Herald Staff
Through correspondence with Gib Shea ‘22, the newly elected Hobart class president as of October 2018, I was able to gain a greater perspective about his background, as well as his outline for the future of the class.
As a student and active community member, Gib talked about the different roles he plays on campus, as well as his past roles that encouraged his current involvement. Coming from Danbury, Conn., which is also where he attended school, he was involved with volunteer firefighting and the EMS program. With goals of working in emergency management, public health, or public safety, he is planning on studying geoscience and other healthcare-related fields. He also works as a student worker for HWS sports medicine, to supplement his passion for healthcare. In terms of his reasoning for initially running for Hobart Class of 2022 president, as well as his decision to run once the position was up for re-election, he shared his thoughts.
“I initially decided to run because of the passion I gained for student government during my time at Wooster School in Danbury, … where I served as Senior Prefect (aka, student body president) for my senior year. It was this life-changing experience that made me want to continue to pursue and serve in important positions that student government offer. In fact, Hobart offering student government in the capacity that it does was one of the deciding factors in my matriculation to the colleges.”
With regards to his philosophy on campaigning and peer outreach, Gib shares a rather direct and grassroots approach.
“Class presidents have traditionally used emails to convey updates and gather information. I plan on doing this too, but also talking person to person, as I did with campaigning. Hearing what the student body wants is a joint effort, as learning from those who are affected by the change and want change is essential for positive advancement.”
Through this person-to-person approach, Gib has heard from students and plans to combat many of these challenges in his new position. Such challenges include the development of more appealing parking for first-years, class merchandise, holiday gifts, and food delivery services to residence halls. “All of which is actively in the works,” he added.
Gib also made sure to plug the upcoming winter-themed party hosted by all class presidents happening this Friday, Dec. 7. This party, coined FROZONE, will be hosted in the Barn and have free food, hot chocolate, apple cider, and the much anticipated “Stuff-a-plush” activity.
In closing, Gib made sure to stress that anyone can reach out to him at fclasspresidents@hws.edu or gib.shea@hws.edu for more information on projects, or to talk about an idea you have to make HWS better for all.