Balancing a budget of any amount can be hard for a college student. But one Shippensburg University senior is responsible for balancing a multi-million dollar budget.
Brenda Aristy, is the 2020-21 Student Government Association’s (SGA) vice president of finance. She ran for the position to be a voice of reason and provide support for her peers who may have financial problems.
Aristy was born in Queens, New York, into a Dominican family. She has two younger brothers and an older sister. Her family eventually moved to Mechaniscburg, Pennsylvania, where she attended Mechanicsburg Area High School and began her interest in politics.
Aristy wanted to participate in high school government activities but was unable to due to juggling her time working at a nursing home, being a part of musical productions and getting her homework completed.
Aristy, a political science major, joined SGA in fall 2019 and is part of the organization’s budget and finance committee.
She joined the committee after learning of the struggles many of her peers faced when paying tuition
Aristy was determined to help others with their financial needs.
“One of the things that I’m really passionate about is the fairness of students. I know a lot of students who go through the struggle to find finances to cover some part[s] of college,” she said. “A lot of my friends struggle. Some of their meal plans don’t work because they do not have enough [money] to cover it.”
Aristy is also a member of other organizations on campus including the Multicultural Student Association (MSA). She is the Latino Student Organization president, a Building Bridges facilitator and the president of the political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha.
This year, Aristy hopes to ensure fairness for all students when it comes to budgets and finances Some of her goals include making the student activity fee fair, educating students of scholarship opportunities and distributing money equally among SU’s organizations.
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