{"685220":{"#nid":"685220","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SGA Leaders Share Goals for New Academic Year ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the academic year underway, Georgia Tech\u2019s undergraduate Student Government Association (SGA) welcomes new leadership looking to achieve concrete goals and amplify student voices. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPresident Sultan Ziyad, a fourth-year civil engineering major, and Vice President Xiomara Salinas, a third-year chemical and biomolecular engineering major, positioned their platform around a five-point motto: DRIVE. The acronym stands for:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ED \u2014 Develop SGA to champion change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ER \u2014 Respond to students swiftly.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EI \u2014 Improve service to student organizations.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EV \u2014 Voice student views to faculty.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EE \u2014 Establish SGA\u2019s standard of excellence.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZiyad and Salinas\u2019 strategic plan outlines several objectives and specific actions to tackle student concerns around issues such as campus accessibility, wellness, sustainability, and inclusion. They emphasize the importance of collaborating with a range of campus groups to execute these goals. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe divided the platform into the 10 areas SGA covers, providing concrete plans for the things we wanted to accomplish this year,\u201d Ziyad said. \u201cTo inform these plans, we spoke to people affiliated with each respective area \u2014 for example, meeting with Student Life representatives to hear the concerns of transfers, first-years, and international students,\u201d Salinas added.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAcknowledging that adjusting to campus life can be difficult, both leaders extended advice to new students. Drawing on his experiences as a resident assistant, campus mentor, and now SGA president, Ziyad encourages first-years to embrace uncertainty. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cKeep an open mind during your time at Tech. Every semester is different, bringing various highs and lows. Be versatile and adaptable,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESalinas, who joined SGA in her first year at Tech as a member of the finance committee, encourages new students to step out of their comfort zone. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to reach out to people. There are so many valuable opportunities across campus. If you find an organization or lab interesting, take the initiative by putting yourself out there. By simply emailing one person or club, you can open so many doors,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pair also reflected on Georgia Tech bucket list items they hope to achieve before graduation.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI want to complete the Pi Mile \u2014 but I have to run the entire time,\u201d Ziyad said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve never missed a home football game. I even came back from Thanksgiving break early my first year, so I\u2019ve made it a goal,\u201d Salinas said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELooking ahead, they hope their administration will leave behind a stronger connection between SGA and the students it serves. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf students start seeing SGA as a body that truly represents their voices and concerns \u2014 not just one that plans cool events and collaborations, but also as a resource for improving student life \u2014 that would feel like a goal achieved. We aspire to make meaningful change for organizations and individual students,\u201d Salinas said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth are motivated to turn their plans into tangible change and leave a lasting impact on Georgia Tech\u2019s campus.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo stay updated or to get involved in SGA\u0027s efforts, follow \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gtsga\/?hl=en\u0022\u003E@gtsga\u003C\/a\u003E on Instagram and read their monthly newsletter. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The administration\u0027s strategic plan aims to address student concerns around issues such as campus accessibility, wellness, sustainability, and inclusion. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe administration\u0027s strategic plan aims to address student concerns around issues such as campus accessibility, wellness, sustainability, and inclusion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The administration\u0027s strategic plan aims to address student concerns around issues such as campus accessibility, wellness, sustainability, and inclusion. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2025-09-24 15:20:52","changed_gmt":"2025-09-24 15:30:19","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-09-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-09-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678119":{"id":"678119","type":"video","title":"Meet Your 2025 Georgia Tech Undergraduate Student Government Association Leaders","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESGA President Sultan Ziyad, a fourth-year civil engineering major, and Vice President Xiomara Salinas, a third-year chemical and biomolecular engineering major, share their administration\u0027s top priorities for the upcoming year and a few of their favorite aspects of campus life at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1758727196","gmt_created":"2025-09-24 15:19:56","changed":"1758727196","gmt_changed":"2025-09-24 15:19:56","video":{"youtube_id":"YPK-yY1j8SQ","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YPK-yY1j8SQ"}},"678120":{"id":"678120","type":"image","title":"SGA Leaders 2025","body":"\u003Cp\u003EUndergraduate Student Government Association President Sultan Ziyad and Vice President Xiomara Salinas (Bottom Row), along with the 2025 SGA Cabinet.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1758727413","gmt_created":"2025-09-24 15:23:33","changed":"1758727413","gmt_changed":"2025-09-24 15:23:33","alt":"SGA Leaders 2025","file":{"fid":"262105","name":"IMG_1759.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/09\/24\/IMG_1759.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/09\/24\/IMG_1759.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":617195,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/09\/24\/IMG_1759.jpg?itok=x5vKTzxs"}}},"media_ids":["678119","678120"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"181112","name":"Georgia Tech Student Government Association"},{"id":"184345","name":"undergraduate SGA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stucomm@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EEmily Russell\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}