DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR ASG APRIL 25

Normally, the Associated Student Government (ASG) holds an annual springtime election for students attending MHCC who wish to run for the office of president and vice president for the following academic year, while accepting applications for all other ASG positions.

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting campus shutdown has changed a lot about the process.

With hopes of finding more interested and qualified candidates, normal ASG deadlines to apply for the election have been extended: The new deadline to apply is midnight (11:59 p.m.) on Sunday, April 25. Following that deadline, there will be a virtual (online) campaign and opportunities for the Mt. Hood community to meet candidates and ask questions of the applying students. All enrolled Mt. Hood students will then have the chance to vote for the candidates, through an online format.

Rozina Lethe, MHCC adviser for ASG, says that the available positions are time-consuming and require attendance at many meetings, in addition to taking a class each term in leadership. The payoff? The ASG president will receive up to 12 credits of tuition waivers each quarter (as do all ASG participants), with an additional monthly stipend of $400 as compensation for their time and their service to the school.

Current ASG President Nicole Johnson-Moses (one of two persons appointed to the job since the most recent election was held) adds that the ASG experience will improve participants’ leadership skills. She describes the president’s role as having to be “on your best performance” almost every moment possible. She acknowledges the ASG positions are demanding and can seem overwhelming at times, but still provide a satisfactory outcome for students who work on the team.

“[Being President of ASG] is absolutely a challenging job” said Johnson-Moses. “No matter who you are or the skillset you come with, a reality of this job is that tough decisions have to be made, and there will always be people unhappy about that.” But she emphasized that the moments of imperfection also provide opportunity for growth and that moving forward better is always the goal, at the end of the day. Both Johnson-Moses and Lethe emphasize that no experience in student government is required for any ASG jobs. But the desire to help fellow students and pursue self-improvement is necessary, they say.

“We are looking for candidates who are passionate about improving the student experience at MHCC,” said Lethe. She notes important traits for what it takes to be the best day-to-day president, which is to be great with working in groups and a willingness to improve themself.

The current president offered final words of encouragement to anyone deciding whether to seek the top job, as she did.

“My last thought would be this: the next president could be anyone. It doesn’t take a perfect GPA, or tons of leadership experience to do this job well,” said Johnson-Moses. It just takes a whole lot of passion and caring, and a little bit of willingness to get it wrong and try again.”

Anyone interested in applying to run for president/vice president, or becoming an ASG member, or who has any further questions regarding ASG should email Lethe at [email protected]