Victoria Tappan for BoardHi, my name is Victoria Tappan and I am currently a sophomore studying Communications and Urban Studies with a minor in Political Science. I have been involved with Student Government Board since my first semester at University of Pittsburgh when I served on the First Year Council and as a member of the Community and Governmental Relations Committee. I am currently still involved with the Community and Governmental Relations committee where I still serve as a member, and I hope to keep serving and representing the Pitt community on the University of Pittsburgh Student Government Board. Along with my involvement in Student Government, I am also the Community Service Chair for my sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma and am a member of the pre-professional fraternity Phi Alpha Delta. Being a part of all of these organizations in my time at Pitt has introduced me to a diverse array of personalities and countless new opportunities.
Being confronted with these new experiences has shown me how eager I am to represent those that could be considered the unrepresented community at the University of Pittsburgh. Being a homeless youth advocate, I feel very passionately that there are options that can be put in place for those who cannot afford on campus living or close off campus living here at Pitt. After seeing the success that other universities have exhibited, I plan to mold our university into something greater and model the successful attributes of those around us to build a stronger foundation for the underserved. As mentioned, I am a sister of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority here on campus and being a part of Greek Life at Pitt I see how administration views greek life, and by being on board I hope to work with Pitt's administration to advance the reputation of greek life on our campus. In addition to working on the greek life reputation and creating a more positive surrounding for the underserved community, I also hope to work with the Pitt Police to create a safer and more informed neighborhood. As a student who is living off campus, I personally know that I would feel more comfortable living off campus if the off campus students were made aware in a timely fashion as to when crimes and other circumstances took place. I also hope to improve relationships between the Pitt Police and students, so that all undergraduate and graduate students feel comfortable reaching out to them in any situation. To do this I hope to expand on different activities that have already been put in place, such as coffee with cops and doing different information sessions. Finally, I hope to create stronger relationships with multiple organizations across campus to ensure that more students feel as if they can be involved within our Student Government Board. I know that many students do not feel as if they truly understand what Student Government at Pitt does, so I feel by improving these relationships we can increase the amount of people who would like to be involved on any of the committee's in the Student Government Board. My time at Pitt from just these two years has truly been the best time of my life. I have found life long friends, and more doors have been opened for me than I could have ever imagined. By running for Student Government Board I hope to give all of my fellow students the same life changing experience that has been given to me. I hope to take the passion that I have for The University of Pittsburgh and turn the passion into actions that can change our school for the better. Thank you, and Hail to Pitt. |