Garrett Smith represents nearly 23,000 students as the Student Association president at Mississippi State University, but this may be his last election.
“I doubt that I would run for office again, but I would not rule it out. I would imagine student body president was my last ever election,” said Smith, 21, a senior who will graduate in May 2022 with aspirations of a career with the federal government in foreign affairs.
The SA president essentially acts as a lobbyist for the students of Mississippi State, advocating on their behalf in front of the university administration, and occasionally in front of other entities like local or state governments. The president also directs events for students, working with a team to balance a sizable annual budget of nearly $400,000 as well as organizing events that students across campus can enjoy.
“I really hope to unify our Student Association with the student body it represents,” said Smith, a political science major with minors in psychology and international studies. “I am excited about the plans we have to ensure that all student voices are heard, and to increase campus participation through … events and activities.”
Assistant Dean of Students Jacqueline Mullen described Smith as a great leader.
“Garrett is very thoughtful and intentional in how he leads and makes decisions,” she said. “He involves a lot of stakeholders in any decision that he makes by collecting all the information before he makes a plan for action. I have been impressed with his work ethic and positive attitude and I am looking forward to seeing the impact he will continue to make on the Mississippi State University campus.”
Smith is involved in a variety of other ways across campus including being a provost scholar, which is MSU’s top research-based scholarship, being a member of Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity, and writing for the student newspaper, The Reflector, mostly as a sportswriter. Now in his fourth year of student government, Smith was first elected as one of four representatives representing the freshman class a few weeks after stepping foot on campus.
If anything, Smith said, he fell into this leadership role of serving the students during his freshman year so as to be active in campus affairs, never imagining that one day he would be an advocate on behalf of the Bulldogs’ student body as president.
“My freshman year, I ran for Senate, which was a pretty competitive election. Four weeks into school and I was going for that and competing with probably 14 candidates who were running for like four spots or something like that. I think I won the election by 13 votes.”
Smith said he decided he liked being involved in the student association so he ran for Senate again, and at the end of his sophomore year he successfully ran for vice president.
A few weeks after Smith was elected as vice president in March of 2020, the pandemic changed everything as the nation came to grips with COVID-19. Plans and political platforms disappeared as student leaders steered a course through uncertain times.
“We were on spring break when we got told that classes were over. That completely changed what we were doing,” he said.
During Smith’s junior year, he was a member of a group of local leaders and policymakers who made decisions about how the community was going to cope with the pandemic. Smith said that experience shaped his views about leadership and public service.
“To be in that room and see just kind of huge decisions that were being made — that was when we weren’t sure if we were going to be back in school in the fall,” he said. “Just to kind of see the immense decisions that were being made, to see the leadership in its most raw form from so many of our campus administrators and to kind of like just experience that was kind of the moment that I really began to think about running for president quite honestly. I realized that being a leader isn’t about pet projects and something to put on your resume — this is real leadership that has a direct impact on students’ lives.”
Sworn in as president in late spring, Smith explained his priorities for the new school year.
“I would say our main priority is making sure that we have a safe and fun school year,” he said. “We’re working hard to prepare for the fall, and the return of some events that were unfortunately canceled last year.”
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