Taylor Vallance & Isabella Polombo (2023)

What are your pronouns?

What SGA position will you be running for?

What is your academic major/educational track?

Why are you running for this position in the Student Government Association?

I want to see change come for the betterment of students, minus bureaucracy or red tape. I think their should be transparency and authenticity on this campus for the betterment of students, especially with positions such as SGA President and Vice President.

What past experiences would make you a great candidate for the Student Government Association?

I am a legacy student of a single mom and I have been on and off this campus for 15 years. I have seen the places on this campuses where it flourishes and the places where it has gaps. I have lived as both an on-campus and off-campus student. I've seen the gaps in both. I have been an RA, a worker in the UC, and a transfer student. I know what it's like to try to make college work, when theirs forces pushing against it, making it feel impossible. I continue to make change and impact by advocating for student needs wherever I go. I want to use these experiences to run as a student and as a community leader for the students.

What are some of your hobbies/interests and how are you involved at UCCS?

I am an artist, an activist, and a passionate pet parent. I have made my presence known on most offices on this campus through my support of and endorsing of social justice movements and campaigns on campus and in the broader community. I am a student in the Women's and Ethnic Studies Department and plan to use the knowledge I have gained as a student of diversity, equity, and inclusion to affect greater change on campus. I have spoken at the UCCSLead student leadership conference for 2 years in a row and led important conversations on campus through my role as an RA and as a community member in multiple capacities. My role in campus now is as a concerned community member and a student employee.

I want to see student needs being advocated for and met. I want transparency and effective communication to be a present and active part of this campus so that students get the resources they deserve. I want to advocate for change in an effective manner.What past experiences would make you a great candidate for the Student Government Association?

IP - I was born and raised in Colorado Springs my entire life. I joined UCCS as a commuter student and saw the cracks that caused many students like to me suffer and be kept out of the loop. When I became an RA, I saw that on-campus living has continued to suffer many drawbacks due to insufficient communication. Despite this, during the past year, I joined the ranks of SGA to advocate for policy change, student inclusive events, wage equity, and the problems of accessibility on this campus. I have been and worked on this advocacy through committees on the Wellness Center, Green Action Fund, the University Center, and much more. People told me I couldn't change the wages being given to RAs and yet, I presented to the Board of Regents with other RAs present. This in turn led to the change of Winter Break RAs being paid and for our department to no longer be able to turn away from RA Compensation during the semester. People told me that the Student Needs Based Closet would not be worth it, that it was a waste of time. The amount of people in this community who care, who have donated, and who have helped it live and aid students within the UC, say otherwise. I continue to create change and impact wherever I go by advocating for students. Continuing SGA, is only giving me more of an opportunity to be a part of these things

I joke a lot about playing basketball, I really do play it. I am also a long-distance runner. I find it fun. I am a writer, advocate, and am interested in communications for the reason that it seems to be our societies strongest weakness. Through that knowledge, I hope to change how others view communication to bring communities together here at UCCS. As a student, I feel many times that UCCS has become like a home to me. I mean when you advocate for so much change, you would be surprised the amount of people you meet and how beautifully different we all are. I am involved in several committees on campus that advocate for structural change, financial awareness, sustainability development, inaccessibility issues, wage increases, and so much more. I make myself a part of those conversations constantly because I want to hear everyone's perspectives. At the end of the day, the change I make can only happen with all students, that means all of you reading this too, and I think that that's the biggest way I am involved on campus, by making everyone a part of those conversations.

Student Government Association