A new President of Student Government Association

By: Jaelynn Packer

Orlando, Fla. - Robert Stio, 35, have been opponent as the president of Student Government Association at Valencia Community College West Campus. He will be in office, serving his term from March 2009 through March 2010. He comes into this organization with a background in film and television industry, which he intends to use his professional experience to bring The Student Government Association to a new level.

With his background experience of entertainment, he is initiating the future of mass media to raise the awareness of Student Government Association to the students through the use of Internet, Face book, Twitter, The Valencia Voice, and Student Government Association website; which is coming out soon. The association will post weekly updates with information base on current events, up-coming events, and discussion base from the SGA meetings.

The meetings will be held every Wednesday of the month beginning at 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. The locations of the meetings are Building 6: Room 202 or HS Building: Room 211. The first meeting will be held in September. In these meetings, he is allowing student to come, so they can express their concerns, ideas, and gestures directly to the SGA.

One of Robert main concern on this campus is student body. “To get students involved with SGA is by word of mouth,” said Stio. He came up with few initiatives for working with students; programs as student awareness, shadow, support group, and many learning functions. “I want to raise the awareness in student body,” said he. “This is letting students know they are very important.”

The shadow program consists of students from bridges to come out and learn about the student government and might have interested in running for office in the next term. He even included a support group for the students, interaction with peer educators, and teaching professional atmosphere.

With all the current events in store, the SGA have a current budget of $38,000. With that in mind, this budget covers some events as a Welcome Back BBQ, Debate Event, Talent Tuesday, Movie Night, and etc. There will be more events and ideas coming soon.

There will be a swearing in ceremony event for Robert Stio on June 30, 2009, informing his recognition as the new president of Student Government Association with a positive attitude. He is excited, dedicated, and a diligent person, with a passion for students and the student body here at Valencia Community College. Robert is ready to face challenges, but is eager to make a difference in a student’s life as well his or her education.