Sarah Rende, a senior Political Science concentrator from Babylon, Long Island, did not always know she wanted to be SGA President. However, just a few weeks shy of last year’s elections, Rende decided to take a leap of faith and run.

“I actually wasn’t involved in SGA my freshman year,” Rende said. “I ran for Senate sophomore year, and it just kind of took me on this track. I kind of did it because I felt like I could further SGA’s role of doing good things on campus.” 

Since then, Rende has been deeply involved in SGA initiatives. In her time at Colgate, she worked to further develop student executive interactions with administration, faculty and staff. She culminated her efforts in the position of president through what she sees as her greatest accomplishment in the role: improving transparency and accessibility in various aspects of student life on campus.

“It was awesome to be able to interact with so many different entities on campus,” Rende said. “I met so many students I wouldn’t necessarily have been able to meet had I not served in this position. And faculty also, and administrators. It’s good to know what so many people think about Colgate, because that was something that when I entered this year I really wanted to focus on.”

Aside from her involvement in SGA while at Colgate, Rende was a member of the Colgate Activities Board (CAB) her freshman, sophomore and junior year. This year, she is also a member of the Konosioni Senior Honor Society as well as senior class gift committee.

Next year, Rende plans to take her passion for politics to the next level interning for a senator on Capitol Hill, but her true dream would be to work on Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president.

“It would be a great experience and I’m very excited about her as a candidate and her policies,” Rende said. 

Reflecting on her Colgate experience, Rende is pleased with the time she has spent here.

“I love Colgate, so generally I will miss being here,” Rende said. “I will miss the general sense of community. Clearly we have our issues but I think the sense of community is really great. I feel like I can walk anywhere on campus and I feel safe, happy and supported.”

In terms of what she will miss the most, Rende admits it will be her friends. In the four years she has made what she considers to be some of the best friendships, and not being able to spend time with her friends whenever she wants on a daily basis will be quite a new experience for her.

“I’ve been lucky the past four years I’ve lived with my best friends,” Rende said. “I think it’s easy to take for granted living with your best friends, and how fun that is and how easy it is.”