For the first time in central Louisiana history, the two student body presidents at LSUA and CLTCC have been selected to serve on their respective system board of directors in the same year.
Richard “Ricky” Brazzel at LSUA and Shanco Williams at CLTCC work to ensure students from the entire LSU and CLTCC systems are represented on their respective board of supervisors. They help protect student interests when questions regarding funding, fees, and degree programs are brought before the boards.
Williams is a native of New Orleans who arrived at CLTCC after a 20-year career in the United States Air Force. He is a graduate of Wayland Baptist University in Wichita Falls, Texas with a bachelor’s degree in management. He is currently studying drafting and design at CLTCC with the hopes of joining the Army Corps of Engineers Drafting Department in New Orleans as a veteran.
Brazzel is a senior at LSUA and entering his second term as student body president at the university. He is a history major with a political science minor and intends to attend law school following graduation in May 2020.
Both students were selected earlier this year and will serve one-year appointments.
“It’s a major honor to be selected to represent over 50,000 students from across the system, from our undergraduate, graduate and medical schools on the LSU Board of Supervisors. It’s a responsibility that I don’t take lightly. I represent them while listening and making sure they are heard,” says Brazzel.
For Williams, serving on the Louisiana Technical Community College Board of Supervisors means learning and understanding the process of how the colleges strategic business gets formulated and carried out to where those decisions impact two-year technical colleges across the state.
“Being elected to serve on the LCTCS Board allows me to interpret data in order to make informed decisions and vote with the students best long-term interest in mind,” says Williams.
Williams was elected to the board as one of two student positions from the membership composed of the student body presidents of the community college system. The process is similar to Brazzel who was elected to the LSU Board of Supervisors by the council of Student Body Presidents, a group of all public university student body presidents from across Louisiana.
Both the LCTCS Board and the LSU Board of Supervisors are composed of members from throughout the state who are appointed by the governor with Senate approval.
“The board consists of amazing leaders from across the state and at the highest levels of their individual professions with a love for the state and LSU. It’s a blessing and an honor to have the opportunity to build relationships with them and learn from them,” says Brazzel.
Of course, both Williams and Brazzel also have to continue to lead their respective student bodies while serving on the state level at the same time.
Williams says serving as student body president at CLTCC means being there for the student community at all times. “Being student body president is advocacy on behalf of students for all things pertaining to student actions and being the first line of contact for resolving or elevating issues to the administrative channels,” says Williams.
Serving as a two-term SG president at LSUA, Brazzel says his focus is the ensure that there is a bridge between students and administration and that the student voice is heard.
“My goal for this year is not only to advocate for students, but also to empower them. I want students on campus and across the state to realize they don’t have to wait on the men and women in government positions to make a change. Students have the ability, if unified, to initiate the change they want to see,” says Brazzel.