Fall Senate elections brings 9 new members to Student Senate
By Skylar Mattson
The St. Catherine University Student Senate kicked off their fall elections on Sep. 22, seeking numerous new members to fill out open legislative positions and go into the school year with as much student representation as possible.
First year students were eager to make their mark at St. Kate’s, as evidenced by 9 students on the ballot vying for two open first year representative positions. The two candidates voted into the positions by their peers were Madeline Lorenzen ‘29 (Psychology, History, Philosophy minor) and Madalena Nguyen. Each representative received 31.4% of the votes. Lorenzen joined the Senate with the belief that “as a student senator, it's not my job to make decisions for students but rather amplify their voices and act on their behalf.” She looks forward to hearing and addressing issues from the student body.
Eliana Johnson ’27 (Psychology, Biology minor) will join the Senate leadership team in the vice president position. Johnson is returning to Senate after a sophomore year hiatus, where she focused on being an RA. During her first year at St. Kate’s, she served on the executive board as an Organizational Affairs Chair. She decided it was time to come back because “I came to realize I wasn't very involved with the student body anymore, and with all the changes of leadership happening through the school, it's important to navigate new changes and communicate them effectively. It's critical to connect the student body and the university administration.”
Another returning face to Student Senate is Suad Aden. This year, she will be transitioning out of her previous resident senator role and starting as one of the two sophomore representatives. Jackie Mbabzi, Sage Villanueva and Ayanna Barre will all be taking on the resident senator role.
With 48.1% of the votes, Thu Nguyen will be starting as International Senator, a role that had remained vacant for all of last year. First year Emily Nguyen will join a team of two seasoned senators as the third Commuter Senator.
As all of these new members begin their roles, Senate President, Victoria Lo ’26 (Business Administration, Communication Studies) said, “I'm excited for what each person brings and how we can work together to complete projects. My hope for everyone is to enjoy collaborating to accomplish goals for fellow students.”
Student Senate meetings are held every week on Tuesdays from 12pm-1pm. Senate meetings have moved from the Rauenhorst Ballroom in the CdC to the Student Organization Center, just outside of the Senate office.
Senate is still hoping to add a Student Parent Senator, Junior Representative, and 2 senior representatives to their team. If you are interested in any of these positions, you can email senate@stkate.edu.
