Welcome to South Dakota State! I am excited for you to make Brookings your home and see all that SDSU has to offer.

I am your Students’ Association president, and I look forward to working with you next year!

SA could be compared to your high school student council. It is a representative body of all colleges and students at SDSU. We are the voice of students and represent more than 12,000 students as we work with various entities including faculty and administration, the City of Brookings, the South Dakota Board of Regents and the State of South Dakota.

Student senators serve on committees where they ensure the best interest of students and influence decisions relating to student experience, parking and traffic, safety and security or university food services. Our body drafts legislation to make sure we keep improving our campus and experience at SDSU.

As students, we all pay a General Activity Fee or GAF on our tuition based on credits. GAF is what allows you to obtain a membership at the Wellness Center, access to sporting events, music events and State University Theatre, and use of the Student Union. One of the biggest privileges of SA includes managing a budget of about $2.6 million of funds allocated from GAF. This budget enhances your student experience by supporting a variety of student organizations, the Wellness Center, The Union and the student health clinic. 

No matter what your interests, there are hundreds of ways to get involved on campus and I hope you seek out those opportunities right away.

If you are interested in knowing more about or potentially joining SA, feel free to stop by our office in The Union, check out our website or directly reach out to me. We also meet every Monday at 7 p.m. in the Lewis and Clark room of The Union and we welcome all students to join us.

We hope you take the opportunity to see what we do and understand more about the issues that affect our campus and our students. Best of luck, and I look forward to seeing all that you accomplish as a Jackrabbit.