FRES H MEN FI ND THEIR VO CE BJ' Abigail Prall Every year, the Student Association (SA) welcomed two freshman representatives to their team. In fall 2016, the student body elected freshmen Valerie Laferney and Parker Pruitt as the two students to represent the mice of the freshmen for the 2016-2017 school year. ~Iany sLudents did not know what the freshman represenLaLivcs did or ,,·hat Lhcir responsibiliLies ,vere. The Sr\ president , senior .:\'oah \Vatson, had a ,·cry clear vision for Laf erney, Pru ill and the SA as a whole, and ,rnnLcd to make that ,·ision clear for the tudenL body. "Theirjob is to make sure the freshmen feel included in Lhc student body and really get them siLuatcd with the rest of us," \\'atson said. "~fore specifically, ca h [representaLi,·cJ is [in charge of] a particular commiucc." According to \\'atson, Laferney wa in charge of the Food Sen ·ices committee, which dealt primarily with Aramark and Lhe oLhcr dining services, while Parker wa in charge of the Technology CommitLcc. Laferney, a Sear y nati\'c, said he came inLo Harding ready to embrace everything the uni,·ersity life had to offer. She also wanted Lo sec what she could do to improve Lhc sLUdents' experiences. ''I knew I wanLcd to be invoh·cd," LaFcrney said. "I was really active in high school. I really wanLed LOfind a ,my to geL involved and plugged in [at Harding]." Laferney serwd in se,·eral differenL leadership po itions in the pasL, so she thought SA would be the perfecLfit for her. She knew ifshe did not try to hold an office, she would regret it later. Pruitt, like LaFcrncy, grew up in Arkansa , noLfar from H arding. He had mulLiple broLhcr and sisLcrs who atLcndcd Harding, as well as an uncle who taughL at Harding for four years. Pruitt said he was excited for his new role in Lhc SA. "In my high chool, I was im·olved in student council e\'cry year from sixth grade to 12Lh grade," Pruitt said. "1\-c always wanted to be [a] part of student government and speak for the people." Despite being new Lo the school, both Laferney and Pruitt were more Lhan capable of handling the pressures and new respon ibilities the SA gave them. \ Vatson ,·oiccd hi support and confidence in the two. "Valerie and Parker are here LObring a freshman perspective to the Lablc," \ Vatson said. "Their views are invaluable, because they still have the new, fre h spiriL that comes with being a freshman. They represent the vie\\· ofLhc freshman clas that uppercla smcn can sometime forget. They both ha,·e a quality of leadership and vision. They arc not just dreamers, but doers as well.'" Fre:,/zman lalerie LaFerne_J' is the 2016 Student .·luociationfemalefre:,hman representatii·e. LaFerne_r 1erl'ed as the chairwoman of the food co111111illee, 1l'hic/z i111·ofred ll'orking 1L'ith .lramark a11d the food ser11ice:, stafl I Photo b)' ka;::u Fuji:,awa Freshma11 Parker Pruill is the 2016 Student .l:,rnciation malefre:,/u11a11 represe11tative. Pruitt sen•ed a:, the tec/wolog_J• committee chair111a11 a11d helped to impro1•e cam/1us ll'i-Fi and websites. I Photo bJ· Aa;::u Fujisawa Parker Pruitl and LaFerne_J' sit and disrnss idea:, and goalsfor the_)'ear'.1 Student Association 011 Oct. JI. LaFerneJ' and Prui/1 ran against appro1imately 20 candidates during the first 1L·eek i11. eptember, and 1•oti11g took place on Sept. 7. I Photo by ka;::u Fujisawa ~.\ \ \ll ( \II ~ )J<J
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