Ballots have been cast, votes have been counted and the results are here. The Fordham University Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) 2028 Senators have been elected.
The senators for Fordham College of Rose Hill (FCRH) are Grace Shin, FCRH ’28, Audrey Shooner, FCRH ’28, and Tina Pathak, FCRH ’28. The two Gabelli School of Business (GSB) electees are Sarah Bayas, GSB ’28, and Anshuman Shrivastav, GSB ’28. To get to know these senators better, the Ram inquired on their history and future plans for USG.
Shin is originally from Fullerton, Calif. During her time in high school, she was a part of numerous clubs. Shin had a role as vice president in her high school’s student government, was a part of National Honors Society, was on the board of the high school’s Red Cross chapter and was president of Student Advocates for Mental Health and their student section club. During her time as senator, Shin hopes to accomplish many things, specifically surrounding mental health and communication within the Class of 2028. She has already assisted in the making of an Instagram account for Class of 2028 USG updates (@2028usgsenate) in order to keep students of the class informed, but would also like to help with the creation of posts for the main USG Instagram page (@fordhamusg). With the help of the Residence Hall Association, Shin would like to put up flyers regarding future USG events within first-year residence halls. In relation to her focus on mental health, Shin has relayed a planned effort to create more relaxing events by collaborating with organizations that perform experiences such as puppy yoga and journaling. A fun fact about Shin is that there isn’t a type of caffeine she has found that seems to affect her, including but not limited to anything from regular coffee to Monster energy drinks.
Shooner hails from Cincinnati, Ohio. While in high school, Shooner was heavily involved in student government, as both an executive board member and as class president. Shooner says that during her time in high school, the student government’s mission was focused on promoting communication, community and belonging within the school environment. She highlights a specific time during her run on student government as successfully submitting a proposal that allowed her school to obtain a resident therapy dog. While she was involved in student government, she had many activities that she participated in outside of school. Shooner was a competitive dancer, balancing her duties within student government with classes and rehearsals five days a week. She is classically trained in ballet, but also has experience in jazz, lyrical, modern and contemporary competitions. Shooner is an active volunteer in her community as well, working closely with an organization called Project Connect to teach swim lessons to groups of children experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati. As a senator, Shooner would like to add on to the mental health practices she implemented in high school. Mainly, she would like to improve access to after work day hours mental health support through collaboration with apps such as BetterHelp. She would also like to further Fordham’s ongoing sustainability efforts by aiding in the transition from single-use plastics to biodegradable options. While these are the specific aspects she would like to promote while senator, she says that her job as senator is to act as a representative for her peers, and she will do what is wanted and for their best interest. When asked, Shooner says that a fun fact about her is that she has a star she named after herself in the Pisces constellation.
Pathak is a New York native who grew up in Long Island. At her high school, Pathak was Model United Nations president and vice president of her school’s literary journal. However, she was very involved in her community outside of her school as a Peers Partner Mentor for one-on-one student tutoring. Pathak has experience in the professional world through the New York Historical Society as a student curator, as well as in the political world by interning in political campaigns. As senator, Pathak has two main goals: to balance resources and to help students decide their majors. For the former, she says she sees quite a bit of resources go into GSB, and not as many go towards FCRH. As senator, Pathak would like to change this by bringing more attention to students in FCRH. As aforementioned, she would like to implement specialized classes for students to get a better understanding and a more in-depth education into their majors earlier on. A fun fact about Pathak is that she is an only child.
Bayas was born and raised in Miami, but her family is originally from Ecuador. At her high school, Bayas was involved in student government, volleyball, track and field and was a member of the National Honors Society. Outside of school, Bayas was a volunteer for many organizations that worked with kids, such as Achieve Miami and Best Buddies, and was also a part of an all girls service club named 20 Little Working Girls. Bayas would like to be engaged in ongoing USG initiatives, but mainly wants her senator position to be focused on communicating and advocating for her peers to USG. Bayas’ fun fact is that she is continuing her volleyball career on the club volleyball team at Fordham.
Shrivastav is from Bangalore, India. During high school, Shrivastav was involved in a multitude of extracurricular activities, in and outside of school. He played for his high school’s varsity soccer team and founded the Business Marketing Club. Outside of school, he completed two internships, one for the finance department of a tech startup and the other as a psychiatric assistant at a hospital. Shrivastav has also published a business research paper in an international journal, and won multiple business, economics and leadership competitions. As senator, Shrivastav hopes to create a platform where students feel not only empowered to share ideas and concerns, but also one where they know something will be done to address them. He wants to enhance the quality of student life by advocating for better resources, organizing initiatives to promote well-being and inclusivity and addressing gaps in communication between students and administration. He plans on accomplishing this by regularly seeking feedback from his peers and staying engaged with campus organizations to make sure all needs are met. A fun fact about Shrivastav is that he can speak four languages.
