Three reasons to join SGA

It is Three for Thursday and since today I'm speaking to the amazing students at the Florida College System SGA Conference, I wanted to share with you 3 reasons you should think about joining your Student Government Association.  

If you are already an SGA member, read below to think about new ways to recruit members, as well as make sure you are making the most of your SGA experience. If you haven't checked out your college's SGA yet, I hope you will after reading this post. 

1. Meet Top College Executives. 
Student Government leaders know the top executives at their college, and this is a huge benefit. Not only are you able to have a direct line to voice your concerns and ideas to people who can turn those ideas into change on your campus, but you're also able to be influenced by the top leaders at your college; this is powerful in helping you expand your horizons and help you grow in your understanding of executive leadership. 

That knowledge can be invaluable – sometimes as students, it can be easy to see the limited perspective of how a campus works. What makes SGA great is that grants you direct access to campus executives who have to see the big picture on a daily basis, and will help you see it too. 

And remember, the top college executives are often well-connected and will be very influential when it comes to getting you additional connections, scholarships, and even future internship or job opportunities. 

2. Attend Conferences. 

Most SGA's get  together once a year (some, like FL, many times a year) to train with other SGA's in their state or across the country. This is an amazing opportunity to connect with a variety of students whom you can learn from, connect with, and who share a similar level and desire to be fully engaged in their college experience. 

This is huge – not only will you gain important connections on your campus SGA,  but you'll develop an entire network of students across your state or country. This also means you just might meet people who you can continue to connect with if they transfer to the same university after community college. 

3. Understand how to effect change. 

The Student Government leadership of a state usually involves itself in the political processes of the state’s educational politics. 

I think this is a very good thing – because students should always be taking the initiative to show the great value, contribution, and enthusiasm that they have for shaping the future. 

SGA gives you the opportunity to be civically engaged and share your own voice with your campus and your government. Students need you to stand up for what students need now more than ever. The solutions lie with you, and it's vital that more and more students get active and share their voice. 


Your voice is more important than you realize. And often it just takes one.

If you haven’t joined your college’s SGA yet, start right away. And don’t stop there; remember, joining is half of the battle – the other half is where the fun begins!