MARY FRANCES GARNER
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATiON
Campaign Media COORDINATOR
SGA PRESIDENTial Campaign
Auburn University's Student Government Association (SGA) holds major influence on Auburn's campus and also in the state of Alabama. Many student leaders go on to serve in various positions in local, state and even national politics. That said, the campaigns for these positions carry a great amount of influence. During the week before elections, students lead events, fundraisers and constant discussions for candidates' platforms.
I was in no way an "SGA type of person" in college and typically did not enjoy the campaign process. However, I believe I was chosen to lead campaigns with my market knowledge and outside perceptions.
By my senior year, I had led and won two major campaigns for people I knew well, and I was exhausted. I didn't want to work another one since I wouldn't even be on campus to see the newly elected officials lead the next year. However, I quickly changed my mind when my dear friend, Tyler Ward, asked me to help him with his presidential campaign.
By his junior year, Tyler already had a resume filled with student leader positions that varied from student government to the office of diversity and inclusion. He holds a special balance of being an organized, strong leader and having fun with special interests and hobbies that aren't of a "typical" Auburn student leader. He also isn't afraid to have hard conversations, and he isn't afraid to speak up for himself and for other people who are underrepresented and overlooked at Auburn.
I was honored to serve on his campaign and show the students at Auburn how someone like Tyler really cares, listens and wants change by creating content like graphics and videos and executing project management and delegation through a 400+ team.
Many people, from every walk of life, came up to me during campaign week expressing their admiration for Tyler and their excitement for the possibility of him becoming SGA President. Out of all the campaigns I have worked, I never saw this much positive feedback from students. I also never saw someone's media coverage reach as far as his (my friends from the East and West Coast were telling me how they saw his media pop up on their timelines!). Working on Tyler's campaign is an experience I treasure and will never forget.
SGA VICE PRESIDENTial Campaign
With three different qualified candidates running for the position of SGA Vice President and Auburn's student population reaching over 30,000 students, 2020's election was particularly competitive. As someone who was not historically involved with student government, I learned a great amount about the election process and SGA while bringing a new perspective and "edge" creating the campaign content. Facilitating the media accounts while leading a team of over 400 people and making daily content required superior organizational and leadership skills that were refined in the months prior and the week of the election process. Balancing creativity and practicality was essential in this campaign's success of winning the election.
Examples and details of my work are found below.
EFFECTIVE DESIGN
The candidate wanted the platform's voice to be effective and practical, so being clear and concise to constituents was vital for this campaign's success.
Knowing this, I presented the campaign's details to constituents and did it in a simple, eye-catching way.
VIDEO CONTENT
MISS HOMECOMING CAMPAIGN
At Auburn University, the Miss Homecoming campaign is one of the longest-standing traditions, and like SGA campaigns, it is also incredibly competitive. After rounds of nominations and interviews, five candidates are chosen to run. They then choose a philanthropic organization to campaign for and for one week, they raise money and awareness for that organization. The student body then casts their vote for one candidate. This was my first time participating in an election and its processing. I assisted with content creation for the candidate and helped win the very competitive election.
Examples and details of my work for the campaign are found below.
ENGAGEMENT
I created this graphic on Adobe Photoshop and shared with a team of over 400 people to post on voting day. It creatively reminded supporters and encouraged constituents to vote for the candidate.
It was shared on the campaign's Instagram and Facebook along with personal platforms as well.
This helped the campaign to win with 2,706 votes.
RESULTS
SGA PRESIDENT
Out of the 10,000 voters who casted their votes, Tyler Ward earned 48.5% of those votes, losing by a mere 3% to his competitor. Although we did not get Tyler elected, his influence stretched more than any of his competitors, and he lead Auburn with grace and grit during his last years at Auburn. I was and still am very very proud of our campaign for Tyler's presidency.
SGA VICE PRESIDENT
My candidate, Hays Kassen, won the very competitive week-long campaign. Kassen put extensive thought and work into his platform, and I was happy to see his hard work and the campaign's hard work pay off.
To learn more about the new SGA Vice President and his platform, click here.
MISS HOMECOMING
