Meet the 2023 Student Senate Candidates

Voting for the Drake Student Senate elections open on Thursday, March 30 at 8 a.m. and will remain open until the following day at 8 p.m. The election will most likely go into a runoff in which case polls will reopen at 8 a.m. on April 3 and close on April 4 at 8 p.m. Results will again be read at Pomerantz Stage in Olmsted Center at 9 p.m.  

Editors Note: The following Q&A’s have been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Student Body President Candidate

Ruwayda Egal, Junior

How do you feel about running uncontested?

Although I would have enjoyed someone giving this a shot and running against me I hope me being uncontested signifies to the student body that I can do this position and that they have faith in me being able to do this position. Whether I am contested or not, I am running for this position because it is something I have always been interested in and I want to better the student body. 

How will you make the role of Student Body President your own? 

I have been able to see three different Student Body Presidents come and go throughout my time at Drake. I have seen all the good that they have done and everything I want to do to continue to better the student body. I will make this role my own by continuing the leadership styles I have learned from others, but also bringing my own leadership styles to this role. I think everyone who goes into this role makes it their own so throughout the year I hope to make it my own. 

What do you consider to be your leadership style?

I think my leadership style is expecting everyone to try their hardest including myself and for everyone to be passionate. I think passion is the most important thing when it comes to being a leader. I think everything I do is based on the passion I have to make this campus better so I would hope the people surrounded by me would want the same thing.  

What inspired you to run?

I think something that inspired me to run was seeing the change the Student Senate can make on campus. Although many people do not know the change senate can make, [the] senate is an important organization in Drake University. 

How will the Drake community benefit from having you as Student Body President?

I think Drake will benefit from having me because I am someone with experience who has been able to see what has worked and what has not worked. 

Student Body Treasurer

Munachi Okuagu

Please provide what you’re studying, your school year, pronouns, and social media accounts and/or other places where students can learn more about you and your campaign. 

My name is Munachi Okuagu (She/Her/Hers) and I am a junior studying Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and LPS. Students can learn more about my campaign through Facebook (class pages) and posters that are hung up around campus! Students are also welcome to email me at [email protected] with any questions they have in regards to my campaign and what they want to see from the Treasurer. 

How would you describe the role of Student Body Treasurer? 

The role of the Treasurer is to ensure that all Registered Student Organizations have adequate funding throughout the year and they have the funding to put on events that serve them and the student body as a whole. 

Why should the student body choose you to fulfill this role?

If elected to be Treasurer, it is my skill set and my passion that will allow me to do well in this role and effectively serve the student body. Throughout my time at Drake the roles I have taken are roles that allow me to directly work with my peers and give back to the Drake community. Serving as the Student Body Treasurer would be no different in the sense that I want to work with students and have the opportunity to give back to the community. 

What are your goals for this position? What issues do you plan to address, and/or what initiatives do you plan to start or continue?

What I plan to work towards throughout my time, if elected, is financial literacy, transparency and accessibility. The main initiatives I will be working on is at the beginning of each semester I want to invite all treasurers of every organization on campus to have a discussion with the appointed members of SFAC (Student Fees Allocation Committee) and discuss one time funding, annual funding and how to efficiently manage their budgets for the year. 

I also plan to bring a couple guest speakers to hold space for students to learn more about financial literacy with budgeting their personal finances in college and after college because I think that is crucial knowledge to have throughout life. 

What qualifications do you have that are relevant to this position, such as involvement with organizations on or off-campus? How have they prepared you for this position?

I currently serve as the event planner for the African Caribbean Student Association and in order to ensure the event that I am planning can happen accordingly, this requires me to work heavily with the treasurer and work within the budget. 

I also serve as a Crew Scholars Success Coordinator; through this role I have the opportunity to work with first-year students of diverse backgrounds. I have had the privilege to get to know my students and serve as a mentor through their academic journey and their time navigating Drake. These roles have prepared me for this position by allowing me to grow in my leadership skills, my collaborative methods, improve my communication with a diverse group of people and through these roles I have learned the importance of hearing different voices and opinions. I think all of those skills will serve me well if elected to be Treasurer. 

How will you ensure that you and/or the Student Senate represent the interests of the student body?

I would appoint members from diverse backgrounds and are from different majors. This is important because I want the knowledge of SFAC to be passed down and I want the committee to be compiled of different people. 

What’s your favorite part of the Drake Relays?

My favorite part of Drake Relays is throughout the whole week everyone has so much Drake pride and there is so much happening around campus which just makes me really excited overall!