Freshman political science major comes out on top

By Lamesha Green (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Freshman political science major Kira Tieman had no intentions of being the SGA secretary within her first year at Wesley. Her original plan was to run for office next year.

But during her first visit to Wesley, Tieman was inspired by SGA president Tanner Polce’s involvement with politics in the community and on campus and wanted to do the same.

“I met Tanner through my admissions counselor, who told me he was greatly involved in politics, which was exactly what I wanted to do,” Tieman said. “I also knew Wesley offered a lot of better opportunities to get involved because of there small campus.”

Growing up in Portland, Ore., Tieman always wanted to attend a big college on the east coast to study political science. Instead, she found a small school that fit her interest in politics.

Shortly after Tieman came to Wesley, the SGA position for secretary became available.

“I thought to myself it would be a good opportunity for me to run,” she said. “My goal is to work my way up and run for a higher position in SGA every year.”

During the SGA election in April, Tieman won 46 percent of the vote.

“When I found out I won SGA secretary, I was a little shocked at first,” she said. “There were four other people including myself that ran for the same position and two of them were returning students.”

Tieman also said she was thrilled by the experience.

“Being elected SGA secretary was exciting,” she said. “Just to know that I could get enough votes to win the position after only being here two months really made this an even more exciting experience for me.”

Her vision as secretary is to make a difference.

“This semester is more important for me to get organizations on campus, along with students who are not involved with student organizations, to come out and share their thoughts with the SGA at our general assemblies,” Tieman said.

Tieman also said she gets to see the dialogue that goes on between executive board members and faculty.

“From this experience, I see how hard they are working to get the Streetscape project moving so students can enjoy a safer community,” she said.

Tieman’s on-campus activities include being the president of the College Republicans, a member of the step team and Lincoln-Jackson Club (the non-partisan political science club), which keeps her mind off of missing home.

“Being so busy helps me not think about being homesick,” she said. “For me personally, it’s hard not to be homesick because I know that I can’t always go home whenever I want.”

At Wesley, Tieman has gotten the chance to know her professors.

“I never really wanted to go to a small school, but being here has allowed me to talk to my professors whenever I want to building personal relationships with them,” she said.

Tieman said her adviser, Dr. Cynthia Newton, and she have developed a lasting relationship.

“If I am having a bad day, I can go to her and talk about it,” she said.

SGA members have welcomed Tieman to the team.

“When I first joined SGA, the other SGA members were very helpful with the transition,” she said. “If I ever had a question on who to talk to or how to book a room for a meeting, they showed me how. I guess they just understood I was new and were willing to help me with everything.”

SGA President Tanner Polce has no concern when it comes to Tieman getting the job done.

“She does a phenomenal job,” Polce said.

Confident in her ability to be a strong SGA board member, Tieman strives for success.

“I feel that I am doing a great job so far as SGA secretary being a freshman,” she said. “I had to learn a lot about the school in a short amount of time so that I can answer other people’s questions about the school and be able to create relationships with faculty members helps me become more productive in my work as SGA secretary.”

Freshman Crissy Bettencourt said she is inspired by Tieman’s involvement in SGA.

“Kira took initiative as a freshman by seeking out a leadership role in SGA as secretary and recently appointed the chief of staff.”