Meet Sarah Carpenter, EKU’s New Student Body President

Sarah Carpenter is EKU’s newly elected Student Body President, and has long had ambitions of leading the Student Government Association. As she prepares to take on the upcoming academic year, Sarah took the time to tell us about her motivations, mentors, and her philosophy on leadership. You can get to know a bit more about this ambitious student leader below:

What motivated you to run for student body president?

I have wanted to be Student Body President since I was a Junior in high school. I took a field trip to EKU and met the 12^th President of India. Although meeting him was amazing and was a great experience, what truly stuck out in my mind from that day was when the Student Body President was there to introduce him. Because I was class President at the time, I already had an interest in leadership, but I didn’t realize how much I actually wanted to further my leadership until I met her and got to ask her a few questions about what it was like being the President. From that day on, I set my goals high and began working my way from the ground up. Along the way, I was able to see ways in which I could personally help better this university and better the student body.

Do you have any role models or mentors who have impacted your decision to lead?

When I was a Freshman, I came to the EKU orientation and there was able to meet the President at the time, Rachel Mollozzi, now Rachel Cromer, once again. I watched her speak at convocation and that was just more reassurance that I wanted to be in her shoes one day. I began meeting with her to fully understand the job and eventually she became my bible study leader through a campus organization called campus outreach. She really helped me come to the decision to run and helped me every step of the way with the campaign and even now when I’m faced with adversity. I couldn’t have even gotten to this point, however, without the guidance and support of my family. They always made me believe that if I set a goal, I could achieve it.

What is your philosophy on leadership?

One of the biggest philosophies on leadership is remembering that there is a time to lead, and there is a time to listen and delegate. If I try to run this organization by my own strength, I will fail. I have to have the ability to listen to the ideas of my “teammates” as I call them and give them the opportunity to build their own successes through delegation. This is going to be one of the greatest learning experiences of my life, but I don’t want to be the only student that learns and grows from this. I was to help build up the next generation of SGA through my administration while doing my job to the fullest. It takes an entire team to achieve true success.

Looking to the year ahead, what would a successful year for SGA look like?

A successful year would be to ensure student rights, student voice and student success in everything that we do. We have to stay reminded that we are a service organization. We are meant to serve our student body. A good year would be to make accomplishments, large or small, that positively affect the future of the EKU student body.

What are your ambitions for your future? How has your experience at EKU impacted those ambitions?

I have a major in Public Relations and a minor in Communications, but I also obviously have a passion for government as well. I hope to one day go into the field of government relations, where you are the middle man or the expert between the government and the organization or corporation that you work for. You basically advocate for your corporation in the political world. This experience is allowing me to advocate for my constituents, the student body, to the University and even to the different levels of government when I have those opportunities. This is giving me great practice and knowledge that will definitely help me achieve my goals.

What benefits do you think student leadership opportunities like those found in the Student Government Association have aspiring female leaders?

Learning to become a leader, as much as it can help others, truly helps yourself. You learn so much about who you are, what your strengths are, and more importantly, what your weaknesses are. The Student Government Association opens the doors to opportunities that can really mold students into who they will become in their professional careers. It is honestly a growing experience. Student leadership in any capacity can be one of the most beneficial tools that you gain while in college.