GPI César Matos Student Government Association President

Dylan Pichnarcik / THE GATEPOST

By Sophia Oppedisano 

Editor-in-Chief

What inspired you to get involved in SGA?

I was part of orientation, and on that [2023] orientation team … a lot of people that were [part of SGA] were already part of orientation. I decided to talk to SGA President Evelyn Campbell at the time and get

myself appointed to a senator position. I was also working in the City of Framingham within the Planning and Community Development Division, so I sort of found myself in a situation where I was already seeing official committee meetings within my city hall, and I was like, “Why not do it for FSU?”

What are your goals as SGA President?

I have a few of them. … I found myself this summer taking stuff from my friend while they went back to their home country in Serbia. I was sort of their storage, and I feel like one thing that FSU could do is create summer storage for those who live out of state. I think it's an opportunity for the University to provide more services to their students, but also create another revenue-creating service. Another thing that I'm looking to do is hopefully create a

more streamlined meal swipe donation program within the dining hall. Right now, there's a way students are able to donate the meal swipes that they don't use on a weekly basis. But it's an opt-in process, and it's a bit convoluted to get to that page, and a lot of people don't know about that or how to benefit from it. This is a program that's meant for the resident students to donate the extra swipes that they don't use, and for commuter students to be able to access those swipes that other people aren't using. I really think that the dining hall has been an amazing amenity for the University to have. It's one of those social spaces that is really utilized by one part of the FSU population, but really underutilized by the other population, which is the commuter students. I think that if we were able to make the dining hall a more accessible service, it would only better the pride in the community that we have here, on both sides, making it so everybody has access to it. 

Who has made a significant impact on your life at FSU?

The thing that kicked off my involvement on campus was Professor Sally Shafto. Sally Shafto sort of recognized me in that first class experience that I had, and she was the one who encouraged me to find a Ram Peer Leadership position. I took on positions with orientation and S.E.A.L.S., and I've been doing it for the past three years. I really think that kicked off a large portion of what has gotten me involved on campus. 

Do you have a favorite memory at FSU?

I come to FSU pretty gleeful every single day. I love this community. I love the University as a whole. I have really found myself benefiting from every aspect of it. … I find it so funny because I was a resident student in my first two years, and I really felt like I didn't really understand college life. I think my family was like, “Oh, you should be a resident student so you can get the college experience,” so I was a resident, and I really felt like it actually limited me in being able to be part of the environment, because I had a space to be secluded from the rest of the community. So once I started being a commuter student again … it incentivized me to explore the different things that were on campus. It incentivized me to start talking to people, to start meeting with professors, and just fill in the in-between times when classes weren't happening. I think it was when I started realizing there were things to do outside of the classroom that I truly found what I love about this University. It's not a specific moment. It's not a specific thing. It's these collections of moments that you're able to have with the people around you that really make this University into what I love.

What are you most looking forward to on SGA this year?

The same thing that I look forward to every year - being able to meet new people and being able to foster these connections and friendships with everyone.