On April 5, Baldwin Wallace University students voted for their respective class officers. Multiple elected officers are new students at BW and are finding ways to become involved on campus.   

Jaime Yager, director of student engagement, said that she noticed an increase in participation in student government this year, especially with students in their first year at BW.   

Kayela Swansiger, a junior psychology major and a mother of two children who transferred to BW in the Fall 2022 semester, was elected senior class president. Swansiger said she felt inclined to make the most out of her time at BW and take up leadership roles because of the motivation that her children provided.  

“Because I don’t know that many people yet, getting involved with groups on campus [has been] very helpful to figure out how things work and find support systems I can be a part of,” Swansiger said.  

Emma Omerzo, a junior pre-allied health major, is in her first semester at BW and was elected senior class vice president. Omerzo said she saw a flyer about running for class officer positions in the hallway.  

“I’ve been looking for ways to get involved because I don’t know anything about BW or my class yet,” Omerzo said. “So, I found [the flyer] super appealing.”  

Leah Kania, a first-year voice performance major, was elected sophomore class president for the 2023-2024 academic year. Kania was president of her high school student body and has always had an interest in leadership positions.   

“I’m really excited to [see] what fun things we do to get more students involved,” Kania said.  

Being a first year, Kania wanted to get involved in leadership positions right away, and she joined Student Senate in the academic affairs committee for a head start. Since she hopes to work in higher education, Kania also said that being involved in leadership positions could aid her in professional endeavors.   

Maya Morris, a freshman finance and marketing major, similarly to Kania, was also president of her high school student body. Morris said this interest continued and encouraged her to pursue student government as sophomore class secretary.  

“I think [student government] helps you to connect with other people and get you comfortable with reaching out,” said Morris.