Meet your 2014-2015 President
James Ingram Article By : Angelina Bruno
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n March 27th the SA election results were announced. After a grueling few weeks of campaigning, James Ingram, became the SA President elect. James will head the largest organization on campus, managing a budget of 3.5 million and working in the interest of the undergraduate student population, consisting of 20,000 students. When you look at the numbers, the task seems daunting, but what really counts is the person behind the title. James grew up not too far from Buffalo, a native of Fairport, just outside of Rochester. In fact home is only about an hour and twenty minutes away. He even lives with roommates from his alma mater Fairport high school where he enjoyed playing soccer and was captain of his team.
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At home James lived with his parents, his sister Megan and their dog, a cockapoo named Ally. “A lot of people when they come to my house don’t even know that we have a dog because she’s scared of people and she hides behind the couch a lot,” said James. James also enjoys Harry Potter books and, of course, streaming TV shows.
“I have a bunch of different TV shows I binge watch on Netflix when I have a chance,” said James. These shows include House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones, but sadly, even winning SA president cannot save you from spoilers. “I’m trying to get caught up on Game of Thrones right now and someone tweeted what happened last night and I saw it,” said James, visibly exasperated. “But I’m going to try to catch up today if I can.” Between the election and the planning process for next year, James has had little time to spend binge watching his shows. He also must find time to study for the LSAT. James is a political science major and plans to go to law school in the near future.
“I’d like to end up either for law school in DC, New York City or Chicago,” said James. While James originally wanted to be a dentist when he grew up, he first became involved with SA through political clubs. “I first got involved with SA through clubs such as College Republicans, College Democrats, UB Conservatives. I wanted to get more involved so I joined the assembly,” said James. “I did that for a year and at the end of—that was my sophomore year—I ran for academic coordinator which is what I have done this past year.” James has had plenty of experience as Academic Coordinator, responsible for overseeing the academic clubs in the Student Association. He also serves on the SA Senate. Through working with the many clubs, as well as other SA departments, James learned valuable skills to carry over to the presidency. “You have clubs that are planning events and they need things from the finance department or they need flyers printed through the media and marketing department,” said James. “It’s been good to have a better understanding of how SA as an organization works.” His familiarity with the organization will be an asset as he attempts to fulfill the goals he and his fellow candidates set at the beginning of election season. Organizations both large and small must fight to reach out to the large population of students at UB.
“We have so many qualified people, it’s a huge undergraduate population,” James said. “So to reach out to more people and to help them get involved in the Student Association is really what I’m looking forward to and just working together as a staff to try to put on events that students are excited about.” James’ advice to undergraduates who want to get the most out of their time in college: get involved in SA. “When I was a freshman my first semester, I really wasn’t involved in SA, no clubs, Assembly, anything like that. I didn’t really take advantage of any of the events that clubs put on or that SA put on,” said James. “As I started getting more involved, I just felt like I was gaining a more complete college experience outside of just going to class and going back to my dorm.” While the hiring process for this year is already underway and general staff applications are no longer being accepted, there is always the SA mentee program. Potential mentees interview in the fall to shadow and work with different departments throughout SA. The program is helpful in providing the training it takes to gain experience to later apply for a paid SA position. As for James, he is ready to take on his role as president. “I’m just excited to see it all come together,” said James. “I’m looking forward to working as a staff to put on events that students are excited about.”