Kott is a Junior from Kimball, South Dakota, studying agricultural business. She was an at-large senator last year, which led her to wanting to run for a CAFES position for the next term. Her main objectives during her running process were to advocate for mental health, transparency and improving students’ daily lives.

 “I saw all the positive things students get out of running and being a part of Students’ Association,” Kott said. “I have seen how impactful it is, and I want to be part of the positive impact as well.”

 One thing Kott says she hopes to do is help advocate for two excused absences for specific mental health days for each class.

 Peterson is a freshman studying agricultural education and political science from Willow Lake, South Dakota. Peterson has always had a love for agriculture and government, so when she came to SDSU, she knew that this was something that she was looking forward to. Peterson says she hopes to be involved in helping make changes to counseling services and overseeing the transition of food providers and laundry services.

 Peterson saw within her first two semesters at SDSU that there are a lot of areas for improvement. Even in high school when Peterson was elected to student council, she had her mind set on helping the students. According to Peterson, her plans as a senator is to have the students in mind as well.

 “I ran because I wanted to make a positive impact and serve as a voice for the students of SDSU,” Peterson said. “This is incredibly important to me.”

Mortenson is a sophomore studying agricultural business and business economics from Winner, South Dakota. After running last year and being elected as a senator-at-large, he decided he wanted to jump in a little deeper this year and run for CAFES Senate.

“I believe in student government in all aspects,” Mortenson said. “Having the students’ input and being the voice and resource for them really excites me.”

Mortenson hopes to serve on the Finance Committee as he believes it is “one of the most important committees on Students’ Association.” He wants to better the communication between departments in CAFES and get more employers at the career fair in the fall.

Eight individuals ran for the four senator positions for CAHSS. Rachel Goldsmith, Michael Garofalo, Betsey Williams and Nick Grote are the four individuals elected.

Rachel Goldsmith is a junior from Mobridge, South Dakota, studying history. She was elected in 2020 as a senator-at-large and fell in love with the organization.

“The organization is students who devote some of their time to make other students’ lives better as a whole, so other students don’t have to worry about it,” Goldsmith said.

Her focus for this year is working to help build relationships with other clubs on campus. She wants to help find different funding options for the club’s events to help make them as cheap as possible. To help with this, she hopes to be a part of the Finance Committee, which she believes is one of the essential things that SA does.

Michael Garofalo is a sophomore studying political science from Aberdeen, South Dakota. After being a senator last year, he still sees the need for change and is willing to do what it takes to get there.

“I want to look for more avenues to get things done, and I am not afraid to ruffle a few feathers,” Garofalo said. “I know that it is important to the students, so I want to help make situations better.”

One of his favorite aspects of being a senator last year was being a part of the Government Affairs Committee. Through this committee, he was allowed to represent the students of SDSU at the Capitol.

Betsey Williams is a junior studying theater and political science from Emporia, Kansas. As her schedule started opening for her senior year, she knew she could finally run for a senator position.

“I hope to get a better knowledge of what goes into our students’ lives and what they want for change and helping enact that change for them,” Williams said.

William hopes to increase the security throughout campus, get better food services and help initiate the change for laundry. She says that she is excited to see the decision side of campus within this next term.

Grote is a freshman studying business economics and entrepreneurial studies from Aberdeen, South Dakota. He wants to be a voice for the students and bring their needs and concerns to the table to help make a change.

He is looking to increase the cleanliness on campus and improve connections between the students and the SA senators. This will allow them to share their concerns, so they can help make a change here on campus.

Grote says he doesn’t believe in change just for a change, but he will do his best to approach each objective for change in the best way possible for this coming year.

“I got into SA for no other reason than I was curious what it was all about,” Grote said. “[I] talked to some people then ended up applying because I loved being able to serve the students and have a great learning experience at the same time.”