A first-year environmental science student is the new president of AACC’s Student Government Association.

Ryan Kim, who served as SGA’s vice president of events and initiatives this year, ran unopposed in an online election in which students voted from April 7 to 14. His only opponent dropped out before spring break.

Students voted through a link on the Nest, a website where clubs can interact with members and the student body.  Voters could choose Kim or write in the name of any student.

Kim, a first-year environmental science student, said he hopes to make an impact on the college.

“For me, I thought [president] looked really fun, and I wanted to make an impact and make a change at the school, and for those reasons I thought, why not be SGA president?” Kim said.

In addition to the president, students elected an executive vice president and three vice presidents to oversee SGA’s efforts in public relations; diversity, equity and inclusion; and finance.

“This year is my first time [running] and I really like how we are active around school, trying to promote and bring students together, and that’s something I really wanted to do and expand on,” said Victory Ho, second-year graphic design student and SGA’s new vice president of public relations.

The officers said they will continue to hold virtual meetings through the summer and possibly into the fall until the campus reopens. The college closed indefinitely in March as a precaution against the coronavirus.

The new vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Calvin Marzouk said he would rather be on campus to boosting awareness of the SGA among students.

Marzouk, a second-year architecture and interior design student, said SGA officers typically would write messages on the Quad with sidewalk chalk or set up tables in the cafeteria to try to reach students.

Briana Barone, the outgoing vice president of public relations, said communicating with students is an important role for SGA officers.

“The role of SGA at AACC is to kind of act like a liaison between the students, the faculty, and the clubs and organizations at AACC,” the third-year elementary education and communications student said, “just to make communication and functioning as clubs and student organizations pretty seamless throughout all of the groups at AACC.”