Last year, senior Mallory Hiefield set a goal for herself, a goal she would chase after with hard work and determination.
Her goal to become the new Undergraduate Student Senate President was accomplished when she was elected last spring.
Although it is her final year at Pacific University, Hiefield does not have plans to slack off or take it easy as the new president.
She says she is ready and has plans to make a lasting and positive impact on the school.
Hiefield, who is an Oregon native, originally looked out of state for colleges before she found Pacific.
The smaller class sizes with more personalized learning capabilities, Pacific’s sports program and the school’s close proximity to her home on the outskirts of Portland, were the determining factors that convinced her to become a Boxer.
Now, as she enters her final year at Pacific, Hiefield will continue her studies as she works toward obtaining a degree with a major in biology and a minor in both Spanish and outdoor leadership.
She will also continue to work, participate in various extracurricular activities around campus and play sports, looking forward to the spring lacrosse season.
As the new president of Student Senate, Hiefield feels ready and confident for the year ahead, especially after serving on the Student Senate during her junior year as the Off-Campus Student Representative.
“This past year I was an Off-Campus Student Representative on the Undergraduate Student Senate where I would attend meetings and act as a voice for the students living off campus,” Hiefield said. “The job gave me a lot of good insight into how the meetings worked and what the job of president might be like.”
Fueled by the support she got from her roommates and friends, Hiefield decided to try and continue her career with the Student Senate and entered her name into the race for president last semester.
“I had been thinking about running for some time and with the support I got from my roommates I did,” Hiefield said. “I thought the job would provide a good opportunity for me to get more involved in the school and I saw a lot of potential changes that could be made for the better.”
However, Hiefield’s road to the position of president was no easy task. She was up against Bijoux Doherty, fellow classmate and former Vice President of Finance.
“I had good competition,” Hiefield said. “It got me to campaign more, talk to more people, put up posters and make t-shirts. I also talked with more classmates and underclassmen about what they were thinking about and it allowed me to tell them why I thought I would be a good fit for president.”
And in the end, the extra work and campaigning paid off for Hiefield.
Hiefield will hold the responsibility of setting the agenda for Student Senate meetings, helping organize and coordinate select school events and helping manage and guide various positions on Student Senate.
According to Hiefield, the newly elected Student Senate and advisor Steve Klein, met at the end of last school year to quickly go over responsibilities and start planning ideas, setting hopes and dreams for the coming year.
“We really want to enter this year organized and ready to go,” Hiefield said. “Soon after school starts we will have the Club Fair and then soon after that we will have leadership summit. We want to be on top of things so students can have the best experience they can.”
This year’s Student Senate theme, which was also talked about at the meeting, will be “Boxer Life.”
“We decided on the theme, Boxer Life, because it includes a lot of different aspects about Pacific,” Hiefield said. “Not only is Pacific about school, it is also about having an enjoyable and good time here and also being able to use your experience here at Pacific for the better in the future.”
As president, Hiefield hopes to improve the communication on campus and get students more involved.
“I hope we can improve communication with other students on campus, help to keep the students better informed and create a safe place on campus for students where they can come together and share ideas,” Hiefield said. “We are here for the students and want to hear what they want to see be done.”
Hiefield plans to stay in touch with the student body and looks forward to hearing peoples’ thoughts and ideas.
“Really just reaching out to people and having conversations with people is the best way to see what they are thinking,” Hiefield said.
After this year, the future is open for Hiefield who says she might enter into a graduate program or take time to travel.
“I want to leave a positive impact on Pacific,” Hiefield said. “How I will do that, I am not sure yet, but I will bring new ideas to the campus and maybe they will carry on to the next years to become traditions.”
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