Graduating SGA President Reflects on His Two Terms

ANNELIA NIXON

Copy Chief

Student Government Association president, Cade Tremain, is graduating this semester. He said he would sum up his two terms as SGA president into one word— growth. Tremain said he has evolved into a more mindful and detail-oriented person.

“I’ve grown in those main aspects of being much more aware of what’s around me, being more considerate of others but also myself at the same time,” Tremain said. “Whenever I say that, I mean trying my best to put myself in someone else’s shoes but also at the same time understanding that you do need to think for yourself. You should never let someone think for you.”

Tremain said he first got involved in politics while in high school. He said his peers lacked interest in student government and his school’s district placed more of a focus on sports than it did on leadership. Tremain said those were the driving forces that led him to take on the role of student body president. He said he loved being president so much that he knew he wanted his college career to center around politics in some way.

When Tremain joined SGA, he started as a senator, then he became chairman of the public relations committee, next he took on the secretary position and finally served as president for two terms. He said working as former SGA president, Justin Cobb’s secretary is when he began envisioning himself as SGA president.

“I was on his [executive] board as his secretary and when you’re the secretary you’re working very close with the president so there is some overlap there,” Tremain said. “You know a lot of what they do but you don’t know it all by any means. I was thinking that this is something that I might be able to do.”

Tremain said he mentioned possibly running for SGA president to a few others in student government and they responded with an abundance of support.

He said one of the biggest challenges he has faced as president was breaking down the belief that only those who major in political science can be or should be involved with SGA.

“That would be the biggest uphill battle probably is finding people who are really interested in student government that typically wouldn’t be exposed to it otherwise and making sure that they’re in it for the right reasons too,” Tremain said. “A lot of times people our age will sign up for something just to see it as a resume booster and that’s not what student government is. It really undercuts student government, in my opinion, when people just see it as a way to fill white space on a page.”

While Tremain felt recruiting for SGA was challenging, Advisor for SGA, Shari Bax, said it was something he managed to accomplish.

“He put a lot of effort into growing the student government association both in members and also in diversity of membership,” Bax said. “He really tried to make sure we were getting a lot of different voices and that he was listening to those different voices.

Congresswoman for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and cochair for the sustainability committee, Hadley Oden, said, she believes Cade’s greatest contribution to UCM centered around her committee.

“He had made this committee, the sustainability committee, which is new this year,” Oden said. “Their goal was then to bring recycling back to UCM just to promote a greener campus.”

Tremain who described SGA as his child said he is sad to be leaving his post as president but he also feels contented knowing he is leaving it in good hands.

RACHEL BECKER Editor-in-Chief

After announcing the Mule Grant for fall 2023, the University of Central Missouri is already seeing an increase in students committing to the university and enrolling in summer orientations.

The Mule Grant, a need-based grant for firsttime undergraduate degree-seeking students, covers any tuition and general fees remaining after federal, state, institutional, and private or outside grants and scholarships have been applied.

The Director of Financial Assistance, Tony Lubbers said, the university expects to see higher enrollment due to the introduction of the Mule Grant.

“[Grants are] need-based for lower-income students, scholarships can be applied to any charge, the Mule Grant is based on student need,” Lubbers said. “Mule Grant money comes from the institution but it’s coming in the form of a discount. So the grant can be as big as it needs to be. “

Britni Hume, assistant director for New Student Programs, said “We are seeing retention increase in the students who are receiving the Mule Grant. They are actually signing up for orientation, actually submitting a housing deposit, and doing those things at a greater rate than students who are not receiving them.”

“We have given out about 100 to 115 of these scholarships for the fall and we have had about 50% of them so far register for orientation,”

Chris Lang, Assistant Vice Provost for Admissions and Analytics, said.

Lang said other accepted Pell Grant recipients are enrolling in a mid 30% range so far for the upcoming semester.

It has a positive impact on our yield rate on that population of students, Lang said. He said that the overall goal is to help retain those students as well.

One of the biggest reasons students end their college career early or take a gap year is because of the financial aspects of college, Lang said.

Lang said financial aid, like the Mule Grant, helps remove that financial barrier for students, and can help them graduate on time.

“More students have filed the FAFSA for us than in the past,” Lang said. “Which means we can get more financial aid in the hands of students, and typically more financial aid helps with yield.”

Hume said admissions focuses on attracting students who are already eligible for grants or scholarships.

There are other financial aid opportunities available for students besides the Mule Grant. For incoming freshmen, there is the Red and Black scholarship, the UCM Bound Out-ofState Scholarship and the UCM Dual Credit Scholarship.

“We know you are going to have a next step and UCM should be that next step because we have scholarships, resources and we are transfer-friendly,” Hume said. “From the undergraduate perspective, it is how you set us apart from the Northwests, the KUs, and I think we have the best value for the education, plus the experiences that students are looking for. Our campus, and our culture here, make it really easy to appeal to prospective students.”