By Emily Schmidt
University Communications Student Assistant
studentpio@minotstateu.edu
MINOT, N.D. – When Jorge Talamantes Baez became a student government senator his freshman year, speaking to students he hadn’t met before was nerve-wracking.
Now student government president, it his favorite part of the job.
Student council at Minot High kindled Talamantes Baez’s interest in campus engagement, so naturally he joined Minot State’s Student Government Association (SGA) as a senator for the College of Business during his first year on campus. As he took more opportunities, he stepped out of his comfort zone.
“My freshman year, I thought it was kind of scary to talk to other college people,” he said. “With senator reports, you talk to other student about what they are not liking about the school. That's how I broke through that, 'oh I can’t talk to people,’ kind of thing.”
Talamantes Baez was voted as SGA president last spring, beginning his term as president in April.
He also gained public speaking experience in SGA’s town hall presentation last year on the Student Center renovation.
Being a marketing and finance double-major, that experience has given Talamantes Baez valuable skills for his career.
“In the marketing world, you have to do the same thing,” he said. “You can't get nervous because if you get nervous, they don't trust you. When it comes to talking about products or something like that, you have to say it with full confidence. I don't get held back with an, ‘Oh crap, maybe that's wrong,’ anymore. Things like that have really helped me out.”
As SGA president, speaking to new people and hearing students’ voices is the highlight of his position.
“My best memories from SGA are just interacting with people after the meeting, getting their overview and making better connections,” he said.
Now Talamantes Baez encourages other students to use their own voices in SGA.
“When I was a senator freshman year, people didn't really know what SGA was,” he said. “I really want to get the name out there and tell people how impactful it actually is because there's a lot of things that student government does. Like the student fees, we always increase them by year, and SGA gets to allocate where those funds go. Other things would be club funding. That's really huge because we always get so much money from student tuition, and SGA allocates where they go. Or let's say you're in a club and you really like it. You can support it if you join SGA and try to fund them as much as you can.”
“The meetings are public; anyone can join them. We always have public comment where we let everyone who's not a part of SGA talk and ask questions or voice any concerns. You get to give student information on what you think, and so if an administrative person is saying, oh, this is wrong, a student can say they think it's right.”
Contact SGA on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK to get a link to their virtual meetings.
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through
rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
Published: 12/11/20
