Marquette Student Government President Abraham Ortiz Tapia resigned effective immediately during Monday’s meeting.
Ortiz Tapia announced his resignation from MUSG with a bittersweet goodbye. He announced that this senate meeting would be his last, said his goodbyes and read the poem “You are a force of nature.”
“This was not a rash decision at all,” said Ortiz Tapia. “I have loved my time here at MUSG.”
Executive Vice President Adam Kouhel will become the next MUSG president. According to Article XI of the MUSG by-laws, in the event of a vacancy, the executive vice president shall become the president.
Kouhel will appoint the new EVP with two-thirds affirmative vote of the present Senate.
Former President Ortiz Tapia said the move came after reflection and discussion with his peers. He said he was very happy about his team and their support of his decision.
“I’ll be focusing more on my studies,” Ortiz Tapia said. “You have to balance your life. Things were just getting a little heavy and I was getting stretched out.”
Ortiz Tapia is currently a senior in the College of Engineering pursuing his degree in biomedical engineering.
This was Ortiz Tapia’s first year in MUSG.
“In the past, presidents have worked their way up the ladder,” said Legislative Vice President Ricky Krajewski. “It’s good for everyone to see a newcomer get it.”
A somber mood quickly settled in when Ortiz Tapia publicly resigned at the end of MUSG’s weekly full-body meeting. The senate immediately began working toward the future, swearing in now-President Adam Kouhel immediately following the meeting. Kouhel said the swift transition came as a surprise.
“I’m looking to fulfill the promises that (Abe and I) campaigned on,” Kouhel said.
He said his first actions as president will revolve around choosing a new EVP. He will do so with the counsel of the executive board, and he said his priority is to get an EVP with experience as they approach the crux of the budgeting season.
“I’m looking forward to being right there alongside everyone as they make a difference,” Kouhel said.
Kouhel, a junior in the College of Business Administration, began as a student Senator for McCormick Hall. He says he joined MUSG the first week because he wanted to help people.
“As executive vice president, (Adam) had to focus a lot on the internal details,” Senator J.R. O’Rourke said. “Now he’ll have more opportunities to focus on broader goals. Adam has had a lot of big ideas.”
There is a great deal of optimism moving forward for MUSG, although the farewell to the former president will be a hard one.
“Abe puts his whole heart into everything he does,” said O’Rourke.
His plans for the future are not set in stone. Ortiz Tapia said aside from joining the workforce, he is considering joining the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
“(Service) was the most influential part of my Marquette education,” the former president said. “We have to be men and women for others.”
“I’ll miss him,” Krajewski said.
