Olof Persson will be presiding over the Student Body as the Vice President of Operations (VPO) of the Student Government Association (SGA) for the upcoming 2024 term. He prevailed in recent student elections along with Nicholas Smith, who will be the President of the SGA. The Stute spoke with Persson to hear more about his goals and involvement on campus.
Olof Persson is a computer science student in his third year of study from Houston, TX. He has been an active member of the Stevens community since he joined the Ducks in the fall of 2021.
Persson has certainly made a name for himself during his time here at Stevens. He has been a peer leader and tour guide for multiple semesters, and can often be seen giving tours to prospective students around the campus. He is also a course assistant for CS 442, Database Management Systems. He has spent much of his time with students and faculty, and notes that his passion for student engagement stems from his various encounters with the student body.
Persson is also on the Stevens’ Men’s Tennis Team, where he plays doubles tennis and often side-line coaches singles matches. When asked about what he loves about the tennis team, he told me that he enjoys being able to stay active in college and be part of something bigger than himself. He enjoys the team atmosphere that the tennis team carries, and brings this value into his goals for the Student Government Association (SGA).
To really put Persson’s dedication to the Stevens community over the top, he is also part of the Stute, the very newspaper that you are reading now! As head photographer, he manages photo assignments and works to ensure all the photos used for the Stute website and physical newspaper are properly sourced and credited.
Persson’s role as VPO will not be his first major position in the Student Government Association, as he has served as a senator on the Academic Affairs Committee and Rules Committee, chairing both committees at different points of his career. He has also held a cabinet position before, as he was the Vice President of Academic Affairs as well. Persson was inspired to run for the position of Vice President of Operations (VPO) because of the activities that he took part in over the last couple of years at Stevens. He wanted a more personal role in the expansion of student representation and student voice on campus. He noted that he was encouraged to run by his partner Nicholas Smith, who has very ambitious plans for his term as president. Olof is looking forward to helping Smith achieve his goals, but is also driven to accomplish his own goals. He wants to help facilitate a more welcoming and community-based environment among SGA senators and the Cabinet. During our interview, Olof noted that the members of the Senate are extremely motivated individuals and that oftentimes, business discussion overtakes friendly conversations. He hopes to foster a more dynamic community within the SGA, mainly by opening the organization to more students from Stevens by creating positions that will enable people to participate in the SGA without having the full responsibility that members of the Senate and Cabinet are given.
“I believe in bringing in new voices. We obviously want more senators, but it’s more important to get more people involved,” says Persson.
Olof and Nick’s 2024 term will focus around the theme of community engagement. The pair are pushing and encouraging students who are not currently involved in the SGA to apply for Cabinet positions. This will be the first year where SGA experience will not play a significant role in choosing whether a person will be selected for cabinet. The goal of this new method is to facilitate more Stevens engagement, and allow more people to understand how the SGA works.
“Join the SGA,” Olof said, over Peirce dining hall food. “No matter what role you’ve had on campus before or what you do on campus right now, the SGA plays a part in what you’re doing. We’d love to have new voices and opinions come in to make the most educated decision towards the betterment of the student body.”
