Last Friday's inauguration of the new Marquette Student Government officials marked the beginning of Dan Calandriello's and Kristin Kamm's leadership, and the end of the 2005-'06 term for senators.

Among the senators whose terms have expired are College of Arts & Sciences seniors Alex Hermanny and Beth Feste, the outgoing MUSG president and executive vice president, and College of Communication junior and presidential runner-up Jamie Wu.

Hermanny said the ending of his term as president is "bittersweet." "It's difficult to leave something that you've come to love," he said. "As much as MUSG has been a source of frustration for me throughout the past four years, it's just because I care so much about the organization and what it has the potential to do."

After graduation this spring, Hermanny is planning to enter the Alliance for Catholic Education, a two-year volunteer program offered through the University Of Notre Dame, where Hermanny has been assigned to teach social studies and religion to students at St. Gabriel School in Washington, D.C., while earning a master's in education.

In fall 2008 Hermanny will enroll in Notre Dame Law School after obtaining a deferral of his admission for this fall.

Despite attending law school at a different Catholic university Hermanny said the Marquette student body should have "no worries about where my loyalties lie."

"Nothing could ever come close to what Marquette and the amazing people that make up our community mean to me," he said.

The last MUSG meeting of the 2005-'06 term proved to be an emotional one, with both Hermanny and Wu sharing their thoughts with the all the senators.

"I'm here because of Beth (Feste), she's one of my best friends and has been a great rock for me this past year," Hermanny said.

Wu, the outgoing College of Communication representative on the business and government senate committee, spoke of how she has served from the same chair for three years and how when she thinks of MUSG she "can't help but smile."

"Please remember, you serve the students," Wu said to senators for the current term.

"I have a lot of faith in the people who are leading the organization into the future," Hermanny said. "I know that they, as those who have come before them, will do the best they can with the immense responsibility they have to the student body."

Calandriello said the new administration has its "work cut out for us" following Hermanny and Feste's run.

"Alex and Beth worked on outreach to student organization, building strong ties to major organizations on campus," he said. "They worked hard on getting issues on the radar of administration. We have our work cut out for us if we're going to fill their shoes."

"Beth and I were getting reflective at the end of our terms when we tried to sum up what we wanted to say to the Marquette community … what we came up was simple: thank you," Hermanny said.