Letter to Incoming Students, From President of Student Senate

By Reese Harrison, Guest Contributor

I hope everyone enjoyed the break.

It’s going to be a fast and intense term as we have a shorter semester due to skipping spring break. This means that everyone should take good care of themselves and get the support they need to manage stress levels. HVCC Counseling and Wellness Services are here to help! Students should feel free to take advantage of their many services such as one-on-one counseling or wellness support meditation.

For classes, there are four learning centers that will help you with school work as well as the Center for Academic Engagement which offers coaching to help you succeed.  We also have great help from the Center for Career and Transfers and wonderful library services. The CAAT office is there for students with disabilities and has been a major factor in my own success.  All of these offices and many more will help you achieve your goals so don’t hesitate to reach out. Here is the link to connect with them: https://www.hvcc.edu/studentservices/index.html

Mitigating stress also entails connecting with your fellow students. Student government and elections are a great way to get involved with campus life, even remotely.  There are a lot of valuable transferable personal skills and experiences to be gained from student government participation such as teamwork, project implementation, and administrative skills that you can take with you into the world of work and/or higher education.  Perhaps the best part of it, though, is that you get to meet and work with other students which we all really appreciate now more than ever!

The Student Senate meets every Monday at 3 pm. All are welcome to attend. We have several freshmen and senior senate positions available for this semester. Elections for next year’s executive board and senate positions also occur this semester. Anyone interested in running is encouraged to come to the senate meetings.  Here is the Zoom link: https://events.hvcc.edu/event/student-senate-meeting-24/

There is another way to participate in the campus community that I want to mention.  It offers students the opportunity to gain experience and expertise on certain topics while growing their interpersonal, teamwork, and administrative skills, and they also have input as to how the college is run without running for office.  Curious yet?  Committee membership!  There are many committees on campus that would 

like to have students represented.  For example, Open Educational Resources Committee and the Student Life Committee.  Feel free to contact me to discuss further: r-harrison4@hvcc.edu.

For fun and engagement, look out for future announcements, giveaways, upcoming club fairs, and an upcoming Covid-19 Town Hall on the Student Activities Calendar https://www.hvcc.edu/studentservices/index.html and our social media page: https://instagram.com/vikingsofthevalley?igshid=1jn5m1x3u12sw

The Student Senate, myself included, are here to work for you, so don’t hesitate to contact me with any concerns, suggestions or to just say, “Hi”; r-harrison4@hvcc.edu

Be Bold Vikings!

Reese Harrison

Student Senate President

Student Trustee