New UHV student government leader to focus on unity, involvement
When Deshavian Williams transferred to the University of Houston-Victoria from Wharton Junior College as a junior, he leapt at the chance to join the UHV Student Government Association.
Now, the senior general business and marketing major has been elected as the new Student Government Association president and will start his term of office on June 4.
“I’ve been involved in student government groups for years, including when I was in junior college, and every position has increased my level of commitment,” Williams said. “I feel like my prior experience has given me the confidence to serve as the UHV student body president, and I look forward to seeing how much of a difference I can make.”
As he and his fellow association members begin to plan for next year, Williams hopes to focus on promoting unity between faculty, staff, administrators and students on campus and in the community.
In particular, Williams wants to promote student involvement in the association and encourage students to share their thoughts, concerns and hopes for UHV. Instead of seeing students come to one or two meetings and never show up again, he hopes to see more students continuously be involved so they can work together to accomplish goals for the university.
“I plan to do anything I can to get people to come to our meetings and share their thoughts, even if it means personally inviting them,” he said. “I know one voice can be lost, but if the students can continue to come together like they’ve started to in the past few years, we will be able to keep doing great things. I want the students to know their voices are important, and if they want to see something change, it has to start with them.”
Williams points to the university’s “Make Your Mark” tag as an example of how students should feel encouraged to be involved and create change, much like previous association leaderships led the effort to create traditions such as the UHV class ring, hand sign and alma mater.
“Make Your Mark sounds simple, but it’s actually a challenging statement,” Williams said. How can someone make their mark if they never challenge the status quo?”
During the 2017-2018 school year, Williams has served as a resident assistant, student director of intramural and club sports, UHV Student Government Association director of finance and Business Student Association president. In the spring of 2017, he was a member of Rotaract and a junior senator for the Student Government Association.
“I have no doubt that Deshavian Williams will make for an excellent Student Government Association president,” said Michael Wilkinson, director of UHV Student Life & Services and the association’s advisor. “I have watched Deshavian grow tremendously as a student leader on campus over the past year. He has been involved in a variety of different capacities. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him and the rest of the 2018-2019 administration. The sky is the limit for them.”
Other students elected to the 2018-2019 Student Government Association are:
- Fazion Matthews, vice president
- Demi-Lee Ibarra, chief justice
- Diego Deluna, director of finance
- Jocelyne Martinez, director of public relations
- JoAnn Benavente, speaker of the senate
- Madeline Colunga, director of student organizations
- Randall Jasek, School of Arts & Sciences senator
- Omer Bashir, School of Business Administration senator
- Victoria Gonzales, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development senator
- Bryanka Campos and Marissa Cervantes, senior senators
- Jennifer Azonobi and Robin Rodriguez, junior senators
- Shelbie Ayala, sophomore senator
Additional senior, junior, sophomore, freshman and graduate student senators will be filled in the fall. For more information about SGA, visit www.uhv.edu/student-government-association or email sga@uhv.edu.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
