By Sydney Nolley ~ Senator for Westover Honors
After the selection of a new board at the end of the fall semester, the Westover Executive Board discussed in our first meeting of the spring semester revisions and updates to our goals and mission for the coming year. In the spring of 2021, the revision introduced the goal of reinforcing our connection with other organizations on campus, wherein we focused on collaborating with those organizations for events and programs.
This goal has continued into this spring, but the program has added a new set of focuses, the next level for Westover: the hope to highlight Westover as a social program as well as an academic one and (partially within this first goal) to connect Westover upperclassmen with underclassmen.
Westovers are incredibly involved on campus and often leaves little time for them to casually connect with other Westovers.
To combat this, Natalie Kerr, the Social Event Chair for the program, is currently working on the first of these two goals, having organized a Super Bowl party and currently planning a St. Patrick’s Day party.
These events not only create an exciting social event for our Westovers, but also create a space for all Westovers to come together and celebrate.
As the program is continuing to highlight social connections alongside academics, Westover have been focusing on the sharing of wisdom between older and newer Westovers, as with Taylor Morgan’s upcoming Study Smarter, Not Harder workshop.
In the workshop, upperclassmen were invited to share their own study tips and underclassmen are able to get their help in implementing them.
An ongoing program to foster these relationships is that of our mentorship pairings.
Allana Dawson, the mentorship chair, is currently gathering feedback from mentors and mentees to help us improve the program throughout the coming year. In the selection process for our mentors and mentees, we focus on their interests and the involvement of the mentors on campus.
As Westovers are involved in almost every organization on campus, we have also made an effort to organize events in collaboration with them.
Last semester, Westover held a Trunk or Treat with Sigma Phi Epsilon, a carnival with the Student Activities Board, bingo with the Commuter Student Association, and a trivia night with the Student Judicial Board.
Westover’s main goal is to help our students and our campus thrive. The events we organize and the goals we work toward are all meant to aid in this. We plan to continue collaborating with the other amazing organizations on campus, to continue organizing events geared towards our students, and to continue championing the vitality of our campus.
If you are interested in learning more about the University of Lynchburg Student Government Association, please visit https://www.lynchburg.edu/student-life/student-government-association/.
Also, if you are interested in learning more about the University of Lynchburg Westover Honors College, please visit https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/westover-honors-college/.
