Name: Ariella Yager 

Position you’re running for: Director of Student Advancement

Year and Major: junior, entrepreneurship major

Hometown: Medina, Ohio

What makes you a representative of the student body:

To be a representative of the student body, you have to bleed blue and gold. I am very passionate about what it means to be a Golden Flash and have dedicated my time here at Kent State to put myself in many positions to be a full representation of the student body. I am currently the member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, on the executive board of the National Society of Leadership and Success and have held many roles in Student Success programs. By taking on all of these roles, I have diversified my leadership to attain to all students at Kent State. 

What will be your top priority if elected:

To make sure that every single student feels like Kent State is their home. I want to improve campus to make sure students are getting a world class education in a close-knit community that makes them feel like they can achieve their goals and be supported during their entire time on this campus. I want to not only make advancements on campus, but in every aspect of student life by implementing more student success programs in every college. I also want to increase the Judicial Advocates program so every student going through conduct court has someone representing them and making sure they get the support needed.  Lastly, I feel in order to advance students we need more school pride. I would like to work close with the director of Student Involvement to make sure students are being as involved as possible and make their time on campus the best it can be.

What do you think can be improved on with USG and the campus in general: 

I believe that improvement is the key to being the best. I think a big issue we face year after year is the lack of transparency between the administration, USG members and the students.  Our entire job is to represent the student body and I want to make sure they are coming to us if they have a problem so we can make sure we are addressing every concern.

How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus: 

USG has many representatives, with our members being very diverse themselves. It starts with being transparent and open about issues as serious as diversity. If elected, I want to make sure we are implementing student success programs to help with diversity on campus, starting with incoming freshman.