Manogna Guduru and Sophia Chan have both received the honor of Senator of the Month for November. The Student Body becoming more aware of Student Senate’s works in improving quality of life for students has been attributed to the work done by the Public Relations Committee.
With benchmarks such as the success of fall Senate events and the rapid filling of Student Senate seats, Manogna has been very pleased with the progress Senate has made so far. “It’s nice to see the things we worked on all of last year are coming to life now” she said, showing her satisfaction for current successes yet focused on future plans for the school year.
Sophia is the Sophomore Major Representative for Digital Media Design under the School of Architecture and Design. She was recommended to join the Senate by a couple friends that were already a part of it and “it seemed like a pretty cool community, so I tried it.” The Senate is a means for her to advocate her own ideas and those aimed at improving aspects of her major. Sophia said, “I think we’ve done a really good job networking with the student body and recruiting more people, getting ourselves out there and getting more known with the student body.”
As a member of the PR committee Sophia said that “our goal is to reach out to the students, get them more involved, get them to know what’s going on around Campus.” Since the revitalization of the PR committee, there has been a huge surge both in the occupancy of Senate seats and in outreach/feedback from students. “We are open to hearing any ideas that they have” said Sophia, using the smoking free campus initiative as an example of someone from the Student Body who first suggested the idea and has influenced school policy.
Manogna is not only the Senior Class President, the main student responsible for planning Senior events, but is Vice President of the Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority and a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity. She has been on the Senate for 2.5 years now and is also on the PR and Academic Affairs Committees. She has helped coordinate signature events at NJIT such as Spirit Week, Freshman Weekend, and the upcoming ‘Casino Night’ which will be held at the Highlander Pub on November 30th.
When asked about how she manages her time given the demand of these positions, she made a strong point that writing and creating a schedule is key. ” I remember my freshman year I would keep things in my mind, but now I write it down every day. Even with a great memory there are things you’ll forget. With planning events, there’s so many minor details that involve making it happen you HAVE to have it written down, there’s no other way.” While Manogna places the highest importance on her academics, she also said that it is important to make time for yourself and to have fun.