Hi everyone! My name is Sohini Kundu and I am a sophomore majoring in Financial Economics with minors in Public Administration and Political Science. I am a Sondheim Scholar and a member of the Honors College and I am incredibly happy to be running for Vice President of Student Organizations (VPSO) in the upcoming SGA elections.

Currently, I am a Resident Assitant (RA) in Harbor Hall and the Director of Organizational Affairs on the current VPSO’s, Student Organization Support (SOS) Team. I plan to use my experience being on the Finance Board and the SOS Team to create consistency and transparency within the SOS Team on the SGA. My goal is to aid and support Student Organizations in any way that they need and serve as a catalyst for strengthening the UMBC community.

Experience: My experience as a Finance Board Representative and the Director of Organizational Affairs on the SOS Team will enable me to advise student organizations through the Finance Board processes and the SGA community. I believe that it is important for student organizations to have strong group dynamics so I will act as a mediator for student organizations. I strive to help create connections amongst student organizations and will serve as an intermediary in introducing organizations to one another.

Transparency:When I tell people that I am running for VPSO, I get asked- "What is that?" This question signifies the lack of transparency that is currently associated with the SGA. I would like to help create transparency between the SGA and the student organizations on campus so I can relay information on initiatives but also talk to organizations about their needs. To make myself more available to Student Organizations, I plan on hosting open office hours for not only the VPSO, but also the whole SOS team. I will also work with Student Life to create a newsletter that will highlight student organizations on campus, advertise events that student organizations will be hosting or attending, and also speaking out about the initiatives that the SOS team will be working on throughout the year so interested parties can join and offer their input.

Consistency:I was a part of the SOS team so I will be able to bring the initiatives that are in the works this year to fruition next year. I plan to work closely with the Athletics Department and the SOS team to increase student turnout and enhance student spirit at Athletic Events. I will also continue working on an initiative to bring a card reader system to UMBC so that when student organizations have fundraisers, they will be able to accept credit cards as well as cash. I have already started but I will continue to find and create practice spaces for performance organizations so that they can get the most out of their practices. These are just some of the initiatives that I have taken on this year, but I am looking forward to working on even more projects next year!

I am running with and supporting some other amazing candidates who are also candidates in the upcoming election. Sara Kim, a candidate running for Treasurer, and I worked together on the Finance Board. I know that because of her passion for UMBC and her incredible work ethic, she is a great candidate for the Treasurer position. I also believe that Trent Bae, Meghna Bhatt, and Ankush Manchanda are amazing candidates for the Finance Board because they want to develop relationships between student organizations to help further and better the UMBC community.