The new Residence Halls Association Executive Board for 2015-16 was inaugurated Monday night during the RHA Congress meeting.
RHA advisor Luke Gorham said in an email that he is looking forward to working with the new executive board. He is also the leadership and educational resources advisor for the Department of Residential Life.
“I believe an inauguration is the symbolic passing of the torch from one executive board to the next,” said Gorham. “It somewhat signals an end to the work the current exec board is doing and is a motivator for the new exec to get going.”
Newly-elected RHA President Billy Donley, a freshman from St. Louis, and Vice President Rachel Thomas, a freshman from Kansas City, said they are ready to begin their term and are excited to serve the MU students living in residence halls.
“When I think of a person’s character, I think of honesty, reliability and responsibility,” Gorham said. “In these terms, I believe both Billy and Rachel are of very high character.”
Donley and Thomas plan to have greater student outreach by going to as many events as possible and having open forums.
“It was exciting for us to go around to all of the residence halls and meet people, because we got to know them on a personal level,” Donley said.
Donley and Thomas have not waited for their official term to begin; rather, they have already started a variety of changes prior to inauguration. These changes include creating a director of diversity role within RHA, expanding Bike Share and collaborating with other organizations for more ideas and feedback.
“I am impressed with Billy and Rachel’s ability to get their executive board working now,” Gorham said. “While new board members are not officially in office until inauguration, they have already been working and planning for next year.”
Donley and Thomas said they recognize the challenges they face as RHA president and vice president, but they also would like to be over-prepared in every situation.
“We are not only focusing on just the things for next year, but how to set up for the leaders after us,” Thomas said. “We are planning for the future.”
In the meantime, the two freshmen plan on wrapping up the spring semester, which was a busy one for both of them.
Donley, who is studying business marketing, is extremely busy with school work and activities. However, in his free time he enjoys swimming, singing in his band or cleaning screens of electronic devices. He admits to having a lens cloth in his pocket at all times.
“I will go out of my way to clean my own or other peoples’ laptop or phone screens,” Donley said as Thomas nodded in agreement.
In his first year at MU, Donley has been the president of Jones Hall, the DSA Special Events Marketing Coordinator, a driver for STRIPES and now RHA President.
Thomas described Donley as “probably the most hard-working student I have met at Mizzou” and said he is always busy and involved in so many things.
Rachel Thomas, who is majoring in journalism, said she enjoys reading, music and going to shows on campus when she has free time. Thomas admitted she lives a “quirky life,” and enjoys re-creating emojis with her face and hands in real life.
Thomas described herself as “empathetic” because in every situation she tries to be understanding and put herself into someone’s shoes.
Thomas has been involved in multiple activities and positions on campus, including working as Schurz Hall’s advocacy representative, working with the Newman Center, participating in MizzouThon, becoming a vice president conference team member and serving as RHA sustainability coordinator.
“Rachel is extremely dedicated and has a passion for what she does, especially with sustainability,” Donley said.
Both Donley and Thomas became involved with RHA through positions at their residence halls. Thomas was previously involved with RHA due to her role in Schurz Hall as a representative and now is the sustainability coordinator.
As president of Jones Hall, Donley acted when it was being torn down and changed an RHA legislation into one that allowed people in office to have their full term upon election. After a process and controversial discussion, the legislation was approved. Donley said he “would not let them forget Jones.”
Despite their similarities and differences, Donley and Thomas said they work well together because they both give 100 percent to every involvement. Their goal is to do just that as RHA president and vice president.
“Rachel and Billy are strong leaders,” Gorham said. “I look forward to them continuing to improve RHA as an organization and make a true impact in the residence halls and in the broader campus community next year.”