After a competitive week-long election to fill the Residence Hall Association (RHA)’s five executive positions, RHA leaders announced the results at Monday night’s Senate meeting in Greiner Hall.
The winners — Madison Nitsche, Kartik Vishwasrao, Jada Mowatt, Kevin Boasiako and Daniel Chu — will take the reins of an organization that represents nearly 7,500 on-campus residents across 17 residence halls and apartments.
Members of the executive board receive stipends that cover most of their housing costs.
President: Madison Nitsche
Nitsche, the only member who has previously served on the executive board, is RHA’s president-elect. Despite running unopposed, her victory still “felt surreal,” she said Monday night. She credited last year’s executive board with creating transition guides, saying they will allow the new e-board to “hit the ground running” this summer.
She told The Spectrum last week that she aims to cultivate a positive culture of open communication, collaboration within RHA and beyond, and connectivity between residence halls.
Vice President of Leadership Development: Kartik Vishwasrao
As RHA’s second-in-command, Vishwasrao aims to raise RHA’s profile on campus and “bring RHA more to the people” by promoting the group’s leadership events and community activities, he said in an interview last week.
Jada Mowatt, left, and Madison Nitsche spoke with The Spectrum after results were announced Monday night.
Vice President of Engagement: Jada Mowatt
Mowatt says her victory in this race, the most competitive one, came as a surprise.
“I was so excited — I did not expect it, honestly,” she said after results were announced Monday night. “I screamed when I saw the email.”
She aims to reach out to residents through surveys to better understand their needs, and to break through the “fragmented” division of hall councils and encourage increased collaboration, she said last week.
Vice President of Finance: Kevin Boasiako
Speaking to The Spectrum last week, Boasiako stressed the importance of events in keeping residents engaged. As Vice President of Finance, he will help hall councils purchase supplies and keep their budgets in order.
“My goal for this position is to increase or improve my leadership role skills,” Boasiako told The Spectrum last week. “Even though I am in a similar position [on the Spaulding Hall Council], the VP of Finance is on a bigger scale, in terms of actually making sure the budget for every residence hall is accounted for, as well as that the data given matches up in terms of the financial side of things.”
Vice President of Communications: Daniel Chu
Chu ran unopposed. As Vice President of Communications, he will promote RHA and individual council events and manage the organization’s social media accounts.
Sol Hauser is the senior news editor and can be reached at sol.hauser@ubspectrum.com.
