When Clinton Oreofe first came to Boston from his hometown of Houston, Texas, in high school for a debate tournament, he said he was instantly drawn to the blue and gold banners of Suffolk University.
“The marketing definitely got me for sure,” Oreofe remarked. From that point on, he said the decision of committing to Suffolk was a no-brainer. During his first year at the university, he served as a Student Government Association senator and the president of Miller Hall Council.
Now entering his junior year, Oreofe was elected to serve as president of SGA for the upcoming academic year and said he can’t wait to throw himself headfirst into the organization and connect with the student body.
Oreofe served as SGA treasurer this past year, and credits former SGA President Angela El Jazzar with giving him the incentive and resources to get involved in the organization freshman year.
“[El Jazzar] worked really well with the hall council, we did a couple of events together,” he said. El Jazzar suggested he go to SGA to increase awareness of the hall council’s events, and from there Oreofe said it just clicked.
For Oreofe, the people of SGA make the organization special. As student senators, members of SGA are often expected to interact with faculty and administration, which Oreofe admitted could be nerve-wracking.
“But, if you have people in the room with you that are also in similar situations as you — same age, same grade, going through the same situations and you got to do the same thing on the weekends — then you know that it’s a lot easier for the nerves and the anxiety to not be there,” said Oreofe.
He added that SGA’s events were a highlight for him, saying they were “the best events on campus.”
As president, Oreofe wants to continue to expand SGA’s reach and inclusive atmosphere. Even if someone is not an official member of the Senate, Oreofe said, their participation goes a long way.
“Even if you’re not in the Senate, your involvement in SGA is going to run deep regardless, just because of the fact that you are a student at Suffolk,” he said.
However, he added that with the number of clubs on campus, it’s understandable that not every student can commit to a weekly meeting, but creating a diverse and welcoming atmosphere will give anyone a chance to get involved and make their voices heard, whether or not they can attend every week.
“I want to give [students] the reason to be involved because people [can be] really silent, they don’t voice their opinions and they don’t tell people the issues that they have,” Oreofe said. “But if they know that this is an inclusive space that they can do that in, we’re going to be able to be the best organization on campus without a doubt.”
Oreofe also wants to foster community within SGA’s E-board: Vice President Grace Kane, Treasurer Matthew Lee and Secretary Julia Karwacki. He said his E-board counterparts have worked tirelessly since joining SGA, and he is excited to work with them as student leaders.
“The amount of happiness that we get out of just being together and knowing that we work well together is going to reflect in our Senate, and the Senate is going to be inspired by the leaders that they see,” he said.
Outside of SGA, Oreofe is an orientation specialist and a McNair Scholar.
To Oreofe, being SGA president is more than just a hobby on campus. Furthering student advocacy on campus, cultivating leadership and consistently pushing for inclusivity at Suffolk are all part of the mark he hopes to leave on Suffolk.
“In all honesty, my biggest goal is just to set an example for the future generations. Because at the end of the day, I’m only going to be president for a specific amount of time. What happens after that is definitely more crucial to the legacy that I create,” said Oreofe.
SGA meets every Thursday during the academic year during activities period. Oreofe encouraged students who are interested to reach out to SGA’s Instagram @suffolksga.
