Q: Why do you feel equipped to lead SMU?
A: “I definitely feel that God has equipped me to do this just throughout my life. I became a Christian when I was 18, and I’m 23 now… Everyone began to affirm my leadership and affirm God’s hand on me as far as wanting to study the word and wanting to preach the word. So I definitely think God has equipped me and has affirmed me through other people to be able to take on this role as a new president which is like, I know it has a lot in it and there’s a lot of work and stuff that I’ll have to do, but I definitely feel that this is something that God is calling me to.”
Q: What do you think SMU’s role is? How do you define it?
A: “I feel that SMU has definitely changed from its mission of existing to mobilize [and] to send out students to fulfill the Great Commission. I think we see that displayed on campus because we’re not having too many people apply to go on mission trips anymore. I don’t know if that’s just this year but… last year I was on a team and then I led a trip. Just even getting guys to apply is so hard and challenging. The role of SMU is to send out students, and I think that we do make an effort to that, but we need to make more of an effort.”
Q: Where is SMU falling short now?
A: “Something that they did start this year is making an effort to reach out to a wide variety of students of diversity here on campus, of getting involved and going on trips and stuff. They’ve been in conversations with [Student Enrichment and Intercultural Development] and [Global Student Programs & Development] and trying to figure out ways in which they can get students of color and global students more involved. That’s something that has been on my heart and also a huge reason why I chose to run as well.”
Q: What are some changes you want to bring to SMU?
A: One I want to reshape what we view as missions—the definition. We often reference the Great Commission but I think we miss the key phrase “all nations,” and that includes our own, and I believe that God calls people to go overseas and to be his hands and feet there, but I feel until then, we need to be serving on the daily and leading a missional life daily. I would love to, as far as SMU goes, reshape and re-dissect that Great Commission in a different way… to where what I think what Jesus is really saying is, ‘You need to be doing this daily.’ If you are called to go here and called to go there, that’s really great and that’s really awesome, but it starts with where you are.
Another change I want to do is, I want to figure out how can we put together a system [to help fund] students of low income who don’t have support backgrounds [and] who can’t afford to even fundraise, because we always say they don’t pay out of pocket, which is true, but they [often] do because they don’t have that support background for fundraising. The third and final thing is start sending out some more diverse trips. I would love to somehow get more students of diversity. It’s not excluding anyone, but it’s rather taking what we already have and adding people into that.”
Q: Which departments do you feel you need to expand or strengthen?
A: “We had to recruit an extra week just because [of] the lack of people applying, so that is definitely an area I think we should focus on… I think every department is vital and important but the reason why we have those other departments, the reason why we have SMU is to send out students, and if that’s failing, it’s kind of like, ‘What are we doing here?’”
Q: What have you learned from previous leaders?
A: “I’ve been under so much leadership, so many great guys [and] so many great women, in which I feel something I would want to carry is to be myself. People don’t want a false perception of you, they want the real you. Who am I to not live up to who God made me to be? That’s why for campaigning I’m not doing all the crazy stuff, because that’s not who I am.”
