Gaining valuable experience by listening to the student body and effecting change
An accounting major with a computer science minor, Sam Ramos ’24 began the academic year as student body president.
“I want to continue championing for our students, because I care a lot about students’ experiences at Messiah and about students advocating for themselves. I want to be that bridge for students and administrators to gain a common understanding that we all want to make the Messiah community a better place,” said Ramos.
His favorite part of the job is talking to students, hearing their concerns and then doing something about it.
“I love people,” he said. “I love sitting down, grabbing coffee and having conversations with people.”
In his past SGA positions, he worked on posting wage rates for on-campus jobs and reforming visitation hours. During his presidency, he plans to work on several projects: providing free feminine hygiene products in academic buildings, a campus-wide Sabbath and strengthening clubs. “Clubs make the community that we have here at Messiah,” he said.
The association can do its job only if students speak up about what is broken around them or what needs to be changed. Referencing the story of Nehemiah, Ramos advises the student body to identify these broken walls. “If you can’t advocate for yourself, go to SGA and we will advocate for you. Don’t be scared. We are here to advocate for you or represent you so you can have everything you need to thrive as a community at Messiah,” he said.
The hardest part of his job is saying “no.” He assures the student body that he and SGA value the students and their concerns.
“SGA has a very important place at Messiah, because we are the heart of advocacy for students. We are the touchpoint for students with a lot of the administrators, and anything that students care about is what we care about and what we do. I love doing what I am doing because we create the culture that is on campus, and I think that we are all here for the sake of building a good Christian community that eventually goes and builds a better world,” he said.
With in-class experiences, internships and the connections he has made at Messiah, Ramos says he feels prepared for his future career in accounting.
—Emily Groff ’26