Brian McCormick is looking forward to a big year as UNC Pembroke’s Student Government Association (SGA) president.

The first graduate student to hold that post, McCormick will lead the governing body of the SGA. In addition, he will represent students on the university’s board of trustees and in the UNC Association of Student Governments; he also will attend UNC Board of Governors meetings.

As a student, the Laurel Springs, N.C., native will complete work on a Master of Business Administration degree and serve as a graduate assistant. As a graduate assistant last year, McCormick gave tutorials for student success on the Graduate Management Admissions Test.

His goal for the SGA in 2011-12 is to reinvigorate the organization through greater civic engagement, visibility and, ultimately, more student participation. The bottom line for McCormick is that working on behalf of his fellow students gives him great satisfaction.

“If I had known about the SGA my freshman or sophomore year, I would have joined then,” McCormick said. “I didn’t become involved until my senior year. I had completed my requirements (for graduation) and was looking for something fun and a way to do something useful.”

He liked it so much that he continued his involvement with the SGA as a graduate student. Beginning his sixth year at UNCP, he is more enthusiastic than ever.

“There are gaps between what we should be doing and what we are doing,” McCormick said. “For instance, there are more things we could do in the community.”

To make SGA more effective, McCormick knows he will have to build interest. “I ran for president unopposed,” he said. “It’s better to have healthy competition. When I’m finished, I would like to see competitive elections for every senate position.”

Because he was unopposed in the election, McCormick felt obliged to launch an information campaign about his platform. “I have 10 pages of ideas,” he said. “I have more than I can remember. We wanted people to know what we stood for.”

The new president believes that to build a more effective organization, the SGA will have to be better leaders. “We want more exposure and participation, but the other side is developing our own leadership skills,” McCormick said. “There are several leadership conferences I would like for us to attend.”

SGA and other student activities build personal skills for careers, he believes. McCormick said his career goals are “wide open.” His job coaching UNCP students might lead him into corporate training and development.

A summer work experience at UNCP in green business has also interested him. “I am working for the Environmental Defense Fund on campus,” McCormick said. “Our goal is to save energy at UNCP.”

McCormick has an ambitious plan for a big year, and as a seasoned leader, he believes he has clear and attainable goals. He also mentioned having fun along the way.

For more information about UNCP’s SGA, please contact them at 910.521.6482 or email sga@uncp.edu.