I want to make a difference. Experiences have revealed to me that bettering a person's life is enough success to last a lifetime. Within me is an ingrained justice, developed by my family, religion, encounters and instinct. I feel called to be a doctor without borders-traveling the world helping people-so I focus on languages and sciences. As a member of the senate, I would be available and a good listener. I would work to get an accurate portrayal of the desires and needs of our class in order to serve Amherst College to the fullest of my capabilities.
Annaliese Koehler
Remember freshman year of high school? When being a freshman sucked because you got lost in the crowd of upperclassmen? To prevent that from happening here, I promise to work hard to get the class of 2009's voice heard. Senate is something that I would really like to be a part of. I served on student council for seven years and enjoyed it but was frustrated with the limits on what we could accomplish. On the Amherst senate, I think that I can accomplish much more by getting the true freshman opinion and putting it into action.
Jackie de la Fuente
I would like to represent the class of 2009 in the Association of Amherst Students as a line of communication between my peers and the student government. I am passionate about Amherst College, and I want to help it reach its full potential both as an academic institution and as a community. My goal is to bring the ideas and opinions of my classmates to the forefront of our agenda. I think that I could serve as a friendly, approachable envoy between my peers and the senate. I would be both honored and excited to represent the great class of 2009 in the AAS.
Michele Tran
In all honesty, I initially became involved in student government in high school in order to pad my activities list for the college application process. However, as I started working in student government, I realized how much I enjoyed it. Being able to help organize events and make necessary changes in order to better the community was a great feeling. So now as I begin college, I hope to continue participating in student government and become a student senator because I want to help make our time spent at Amherst really fun and fulfilling.
Nicholas Pastan
Hi, my name is Nick Pastan, and I'm running for student senate. I'd like to be part of the student government because as wonderful as Amherst is now, we all have ideas that can make it better. I want to embody your ideas so that we can get more accomplished while fully enjoying our college experience. Most importantly, I want to be real and forthcoming in order to make the student senate an institution that everyone feels they have access to.
Laurel LaMontagne
Hi '09ers! My name is Laurel LaMontagne, and I feel that I'd make a fantabulous frosh representative. Essentially, a great candidate is like the best brand of condom. A candidate should be flexible, always there for you when you need to get the job done. They should be willing to give ideas and to receive them; the relationship should be a mutual one. Creativity and hard work is a must, for the more they contribute to the situation, the more you will get out of it. And finally, most believe that Trojan serves you best; I'll be your Trojan.
Jelani Lundy-Harris
I think I'm qualified to run for student senate because I not only care about budgetary distributions within the community, but I also have the time required of a senator in order to be effective and progressive. I can work well with others, and I am very focused. I'm flexible and enjoy helping groups reach agreements. I think these qualities would help me to be a very efficient and productive senator. I would greatly appreciate your vote.
Taylor Friedlander
Hey! My name is Taylor Friedlander, and I'm asking for your vote for senate. So why vote for me? I'm assertive without being overbearing, approachable on campus (and off), even-keel and cool when there are serious issues to go through and patient. I'm also extremely, extremely excited to be here and would do my best to uphold one of the main senator duties: managing the budget amongst the student groups on campus. If each group was designated with a representative senator, we could increase communication between Amherst organizations and Amherst government, making for a better Amherst all around.
Ellie Hewitt
Apart from my bow-hunting and computer-hacking skills, I have a strong sense of dedication to complete any action I start. As former secretary of student council and the square-dancing club, my experience in student politics is extensive. I also have neat handwriting. I would like to participate in the student senate because I believe it is important to better the Amherst bubble in whatever way possible. In addition, I am strongly opposed to on-campus global warming. Please vote for me. Thank you!
Denis Beslic
Who is Denis Beslic? Despite belief to the contrary, I am not the same person as Dino. But I would like to be your AAS senator. I am running to solve several problems at Amherst. Among them is crowding at Valentine. Since the AAS has the power to change Valentine's schedule, my plan would be to extend lunch to 3:00 and alleviate the unacceptable crowding that we endure around noon during lunch. I will listen to the student body's concerns and suggestions, then address them with a genuine effort to have a real impact in improving student life at Amherst.
Shantel Watters
Wassup, my name is Shantel Watters and I want to represent the class of 2009 as a senator. I've met so many great people already (ya'll are maddd chill!) and I'm genuinely interested in giving back to Amherst students all that they've given me so far. I will try to be a voice to the class and represent us as accurately as I can. I love apple juice, "Family Guy" and dancing on tables. I can't make you any promises because, well ... we've only been here a month but I have one question. … Is it me or are we always thirsty here?
Ayyappan Venkatraman
Gosh! Doesn't it just tick you off when your food gets slightly ruffled when you walk past the huge fan in Valentine? Not really? OK. Me neither. When I think of Amherst, at least in my really short time here, I can't really think of anything that's really all that wrong. I've been a pretty happy dude. And that part is what's important to me: to make sure every student at Amherst feels as good as I do about this place. I have every intention of working towards that goal. Vote Pan.