadlines would be capital expenditures, reallocations and extension requests, and payment requests. Throughout the entire process, the Student Treasury should be helping students with any concerns or issues that come up.
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How would you define risk management, and how would you relate this skill to your position as Student Treasury Board Member?
"I would define risk management as how well you are able to assess a situation that requires a difficult decision. This means being able to separate personal bias from the situation at hand and handle it from an outside perspective. This is a crucial skill when you are on the Student Treasury board because you may have times when there was a mistake with an item that was approved on a budget packet but denied on another. You would have to be unbiased in your approach to the situation and put yourself in the position of each opposing side to make a fair and accurate decision. There have been many instances where this skill has come in handy while I've been on the Student Treasury Board when dealing with inconsistencies, whether it be with budgets, appeals, or reallocations. I hope I keep having the opportunity to use this skill to support the general student body."
How do you plan to ensure the organizations you represent receive the funding they need without putting others at a disadvantage?
"Suppose there is a discussion that involves making a decision about an RSO I am representing. In that case, I will not participate in the conversation, or I will leave the room if necessary to avoid any potential conflict of interest. In many discussions, I will represent as many sides of a situation as possible to ensure we reach the most reasonable solution. This current Student Treasury Board has spent many late nights going past our required meeting time to ensure that we are providing the best quality work from our board. My main goal is for the Student Treasury to allocate fairly to each RSO based on how well or poor their finances are and how much they provide to the student body. I understand that not each organization is the same and is limited by specific factors, but I will continue to try my best to serve the student body as a whole."
RETURN TO ALL TREASURY BOARD MEMBER CANDIDATES
UPDATE THIS →