Meet the Candidates

Click the links below to meet the candidates

Polls will be open March 3 at 8am EST to March 5 at 8pm EST.

CAST YOUR BALLOT

Spring 2025 Candidates

  • President & Vice President

    Scroll down to learn about the presidential tickets.

  • Vice President of Finance

    Owen Felder

    I am running for VP of Finance because I want to strengthen our campus community by encouraging greater student involvement. A thriving student body benefits our entire university. I believe that by improving financial transparency, efficiency, and funding for student organizations, we can create more opportunities for everyone to grow and succeed. One of my top priorities, as shown by my work in the position this current year, is increasing financial support for student organizations, ensuring they have the resources to develop, expand, and promote themselves, thereby enhancing campus life. By strategically allocating funds, we can maximize the impact of every dollar, opening new avenues for student engagement. Additionally, I am committed to improving financial transparency and efficiency to establish trust in SGA’s financial decisions and create a foundation for long-term growth. My qualifications align directly with the demands of this role. As an accounting and business analytics major, I have developed strong financial management skills, including maintaining accurate records, presenting reports, and data-driven decision-making. My experience as an analyst for Global Platinum Securities has given me the ability to evaluate organizations and understand what drives success. These experiences, combined with my problem-solving mindset, position me well to serve as a responsible and effective VP of Finance. I am excited about the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on our campus, and I look forward to working with students and organizations to ensure financial resources are used effectively for the benefit of all.

  • Director of Special Programs

    Owen Cranley

    As a Freshman entering University of Dayton there was a whole lot changing with most notably being getting rid of the PATH Point System. While PATH points sometimes could be annoying at the end of the day it gave Dayton a unique view of creating a community at a school. Even if you really didn’t want to go to town hall meetings, participate in RA meetings, or go to a guest speaker event you were more than likely to see someone there that you had a class with or are friends with. With the PATH now gone, that special unity that Dayton had is now gone and it feels like it is pointless to go to town hall or RA meetings without the reward of PATH. As Director of Special Programs it will be my goal to bring back that special unity that Dayton had with PATH. Unity that will help rebuild UD by creating spaces for shared experiences across housing, majors, and clubs. Some ways to bring back this unity are having a UD Unity week or dorm vs dorm/street vs street competitions that would encourage students to engage with each other and allow for a stronger community.

  • Director of Allyship & Outreach

    Khaliah Gorham

    My candidacy is rooted in transparency and real outreach. As Director of Allyship and Outreach, I feel like my work is not done yet. I want SGA to feel accessible and student centered, especially for students who have felt excluded from UD’s culture. I care about making sure people know where change is actually happening and that they have a space to talk about real issues. I want to keep bridging the gap between students and leadership so everyone feels seen and represented.

  • Director of Marianist Involvement

    Nolan Pastore

    I want to continue to be an open resource to all students pursuing a faith life on campus, and continue to help gage student body needs with the assistance of Campus Ministry, the Marianist Family, and the Interfaith Student Council.

  • Director of Academic Affairs

    Ava Mika

    The University of Dayton is a place where anyone is welcome. We're committed to our Marianist values to make everyone feel at home. As Director of Academic Affairs, my goal would be to ensure these values are also displayed in the classroom. We have students who come from a variety of backgrounds, who speak different languages, and engage with various cultures. I have seen firsthand how students struggled to become acclimated to the classroom or were placed at an immediate disadvantage due to the language barrier. Following this, I would like to create a learning environment that fosters growth for all students, no matter what their background may be. I want to advocate for the whole student body to ensure we as a whole are receiving the best education possible. I would do this by listening and connecting with students across campus, taking their needs, and advocating for them within this leadership role.

  • Natural Sciences Representative

    Eric Diskowski

    I have a job as a lab assistant and major in Biology, I want to be able to voice some issues that may occur in that subject. I want to be able to help create an easier voice between the Natural sciences and SGA. I have heard concerns about some equipment and even wanting some more opportunities that could be beneficial to the education of these students and also allow them to advance their careers to be more ready to graduate.

Spring 2025 Presidential Tickets

Gabrielle Davis & Vivian Ahern

Student Government should not feel distant, confusing or inaccessible. Too often we hear questions like “What does SGA actually do?" or “Who do I talk to about this?" When leadership feels unclear, trust weakens. When students feel unheard, involvement declines. We believe it is time to close the gap between students and leadership.

Effective leadership begins with transparency. Students deserve to understand what decisions are being made, why they are being made and how they can influence their outcomes. We will implement consistent communication following SGA Senate meetings, increase visibility of our team’s initiatives and create clearer pathways for students to bring forward concerns and ideas.

Closing the gap also means creating intentional spaces for dialogue. We will host more regular town halls and roundtable discussions involving administration where students can ask direct questions and engage in meaningful conversations. Students deserve a seat at the table – not after decisions are made, but while they are being shaped.

In response to division and misunderstanding across campus organizations, we will prioritize facilitated sit-down conversations between student leaders from different communities. When organizations understand one another beyond assumptions, collaboration becomes possible and conflict becomes growth. A stronger campus begins with stronger relationships.

We are also committed to accessibility in action. Through designated "SGA hours,” including consistent presence in student spaces, we will make ourselves available for open dialogue. Leadership should not require an appointment, it should be approachable.

We want SGA Senate to be a space students feel encouraged to attend, not be intimidated by. Greater engagement strengthens accountability and builds trust in the work being done on behalf of the student body.

Finally, we believe leadership should empower future leaders. When students feel valued and supported, they gain the confidence to pursue their ideas and enact change, even if it's never been done before. By demystifying SGA and increasing student involvement, we hope to inspire more students to see themselves as capable, supported leaders.

Through effective, transparent, present leadership, we can create a campus where every student feels valued and empowered to contribute. To build a more diverse, welcoming and compassionate community, we must close the gap….and that begins with Gabby and Vivian.

Alexa McDade & Alexandra O'Rourke

After our roommates could not tell us who the president of the student body was, we knew we had a problem.

SGA is the link between the student body and the administration at the University of Dayton, but many students do not know who we are or that we even exist. Transparency between UD administration and students has always been a source of contention at this University. Many students want to feel heard by administrators, and many administrators want students to understand the reasoning behind their decisions. It is SGA’s job to be that bridge. To be transparent to administrators about the issues students are facing and transparent to students about the decisions administrators make. Yet, as mentioned earlier, many students don’t even know that SGA is an organization on campus.

We are running on Safety and Transparency. Safety you can feel and transparency you can see.

Safety is a major priority for us on campus. We want to ensure every student feels safe on campus. And this is not the truth for many students. The way to create a safer campus is by facilitating conversation between Public Safety Officers and students and allowing concerns to be heard more often.

Transparency is a major issue on campus. When students do not know who their leaders are or about the Student Government, we have a problem. Through weekly newsletters and setting up a way to communicate directly with elected and appointed officials, such as a campus wide canvas site and more townhall meetings, we will be able to hear issues on campus from students.

We, Alexa and Alexandra, seek safety you can feel and transparency you can see for the Student Body of the University of Dayton.

Vote McDade & O’Rourke