Leadership is something that many students strive for at Temple. Being a high-ranking member in any organization is no easy feat, as any president or vice president could confirm. Lourdes Cardamone and Janeese Hochstetler embody this tale, albeit on a larger scale than most. As President and Vice President of Temple Student Government, they have quite a few responsibilities to tend to.
They campaigned together, naming their team Temple Tomorrow, a call to the university to look towards the future. After a trying campaign period, Temple Tomorrow was elected as the new heads of Temple Student Government. Now halfway through their administration, President Cardamone and Janeese Hochstetler are reflecting.
“It’s been really great to build the team we talked about wanting to create when we were running,” said Cardamone. “I love seeing all these projects come to fruition and… experiencing the scope of the community.”
While both Cardamone and Hochstetler have served in student government before, leading has been an entirely new experience.
“We navigated and transitioned well,” said Hochstetler. “We’ve had access to really great opportunities, especially advocating for our student body.”
This advocacy comes in many different forms. Whether overseeing an initiative or meeting with administrators, Cardamone and Hochstetler work together to ensure that all Temple students have the best possible experience. However, with Temple having over 25,000 students, Temple Tomorrow is stretched thin. To combat this, they find a steady foundation in Temple’s highest levels of leadership
“We get emails and letters from people asking, ‘What are you doing as president, vice president, to help us?’” said Cardamone. “Knowing we have faculty and admin supporting us has been great.”
Looking at their year so far, both Cardamone and Hochstetler recognize the challenges and triumphs that have led them to this point. While certain setbacks, like the cut to SNAP benefits, may not have been caused by their mistakes, they recognize the impact that it had on their administration.
“It was such a dramatic change that impacts so many students, so it did feel like we were a bit stuck on finding ways to support these students,” said Cardamone. “We did our best to work with the Cherry Pantry and work with students in the best way we can.”
But the positives have outweighed the negatives.
“We haven’t really had any big things that have set us back or been disappointing,” said Hochstetler. “If there were any setbacks, I would expect them to be dissolved pretty quickly.”
Passion for leadership has driven Temple Tomorrow’s administration. Taking on a role like this comes with its own set of obstacles, and Cardamone recognized the importance of working through the potential issues.
“Students should be able to feel like their voice is valued, because it is,” said Cardamone. “I want students to know what to do with their voice and where to go and how to amplify it.”
Still, with another semester left, both Hochstetler and Cardamone are excited to see what will come next.
“It’s kind of an out-of-body experience to see a positive change in things that we are trying to implement while we’re here,” said Hochstetler. “I’m glad that we’ve had that impact, especially during our senior year.”