DeFalco and Hemme Rely on Experience to Lead SGA

Student Body President Amanda DeFalco ‘24 (right) and Vice President Mia Hemme ‘24 (left). Credit: Hannah Tone ‘26.

What initially started as an inside joke between two friends ended with Amanda DeFalco ‘24 and Mia Hemme ‘24 being elected Student Body President and Executive Vice President to lead Marist College’s Student Government Association.

“We joked about it,” said Hemme. “And then maybe two weeks before elections started, it was brought back up, also as a joke.”

DeFalco and Hemme have entered their respective positions with ample experience in SGA, yet they only seriously considered running for office in the 11th hour. Launching a full campaign for the SGA presidency began as a funny bit while serving in subordinate SGA roles over the past year.

Amid their humorous notions, the pair eventually realized they were onto something.

“We were just making jokes about us being at the front of the room presenting, and then it developed into us being like, ‘we have all these great ideas, and we would love the opportunity to voice them,’” said DeFalco. “And that just led to us deciding to run together.”

The lack of forethought behind launching a campaign should not be mistaken for a lack of experience or ideas. DeFalco served as the Chief Communications Officer for SGA over the past two years, while Hemme started in a mental health advising position before becoming the Vice President of Student Well-Being in 2022.

With DeFalco and Hemme each specializing in different sectors of student government, they created a multi-faceted campaign platform in short order. Things came together quickly, with a productive all-nighter resulting in a platform based around three pillars: Community, communication and holistic wellness. 

The first pillar, community, was essential to both seniors, who saw firsthand how the College’s sense of community shriveled up during their pandemic-ridden freshman year. The second and third pillars, communication and holistic wellness, were each a byproduct of DeFalco and Hemme’s unique backgrounds in SGA. 

For DeFalco, spending the past two years as the SGA’s Chief Communication Officer gave her a far greater sense of the importance of communication. She facilitated much of the SGA’s communication from many different sectors to the student body and employed numerous tactics to do so. These include making graphics for SGA social media accounts, spreading messages through flyers and mass emails, managing a newsletter and numerous other tasks.

This experience parlayed itself into multiple ongoing communication-oriented initiatives the new administration has prioritized, such as starting a dialogue between the new Gourmet Food provider and students with concerns, as well as communicating with the College’s new laundry provider to convey student feedback.

DeFalco’s background was also vital in helping the pair get elected in the first place. She credits her communication and digital media background for giving her the creativity and advertising skills necessary to sell other students on the administration’s ideas.

“I would say that I had leverage when it came to campaigning because I am a [public relations] major, and I study campaigning,” said DeFalco. “I was taking a campaigning class, so I knew all the communication tactics to help us succeed.”

Hemme’s experience spearheading mental health initiatives on campus has been just as influential as DeFalco’s background in communication. As the VP of Student Well-Being, Hemme “brought mental health to the SGA stage,” resulting in the campaign’s third pillar: holistic wellness. 

As her past title suggests, Hemme worked on anything related to improving the well-being of students. Common tasks for her included connecting isolated students with counseling through meet-and-greets, spreading the word about Title IX and health services resources, and launching initiatives designed to destigmatize mental health issues.

Hemme’s past work has also had a sizable impact on the administration’s current actions. The administration has initiated weekly meetings with VP and Dean of Student Affairs Deborah DiCaprio to start a conversation about excused mental health days for students. They have also begun addressing the concerns of students negatively impacted by the lack of face-to-face interaction when ordering food from the new provider.

“It was important to me to still mirror those student concerns and connect students while in a bigger role where we have a little bit more say over how much [the administration] should try to push certain mental health initiatives on campus,” said Hemme.

Working together and fusing ideologies has been an easy adjustment despite having two separate backgrounds. The two have been friends since their freshman year, giving them a sense of familiarity with each other from the start. Additionally, DeFalco’s previous department was designed to work across sectors, leading to frequent collaborations with Hemme’s mental health department in the past.

The duo has gone all-in on merging their roles, with Hemme noting that they have a shared to-do list that sees them split tasks “50-50.” Although the list of responsibilities technically falls under the president’s purview, DeFalco and Hemme have chosen to run SGA in unison, frequently picking up the slack for one another when needed. 

“People are talking to both of us when they talk to one of us,” said Hemme.

The most significant entity aiding them in implementing change is their executive board, which both leaders cited as key to the administration’s success. DeFalco and Hemme spent many hours last semester whittling down a pool of over 45 applicants to a 16-member cabinet as they sought candidates with strong leadership qualities who could connect with students without needing to be micromanaged.

Each cabinet member focuses on running their own department while also attending assembly meetings and voting on club charters, position appointments and SGA bills. DeFalco and Hemme specifically mentioned the impact of multiple new appointees; New VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Krystyna Lubrano ‘24 has already focused on arranging for guest speakers to come to Marist, Chief Information Officer Jumin Shrestha ‘25 has handled technology concerns on Brightspace and ClubDash, and Director of Elections Carly Malfatto ‘24 has led the Class of 2027 Elections.

While DeFalco and Hemme believe things have mostly run smoothly, there have been a few hiccups along the way. 

“It’s not so much roadblocks as it is just everything is probably a lot more complex than students would probably think,” said Hemme. “Something as simple as one maintenance concern may include three different departments.”

With the fall semester just getting underway, the administration hopes to continue executing and expanding upon their initiatives, all while appreciating the journey that led them here in the first place.