Photo: (From left to right): USM President Elect Giovanni Brown and incoming Vice President of Academics Geovanni Baker.

Photo Credit: Contributed

By: Zasha-kae Dennis

The newly elected president and vice president (VP) of Academics of the United Student Movement (USM) at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) will commence working towards the goal of closing the gap between students and the administration for the betterment of the student body for the upcoming academic year.

USM President Elect Giovanni Brown says he is ready for the challenges ahead; operating under his slogan “Together We Can.”

He mentioned that his aim is to foster unity and use collaborative approaches to help bring about a positive change in the lives of the students.

Brown’s manifesto consisted of hard hitting key points. Some of the most anticipated being a document with an expected September release “10 Ways To Pay Off Your Tuition and Leave College Debt Free” and “ The Tai Center Renovation Project” prospected to begin over the summer holidays.

This has won him the trust of the students according to the  data on the NCUUSM Instagram page where he defeated the opposition by taking 60% of the votes.

Brown’s ideals were echoed by the elected VP of Academics Geovanni Baker who dominated his category with 83% of the votes.

Baker highlights that the fundamental part of the work is catering to student interests, dedicating time to serve their needs while exposing them to connections that will improve their résumés.

Baker emphasized that his office will be steadfast in working towards student satisfaction and addressing matters regarding academic advisement.

“I hear the issues regarding academic advisement, and I will be lobbying to set a structure that rectifies the narrative about NCU students not being able to graduate on time as a result of poor academic advisement,” he said.

He added that he will work alongside Career Services to engage the students academically, and his goal is to help improve résumés of students for their professional development.

Brown has taken into consideration that COVID-19 has distorted the on-campus school experience. However, they are not deterred by these odds, and plans are in motion to challenge them and to see how best school spirit and togetherness can be restored at NCU.

“I wanted to ensure that they had the full opportunity for personal development and social interactions. I see a future of the university that I want to be in and that is what I am setting out to create with USM, my President Dr. Lincoln Edwards, and the administration,” he said.

When asked how they plan to show up for the students in their respective roles, Brown reinforces that he plans to be a leader who listens and takes action from a place of understanding as a fellow student who is also impacted by the challenges students face.

“I realize that my role as the student representative often means I am one of the few persons in the room who understands the problems of the students deeply. As a result, I view it as a chief responsibility to talk with the students and understand their problems so I can advocate for them as one who feels their pain and sees the need for change,” he said.

The VP elect is open about being transparent in his leadership. He anticipates the unpredictability of achieving the goals on his agenda and plans to combat this with clarity.

“I plan to communicate and be transparent. In the election period, many promises are made but the reality is while these plans are feasible, they may not materialize. What I vow to do is be transparent as much as possible and represent them well as the channel between students and administration,” he said.

The handover ceremony will take place in the upcoming Fall semester, and their time in office is the duration of Fall 2022 – Spring 2023.