Demetria Anderson, director for campus activities and student involvement, took the new role of advising the senate this year, attending the Marquette University Student Government meeting Sept. 10.
Former senate adviser Jennifer Reid, director of student affairs assessment, communication and student government, will now only advise the executive board.
MUSG President Meredith Gillespie said after Reid received her doctorate in the spring, she started taking on other responsibilities for the university.
“(Anderson) cares so much about students, and you can just tell by interacting with her,” Gillespie said. “I think she’ll be a positive influence on senate, especially for people who are coming in as newcomers. I think she’ll be a good resource for them.”
While she spent her career working in higher education, this is Anderson’s first year at Marquette.
Her other responsibilities at the university include organizing various activities for students, such as the Late Night Marquette events put on by MUSG, and working with sororities and fraternities around campus.
“I am excited to be with (MUSG) — to be someone to guide them through the different struggles they might have as they are still a student organization,” Anderson said.
Since Anderson will be advising the senate, she will be working closely with legislative vice president Dan Brophy.
“I think Demetria (Anderson) is going to fit really well in senate,” Brophy said. “She gives off the vibe of being a really calming presence to have around. Sometimes when there’s a lot of student leaders around, there’s conflict because we all have different opinions on what to do. It’s really good to have someone there like Jen (Reid) or Demetria (Anderson) to calm everyone down and keep everyone on the right track.”
In addition to her role advising the senate, Anderson is also the adviser to executive vice president Valerie Del Campo.
“With her being my adviser, it’s a lot of her checking in on me and making sure I’m doing the work that I need to do,” Del Campo said. “Because a lot of the responsibilities of the executive vice president revolve around funding, that’s mainly what we focus on.”
The funding projects Del Campo and Anderson will be working on reflect the university’s commitment to increasing diversity, Del Campo said.
“I think one goal in regard to funding is looking into the whole process in general and how we can make it better,” Del Campo said. We want to make the university a more diverse place, and that’s a good place to look for funding. There are a lot of underrepresented groups on campus we might not be able to reach right now or might not know about funding.”
Anderson said she has always had an affinity for student government, which has influenced her career choices.
“I was a student government leader when I was in undergrad,” Anderson said. “That was one of the pivotal points that helped me identify with wanting to work in higher education as a student affairs professional.”
She said she hopes to use her undergraduate experience in advising MUSG this year.
“This year, going into my second year being on staff at Marquette, it was really exciting to have the opportunity to come back to my roots,” Anderson said. “Working with student government leaders is always an exciting experience because those are the students who really have the opportunity to make a change on their campus.”
Del Campo said Anderson is a reassuring presence in MUSG.
“She is really good at listening to any issues that you have,” Del Campo said. “She always has really good advice to give.”
This year, Anderson said she is choosing to take an approach that is more about guiding the senate toward its goals instead of instructing the Senate.
“As an adviser I don’t tell them what to do, but I listen, serve as a resource, make sure they are aware of the different areas related to their platform and the different resources on campus or in the community that are related to their platform,” Anderson said.
While Anderson has only been advising MUSG for a month, Gillespie, Brophy and Del Campo said they are excited for what is to come.
“She knows how to work through things,” Brophy said. “I think she’s going to be a really good person for senators to talk to if they have a problem inside or outside of student government. It’s always great to have a person like that around.”
