President

Marina Samuel

Third-year biomedical engineering major

After being involved with the Student Senate as a first-year representative and vice president of student affairs, Samuel is looking forward to improving the NJIT community as a whole. The two main areas she is planning on covering is transparency between the Senate and student body, as well as its structure as an organization. She acknowledged that the average student has very little to no knowledge of what Senate does, and she wants to leverage social media platforms to provide better communication to students. As for the organization, she noted, “The Senate was first established when NJIT had a smaller population and was structured for a small population. I think it’s critical to review the structure as NJIT expands to ensure that we are fairly representing the whole undergraduate student body.” While there is a lot of work involved in achieving this goal, Samuel believes her fellow elected officials are just as passionate about creating positive change on campus, facilitating reaching this target as a team.

Vice President of Administration

Eric Huang

Second-year business and information systems major

Working his way up from a first-year representative to the Ying Wu College of Computing representative, Huang has learned how to navigate through layers of administration while working with fellow senators to communicate difficulties and compromise on solutions. “One of the biggest challenges facing me and the next Senate is general student morale. I think we need to show students that being involved and staying connected shouldn’t be a chore,” he stated. “As vice president of administration, I can be a more publicly facing figure for Senate and encourage more students to be involved, go to club events, and take initiative to turn our morale around.” Huang is planning to work with NJIT’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs Dr. John Pelesko to address the lack of study resources for students, degree inconsistencies, advising issues, and hidden fees impacting student finances.

Vice President of Finance

Janice Akladyous

First-year business major

Having served as a first-year representative on the finance and internal affairs committee, Akladyous has become familiar with the importance of communication between NJIT’s administration and the Student Senate. As vice president of finance, one of her priorities includes improving parking by lowering the cost students must pay, as well as partnering with neighboring colleges to share lot access. She also aims to ensure organizations are receiving their funding in an orderly fashion, enforcing a systematic approach to grant hearings. Akladyous expects to face pushback from NJIT’s administration when trying to change policies, but she is committed to “continuously working with higher administration and pushing for positive causes.”

Vice President of Student Affairs

Brian Dong

Second-year information technology major

Dong was a Student Senate representative for resident life in his first year; he has learned that many of the current problems stem from NJIT’s comparatively small budget. This has led him to focus on starting to change smaller aspects for students first to improve the quality of life on campus. “I’ve noticed most people stick to themselves, go to class, and leave as soon as they can. That shouldn’t be what we remember from college,” Dong said. “What I want to do is make our time at NJIT something we look back on with fond memories.” As vice president of student affairs, he aims to implement the usage of Tech Bucks at Newark restaurants and enhance the Campus Center Game Room, equipment for the Greens, and outdoor seating around campus.

Director of Student Organizations

Nicholas Marshall

Second-year architecture major

Continuing a second term as director of student organizations, Marshall has familiarized himself with the club system, built strong relationships with the Office of Student Life and other NJIT departments, and pushed for a reformed and revised approval process. “Clubs are the lifeblood of our campus,” he acknowledged. “In order to strengthen NJIT’s community, both on and off campus, clubs need to feel empowered to hold events for both our students and the local public.” He aspires to address issues with transparency between the Senate and student body, as students should be aware of the power they have at the university. Marshall plans to improve systems currently set in place that clubs are required to follow and use to be an effective organization.

Director of Public Relations

Hunter Russo

Second-year information technology major

Russo served as the information technology major representative on the Senate prior to being elected as the director of public relations. He has developed communication, problem-solving, and management skills through his time in the organization and plans to utilize those to increase transparency about Senate. “I would like to create a brand identity for the Student Senate — something recognizable and engaging for the students — while also making more lighthearted and high-energy posts to help motivate and encourage student activity around campus,” he elaborated. Russo believes that it would be beneficial for Senate members of all levels to share their plans and goals on social media and in person during tabling. The lack of student engagement is the most prominent matter he wishes to overcome during his term.

Secretary

Joshua DeMarco

Second-year information technology major

As the Senate’s webmaster, DeMarco worked in a newly-founded position for the organization while actively revamping Senate’s website. He believes that the two main principles he will establish during his term as secretary are integrity and accessibility. “Bridging the gap between Senate’s constituencies and the senators and ensuring the general populace is aware of who represents them are vital,” he said. “Strengthening the website and ensuring everything is made public and fully accessible to all students are also important objectives.” DeMarco acknowledged that it might be a challenge to work with a new group of people in Senate, and to ensure that fellow senators are held accountable for their actions. Nevertheless, he has found great appreciation for secretarial roles, especially after his prior role as webmaster.