When we talk about the end of the semester, most people immediately think about summer break and graduation. For 10 Doane students, the end of the semester means preparing to serve Doane through leadership and campus involvement.
On April 25, the Student Congress elected 10 students to serve as STUCO senators for the 2025-26 school year. These students are junior Will Dawes, freshman Derek Silva, sophomore Carly Rains, freshman Harrison Sjuts, junior Devin Avedissian, freshman DaMarcus Cannon, junior Brayden Boehle, freshman Lauren Maly, freshman Mariah Tessman and freshman Rylee DeVaughn. With over 300 votes and razor-thin margins, according to STUCO, this one was one of the tightest races for STUCO senate.
For some of these students, this is an opportunity for them to impact Doane and propose changes that they feel are necessary for the campus. For others, they were seeking reelection in hopes of contributing more to Doane and their legacy of leadership.
“I hope to continue building on all of the hard work that we put into Student Congress this year,” junior Brayden Boehle said. “I believe we are coming off of one of our most successful years to date in terms of event attendance, participation, and overall excitement, and hope to keep that going. I feel as though some of the entry-level leadership positions I have held have established a framework of my leadership and allowed me to lead others positively and efficiently. I hope to create a space where all students feel the desire to be involved in a club or organization on campus that truly interests them.”
For Boehle, getting reelected allowed him to continue the work he is doing in STUCO, as he formerly worked as STUCO treasurer and is expected to take on even more responsibility both within STUCO and on campus. For others, it’s also about serving the student body and helping guide the university to a place that’s best for students.
“We as a cohort will focus on issues within our grasp that we can handle as effectively and efficiently as possible,” junior Devin Avedissian said. “As long as we keep addressing problems and concerns we hear from students and make a proactive effort to fix these, Doane will keep becoming a better place.”
Both Boehle and Avedissian are long-standing members of STUCO, both serving on STUCO for multiple years, and are finishing their time at Doane, continuing the work they started. Both senators hope to provide the leadership experiences they’ve acquired with a new batch of students and be that guiding force for the university, in hopes that it will inspire a new batch of student leaders.
“I chose to run for STUCO again because the group feels like a family of leaders always helping you become a better person while making a difference around campus,” Avedissian said. “Doane has offered me plenty of leadership opportunities to keep me prepared and to strive in this position.”
All of the senators, both returning and new, are being refreshed or instructed on what their campus responsibilities will be and what the future of STUCO will look like in the 2025-26 school year.
