Brittni Strickland was certain she didn’t get the job.
After waiting by the phone all day and never hearing it ring, her optimism had faded to doubt.
“I kept thinking they’ll call by 11 a.m. No, they’ll call by 3 p.m. Ok, maybe 5 p.m.,” she said. “Once 6:30 p.m. rolled around, I thought for sure that I had not been selected and mentally prepared myself for that.”
But, it turns out, it wasn’t a call Strickland should have expected: It was an email. Sitting in her inbox at 9:30 p.m. — three hours after she’d given up hope — was a message congratulating her as the new ASUU senior class president.
Strickland, a senior in mass communication, beat out seven other applicants for the position. The off-cycle selection came after the abrupt resignation of Devin Price, elected in March, who stepped down due to “unforeseen personal circumstances” a month before Fall Semester began.
Vice President Anthony Oyler said while the situation was “out of our control,” he’s happy that Strickland will fill the opening.
“[She] will allow us to move forward confidently,” he said in an email statement. “She is not only knowledgeable about campus traditions and what makes the university unique, but is passionate about them.”
Strickland formerly served as a university ambassador and a member of the ASUU First Year Council. She plans to use those experiences to appeal to different types of students. Strickland particularly sympathizes with commuter students, like herself, and wants them to have more of a presence at campus activities — Oyler said this is a new perspective she brings to student government leadership.
One way she proposes to achieve a more inclusive campus is through hosting an awareness week where ASUU can “bring light to important student concerns” by reaching out to LGBTQ+, transfer, veteran and family-oriented students.
“I have the opportunity to help other students feel like they belong here, whether they are a student stepping on campus for the very first time or entering their senior year,” Strickland said.
The senior class president is responsible for planning campus traditions, the senior class gift and Homecoming Week (which starts Oct. 2), among other duties.
Currently, Strickland is working to assemble her Senior Council, a group of students who help plan events such as the end-of-the-year commencement ceremony. Applications for the organization can be found online at asuu.utah.edu/news/senior-council-application. Interested students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Though she has already begun fulfilling these expectations of the position, Strickland must be formally confirmed by the ASUU Senate to begin her term as senior class president. This is expected to happen at the Senate’s first hearing of Fall Semester.
Oyler raised no concerns about the confirmation and believes Strickland is the “true team player” that he and President Ambra Jackson were looking for in a new senior class president.
Though she was unsure in the beginning, Strickland, too, is now forging ahead with confidence in her new position.
“I really look forward to helping students feel at home,” she said, “and helping them make memories they’ll tell their children and grandchildren about.”
Due to a change in the ASUU student constitution, known as Redbook, Strickland will serve as the last senior class president at the U. Next year, there will be two vice president positions instead.
@CourtneyLTanner