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Leadership Program

Cabinet members of SGA, which consists of the Executive Council, the Executive Staff, the Class Council Presidents, and the committee chairs, attend a Cabinet Retreat during the fall semester. The purpose of this retreat is to review the semester’s achievements thus far and set plans for the rest of the school year. After the retreat, these leaders within SGA are expected to share their goals with other members of SGA and are expected to have a focus for the remainder of the school year.

A limited number of sophomores and juniors within the organization that already display leadership capabilities are selected through an application process to participate in an interactive leadership program. This advanced leadership program is for established student leaders within SGA and consists of a series of workshops and conversations with JMU administration and leaders. Students who complete the series will receive a certificate of completion and will be expected to take on Exec and Staff roles in SGA in future school years.

All new members of SGA are required to attend a series of informational sessions during the first months of the school year to better prepare and educate themselves on the ins and outs of Senate and SGA. These Senator Training and Responsibility Seminars, or STARS, include but are not limited to the following topics of discussion: Parliamentary Procedure, the structure of SGA, roles and requirements of the committees, and effective debate tips. The new members also attend an overnight retreat during which they participate in Plantastic, an interactive training program that runs through every step of event planning, from brainstorming to booking rooms to meeting with administrators. After the series of seminars, new members are expected to be well educated on SGA affairs and be active in Senate and within their committees.