Tia Smart’s first experience in Student Government was through the UF Freshman Leadership Council during her first year at UF.
After heavy involvement and experience with cabinets in Student Government, the 22-year-old is running for Student Body vice president along with running mates Joseph Michaels for Student Body president and Hadar Azari for Student Body treasurer.
The UF political science senior and first-generation college student grew up in Fort Myers as one of six siblings.
After FLC, she moved on as SG director of internal communications from Summer 2012 to Spring 2013. She later became SG Leadership Division Cabinet chairwoman, where she oversaw seven cabinets and was awarded Cabinet Chairperson of the Year.
Smart took time off from SG to focus on academics and internships, so she does not currently hold any positions. She said she broadened her perspective of government while interning with Sen. Bill Nelson in summer 2012 and Congressman Ted Yoho in fall 2014.
Smart said if she were elected as Student Body vice president, she would work to bridge the gap between cabinets and the Student Body.
“I feel like there’s a huge disconnect at this moment, and I want to bring back cabinet to its original purpose, and that’s for the students,” she said.
Cabinet is a segment of SG that breaks down into three divisions and 19 departments categorized by different areas of campus life, such as LGBT affairs, leadership development and Innovation Academy. The departments work with student organizations within their category to increase outreach and help organize events. The Student Body vice president oversees the divisions and departments.
Smart said she has seen Cabinet at its best and worst throughout her time in SG.
She said if elected as Student Body vice president, she would focus on organizing Cabinet and making it more useful for students.
“I want to make cabinet back to the students,” she said.
She said she feels the branch has lost its purpose, so she wants to create more diverse events to integrate into student life.
“I feel that if you’re a passionate leader, that will come out to the students,” she said, “and you’ll have more successful events and successful talks with the students.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/20/2015]
Tia Smart is running to be UF's student body vice president as a member of Swamp Party.
