Kaila Menard, class of 2024 Secretary

Sydney Anderson

She/Her

Staff Writer

9/25/23

Here at Plymouth State, amongst the masses of skiers, campers, and nightlife enthusiasts, there are sparks of passion regarding leadership and change. Student Government Association’s Class of 2024 Secretary Kaila Menard is a prime example of the will of PSU students to bring positivity and difference to our campus community.

Why did you run for Class of 2024 secretary?

I got really involved really quickly last semester. I was helping out with SGA events, and I’m really passionate about helping people and making an impact. I’m involved with ACS [American Cancer Society] on campus as well, and this is the type of work I really enjoy doing and am interested in doing in the future once I graduate.

What do you plan on doing while you’re secretary?

A big part of my job is obviously senior duties, senior week, getting all that stuff going. I really want to make a memorable senior year, especially because my class, our freshman year was [during] Covid, so 2020 – 2021, we didn’t have a great time. So, making sure we end on a really high note. I also really want to emphasize mental health in the campus community as a whole, which I know is a big push for student government in general right now and is something I really want to be in the front lines of. The creation of a new wellness center, and additional funding going towards the counseling center. We’re creating a new wellness center. It’s going to have the health center in it, and campus safety. The counseling center isn’t going to be put there because of campus safety. We’re working on finding a bigger space for the counseling center, and have allocated money to help fund that. We’re very excited about that. Really, focusing on mental health for students and getting people to access the care that they need, especially considering this is a rural area, and there’s only so many options for mental health care.

What are your biggest tasks as secretary?

One of my biggest tasks is… class captain, senior activities. Next week we’re going to be opening our committees… I’ll be given a subsection of the general student senate responsibilities to focus on. I don’t know which one I’m gonna be on yet. As a member of the general board, we vote on a bunch of issues ranging from emergency funding for clubs, and different sorts of issues that affect students, and we also do consultations with different campus stakeholders, and the USNH system reps as a whole. So, my primary focus right now is definitely the class of 2024 stuff, and most of the duties of a regular secretary. 

Have you held this position or any similar ones in the past?

This is my first time in student gov. I’m very new.  I would say I’ve done kind of similar types of duties before, with my involvement with the American Cancer Society. I’m also a part of the Cancer Action Network, which is outside of Plymouth. I’ve gone to leadership summits and met with leaders in the American Cancer Society to talk about revolutionizing their approach to Generation Z, and Generation Alpha… being able to connect with my demographic better. So when it comes to that kind of communication, fundraising, event planning, I’ve done that type of stuff before off-campus with the American Cancer Society. 

What do you think the most important issues on campus are for you?

Hands down, student safety and mental health are hands down the most important. Making sure– I personally have always felt really safe on campus here, I think our location is a part of that- but making sure we really keep that going, like working on getting more blue phones, and other types of issues like that. Expanding mental health resources for students, especially because our services here are free, and for students from a lower socioeconomic background, which Plymouth State does have a lot of. We definitely serve a good portion [of] New Hampshire that’s on the Pell Grant, and those free services can be life-changing. So really making sure that we work on destigmatizing that, making sure that kids have access, and that the care is quality.

 What other clubs and organizations are you involved in on campus? 

American Cancer Society on campus, I’m the treasurer for that organization. I’m also in Delta Zeta, I’m a member of that sorority. So, Student Government, DZ, and ACS on campus are my major activities I do here at Plymouth.

Do you think that there could be any conflicts of interest with you being titled or a member of those other clubs and organizations?

Sometimes it might happen, especially when we go to allocations at the end of the year, but in those cases, I wouldn’t sit in on those. If there’s any issues relating to my other clubs that are brought before the Student Senate, I would just abstain from voting. So, I would not participate in that aspect. 

Additionally, Menard encouraged students to drop in on SGA meetings, which occur every Monday night at 7pm.