By: Avery Bangsund

A new year. A new semester. A new Student Senate President. Former president Bray Boggs travelled down to Florida to pursue his love of umpiring for baseball, leaving the president position open for the taking.

The six-week program took him through extensive training and hands-on opportunities that allowed him to become a certified baseball umpire. While this was an amazing experience for Boggs, it left a unique opportunity open for another student on campus to step into the position of Student Senate President for West Virginia Wesleyan College. 

Kent Niland, a junior studying political science, took the position eagerly to help make a lasting impact on campus. He was formerly the chair holder of religious and spiritual life, so he knows how the senate works. 

Niland stated, “In my new role as Student Senate President, I look forward to working alongside the executive board and the administration to actively listen to student feedback and address concerns in ways that create meaningful improvements. My goal is to help make the student experience at West Virginia Wesleyan College as positive and rewarding as possible.”

Last semester the Student Senate was able to update the bylaws to current practices, clarify the budget request process, donate funds to the clean up project in southern WV after flooding last year, initiate care packages to hospitals, introduce office hours, and won the Daniel Crockett Leadership Award. Everything that the student senate was able to do has had a lasting impact on Wesleyan, and has set up future chair holders for success. 

While some chair positions have been filled with new faces, many of the chair holders have been in their position before. Whether new or old, everyone is ready to support their new president, as well as the latest president Bray Boggs. 

Boggs states that “Kent is a fantastic individual, and I know he will thrive in this role as president. I know he will thrive in this role as president and continue to uphold the values of transparency and perseverance.”

Niland is ready to do what he can to continue to make Wesleyan the best it can be for every student, professor, and faculty member here. He stated that he has hopes to make the campus and the overall experience here at WVWC as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. If anyone has questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to the student senate at their email: studentsenate@wvwc.edu

Photo by: Amanda Hayes