The senate apprenticeship program application recently opened this semester for all first-time freshmen interested in the Student Government Association, creating an opportunity for them to become more involved on campus and adjust to the Marshall community. 

The apprenticeship is designed to teach all members what the senators and executive chairs do. 

As Olivia Moncada, coordinator for the apprenticeship program, said, “We teach them the functions of all of our committees, and they all serve on different aspects of the senate.”

When students first start out as an apprentice, they can’t vote, but they can still be involved with group meetings, socials, retreats, events and the weekly agenda. 

“At first, they are required to do eight hours of community service and 10 office hours in the SGA office and, once they graduate to interim senators, that changes to 10 community service hours and 18 office hours,” Moncada said.

During the apprenticeship, students involved must also do one lesson a week with an assignment. After that semester, students involved then have the opportunity to graduate to an interim senator.

The apprenticeship program allows all students involved to understand SGA policies and requirements more in depth while also giving them a sense of belonging in their freshmen year, interim senator Rachel Pauley said. 

“SGA allowed me to become comfortable with Marshall in my freshman year,” Pauley said. “I learned to find my voice with SGA and that’s probably the best part.” 

The apprenticeship application will be open for one more week and is open to all first time freshmen who meet the requirements. Students who are interested in joining should visit the SGA Herdlink at https://herdlink.marshall.edu/organization/sga or the SGA Instagram page for more information.