Finding Your Wolfpack: Student Government

Chloe Webster, a first-year student and native of rural Yadkinville, North Carolina, was concerned that attending a large university like NC State would mean sacrificing the feeling of belonging to a supportive community. Her concerns disappeared during a visit to campus late in her senior year of high school.

“The moment I stepped onto campus, I could just feel that sense of community,” she said. “Every person I talked to, every tour I went on, showed me a different way I could be involved.”

A Park Scholar and political science major, Webster was drawn to one community in particular: Student Government. She’d been both student body vice president and president in high school, and felt she could leverage her leadership experience to be a strong advocate for students at NC State.

“Finding ways to engage with the people you represent and making sure their voices are heard is what leadership has always been about for me,” said Webster.

A Voice for Students

Webster attended interest meetings upon arriving at NC State to find out how Student Government works and where she might fit within it. She learned that the Student Senate — the government’s 72-member legislative body with proportional representation for each college at NC State — offered the chance to negotiate legislation on a wide range of issues and collaborate with leaders in the Executive Branch and Treasury Branch to implement solutions.

Webster decided to run for one of 10 seats on the Senate’s First-Year Delegation. She assembled a campaign team, and instead of pursuing the popular approach of campaigning solely online, she and her team spent their campaign week in places frequented by first-year students, speaking with them about their needs and ideas and encouraging them to vote.

If we’re going to have really effective representation, we need to make sure we’re reaching as many students as possible.

The strategy paid off — Webster won her seat, then was selected as First-Year Delegation Head by her fellow senators. During her campaign, she was surprised to discover many first-year students were unaware Student Government even existed at NC State. The revelation caused her and other first-year senators to prioritize student outreach this session.

“I’ve learned that the university takes what members of Student Government have to say on behalf of students very seriously,” she said. “If we’re going to have really effective representation, we need to make sure we’re reaching as many students as possible.”

Webster and her fellow senators engage with students through tabling events at spots like Wolf Plaza and Stafford Commons, stirring an active dialogue between Student Government and the larger student body. Their goal is to show students, especially first-years, that Student Government is a support system to serve students’ needs, not an elusive body making decisions for them.

“For example, I have several friends who are forming clubs, and they’ve told me, ‘I have no idea how I’m going to fund this club,’” said Webster. “And I said, ‘Hey, Student Government can help you do that.’”

A Force for Student Success

Isaac Carreno, a third-year student and Park Scholar majoring in social work and political science, got his start in Student Government as a first-year senator, just like Webster. He briefly served as a senator representing the College of Humanities and Social Sciences during his sophomore year before deciding to switch to the Executive Branch.

After serving last year as deputy chief of staff for the previous student body president, Timothy Reid, he now serves as student body vice president alongside Allison Markert, the current student body president.

We’re all here because we have a passion for advocating for the student body — for being that voice for students on the issues of the day.

The Executive Branch “advocates through action,” hosting town halls, spearheading student-facing initiatives and sponsoring programs and events like Respect the Pack, an annual event held during Wolfpack Welcome Week to promote civility and community on campus. Carreno, as student body vice president, focuses largely on matters internal to the Executive Branch, aligning the activities of Executive Branch leaders to support student success.

One initiative Carreno is especially passionate about involves expanding civic and community engagement on campus. To nurture that engagement, he’s worked with others in Student Government to launch Student Organization Active Roundtable, or SOAR. This program sends Student Government representatives out across campus to speak with student organizations and learn about their needs.

“We decided we shouldn’t expect organizations to just come to us,” said Carreno. “We should be the ones, as the advocating body for students on campus, to go to student organizations and hear from them.”

The Engaged Citizenry Series, another priority of the Markert-Carreno administration’s engagement efforts, aims to increase voter awareness and participation among NC State students in this important election year. Spearheaded by Student Government’s Department of Government Affairs, the series supports dialogues with local candidates and equips students with electoral information so they can cast their ballots confidently.

“As early voting began this year, we hosted a series of videos on our Student Government website about voting and giving students resources to get registered and vote,” said Carreno. “We’ve also brought in candidates and elected officials, including City of Raleigh candidates and representatives from the North Carolina General Assembly, to have conversations with students about the issues that matter to them.”

It’s not just leaders in the Executive Branch who drive action that serves students. As a first-year senator, Carreno and other senators helped create a compilation of mental health resources, Students Supporting Students, to address acute mental health challenges on campus. Webster and her fellow first-year senators are continuing this important work of spotlighting mental health services for students, while also working to improve campus safety.

“I’m looking into reaching out to various campus safety departments to learn how we, as Student Government, can support safety initiatives or collaborate with them to make more safety resources available for students,” said Webster.

“We have this shared commonality, all of us in Student Government,” said Carreno. “We might have disagreements on what needs to get done or how to accomplish certain things. But we’re all here because we have a passion for advocating for the student body — for being that voice for students on the issues of the day.”

A Bridge to Public Leadership

Wherever students serve in Student Government, they work with other leaders to create real, positive change in people’s lives and build the skills to become effective public servants after graduation. When Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina earlier this year, upending lives and devastating communities, leaders across Student Government joined others in the Wolfpack community to help mobilize relief for those in need.

What I’ve learned in actual governmental institutions, I’ve applied here in Student Government, and vice versa.

“The Senate helped set up tabling for people to come and donate needed materials,” said Webster. “We provided several shipments, and a number of people from Student Government traveled to western North Carolina to deliver those supplies at drop-off spots.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much coordination, passion and cooperation on something within Student Government as I have with our hurricane relief efforts,” said Carreno. “We all saw the devastation in western North Carolina and united behind the goal of getting support to people in need there, especially those on college campuses.”

Student Government also opens doors to real-world roles in public service. Carreno has interned at the North Carolina General Assembly, in the Raleigh office of a North Carolina congresswoman, and in the White House, where he gained experience working on constituent casework. He plans to attend law school after graduation, then apply his law degree toward a career in civic leadership.

“What I’ve learned in actual governmental institutions, I’ve applied here in Student Government, and vice versa,” said Carreno. “I believe the skills I’ve developed to advocate for students will translate to advocating for constituents and the American people.”

Graduation is farther off for Webster, but she’s already sensing the value of Student Government in helping her explore pathways to a rewarding career.

What I’ve already been doing with leadership and civic engagement . . . reflects the work I want to be doing throughout my life.

“I’m interested in statistics and data science, but I’m also interested in the integrity of our democratic institutions and working to make sure our government structures are representing us in a fair and equitable manner,” she said. “What I’ve already been doing with leadership and civic engagement through Student Government, it reflects the work I want to be doing throughout my life.”

For now, Webster and Carreno are focused on being effective advocates for Wolfpack students. There’s space for more leaders like them in Student Government.

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