After a year focused on moving forward, Jordan Johnson looked back with pride on his term as Student Body president Monday afternoon.
His term ends May 1.
After his stint in office, Johnson will walk out of his office in the Reitz Union with a number of accomplishments under his belt, including the creation of the late-night study center in the Hub, the expansion of SNAP services and the renovation of the student printing center in the Reitz Union.
Johnson, a member of the Unite Party and former Senate president, said his accomplishments as UF’s chief executive officer stem from his administration’s ability to identify needs on campus and take that information to the administration.
In the case of the study center, Johnson said his administration recognized that students needed a safe place to study on campus late at night before their projects are due.
He said he made the plans to make the change and took them to the administration.
“We didn’t just tell them we wanted this,” Johnson said. “We showed them why we wanted this.”
Even after accomplishing about 23 of the goals on the Unite Party platform since taking office last May, Johnson said there is always more work to be done.
“One thing that can always be improved in Student Government is communication,” Johnson said.
Johnson said one of his greatest efforts while he was in office was to work with members of his staff to shrink the information gap between students and SG.
He said he worked more closely with the press and created a Twitter account and a Facebook fan page in order to keep students informed about what is happening on the third floor of the Reitz Union.
“I think until you reach the point where you’re communicating with every single student on campus, there’s more work to be done,” Johnson said.
Even though students voted against expanding the Reitz Union in the last election, Johnson said he knows something has to be done about the building in the near future and hopes students will see that the expansion is necessary to accommodate the growing Student Body.
“I think we were able to start a discussion about a major issue on campus,” Johnson said.
Despite the progress he’s made as a student politician, Johnson said he does not plan to go into politics any time soon.
“It’s not in my immediate future, that’s for sure,” Johnson said.
He will begin working in corporate finance at General Electric in July.
When asked about the incident with SNAP and the University Police Department, Johnson did not comment.
Student Body President-elect Ashton Charles said she hopes to continue Johnson’s tradition of setting and achieving tangible goals that have a positive impact on campus.
She said Johnson has been a helpful mentor to her as she prepares to take office and has given her a lot of advice.
“I truly love UF, and he knows that, and he has the same fervor for our university,” Charles said.
As Johnson steps down, he offered some advice to Charles, who will take office on May 1.
“Go with your heart, because that’s what I did,” Johnson said.
