An ambassador, a Dixie State University Student Association officer and a softball player have goals and aspirations. Each are students at DSU furthering their education with the end goal of achieving their dreams. These are your candidates for Student Body President.
Charismatic and cordial are words best used to describe Brett Coleman, a junior communication major from Midway. The DSUSA vice president of public relations is instantly likeable. With his smile and firm hand shake, he makes one at ease and eager to talk about uneventful happenings of the day or what is at the top of your playlist.
Q: What do you have on repeat?
A: “One that I listen to every single day is ‘You Will Be Found’ from ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ It’s just super impactful and it always reminds me that I’m not alone at the end of the day, and that even when there’s hard challenges and hard struggles I’m facing, or that others around me are facing, that you will be found. You will find somebody who will listen and who will help you.”
Q: Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
A: “My mother is just a very go-getter, strong woman that I look up to and admire, but she’s always been there to support me no matter what decision I was making. Both my parents really, have always just sacrificed for me a ton and have provided a way for me to be successful, and so I really look up to my mom and my dad I guess, for those reasons.”
Q: Why run for student body president?
A: “A lot of people think that being student body president is about being a figurehead. It’s not; being a student body president is about working for students to make sure that students have the right outcomes that they need at school. I know that I have the skills to be able to stand at the table with the board of trustees, I know that I can speak clearly and articulate what students are concerned about, I know that I can represent students well.”
At first glance, Taylor Godfrey, a senior population health major from Buckeye, Arizona, is a quiet student. Not in a reserved, timid way, but instead a thoughtful person who is aware of what’s going on around her. A silent observer, looking for an opportunity to make a difference in the world, especially at DSU.
Q: In your own words, how would you describe yourself?
A: “I think there are some key components that makes me who I am. My religion is like my standards, my family is how to care for other people and have fun and athletics has taught me leadership, and all those things have made me very well-rounded. I would describe myself as very outgoing, quirky and I just like to have a good time. I like to mess around, but when the time comes [I can] be serious and know what needs to be done to get the job done well.”
Q: What has your experience been like at DSU?
A: “I feel like I’ve been able to become more myself here. I just wanted to make a name for myself and I feel like I’ve done that here. Not just making a name for myself, but because I love Dixie State [University] so much, I want everybody to feel the same way I do. I want this to be the perfect place for everybody.”
Q: What is the most important thing about why you wanted to run for student body president?
A: “I just think the biggest thing is change. Not necessarily changing campus but changing people’s lives. When I make contact with someone, I feel like not only have I become a better person because of the relationship I’ve built with someone I just met, or all the students that I’ve met on campus, that I know that I did something to make their time here at Dixie [State University] better.”
There is a laid-back, calm energy surrounding Dane Campbell, a junior exercise science major from Prescott, Arizona. When you speak with him, his energy is infectious enough that the worst day seems bright and cheerful. He’s easy going, polite and unafraid to tell you how a trip to China influenced him.
Q: What is a memory that you always go back to? How did it influence you?
A: “I had an opportunity to go to China when I was 12. We got to go to the more poor, poverty stricken towns and be with the people, go into their homes, talk with them and it was just absolutely incredible to see how much love and joy they had when they literally had nothing. Everyone wants material possessions and that kind of stuff they think will make them happy, but honestly, it’s the people you surround yourself [with]. That’s going to make you happy. I’ve just been able to kind of remember that from that experience.”
Q: Why was it important for you to run for student body president?
A: “Dixie [State University] has absolutely transformed my life. Before this I had actually attended one, two, three, four different colleges. It just didn’t feel right. My school suffered, my friend[ships] suffered, I came here to Dixie [State University] and it literally has been just my niche, my bread and butter. It’s been what I have loved and I’ve been able to get so involved here. I really want to give back to Dixie and serve all the people that have been serving me for the past two years.”
Q: What is your favorite movie and why?
A: “I absolutely love ‘Batman Begins’ because it tells the story of someone who is lost, and is trying to find his way in life and then eventually finding it and training and working hard to become, well, to become Batman and fighting crime and all that stuff and I am a diehard Batman fan.”
They may be running for student body president, but Coleman, Godfrey and Campbell are not much different from every day students at DSU.
The primary elections are Feb. 28-March 1, where one SBP candidate will be eliminated. The general elections are March 6-March 8 and will determine the new student body president.
