Author: Dorien Perry-Tillmon

Getting Involved on Campus

Getting Involved on Campus

My name is Dorien Perry-Tillmon, I am a freshman at Loyola and I am from right outside of Boston, MA. At Loyola, I am a Film and Digital Media Productions Major with a Photography Minor, Visual Communications Minor, and Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Minor.

As I began to get settled in my first semester at Loyola, I realized I was ready to get involved on campus, however, I wasn’t quite sure where to begin. As I walked through the Org Fair and talked to various clubs and activity leaders, one that surprisingly stood out to me was Student Government (SGLC). I had not had prior experience with student government, but I couldn’t think of a better way to get involved on campus. I took all the information and planned on running for First-Year Senator. With my extreme procrastination, it wasn’t until two hours before the deadline, that I was reminded by an upperclassman friend already in SGLC that the application was due at midnight. I scrambled to get my 50 student signatures required and finish my application to run. Somehow I was able to get all of my work in and was added to the ballet. 

After campaigning and networking, I was one of seven people elected out of the nineteen that ran. I was both honored and shocked that I was chosen to represent the freshman class. As I became accustomed to my new life as a Senator, I learned a lot of things such as email etiquette, how to shake hands, and where to wear my nametag; mainly things that I never would have thought about. When SGLC meetings began, I was placed on the Justice Committee, where my team’s goal is to make sure our campus is diverse, sustainable, and accessible. The project that I chose to take lead on was making our residence halls more sustainable by organizing the trash rooms, adding recycling bins, and introducing composting to the dorms. Before coming to Loyola, I didn’t even know what ‘sustainability’ meant, and now it has become a major part of my life.  

The Freshman Senators of Student Government

Without Student Government, I wouldn’t have found many of my passions. I realized how important it is for me to be a student’s voice. Although it makes my schedule super busy, I have gotten to meet a ton of amazing administrators, students, and Student Organizations, and have been able to witness firsthand all of the passion that students and administrators have for this school, and I am proud to be involved in such an amazing organization.