DSU Student Association attends COSGA

The Dakota State University Student Association recently took four members to the Texas A&M campus in College Station, TX to attend the “Conference on Student Government Associations” (COSGA).

Those who attended the four-day conference were DSU Senate President, Chris Thames of Lake City, SD, an Information Systems major, Vice President of Senate, Jacque Miller of Hartford, SD, a Business Administration and Health Information Management major, senate administrative assistant Charing Maher of Canistota, SD majoring in Information Systems, and freshman senator, Quinn Swenson of Woonsocket, SD, a Web Design/Multimedia and Business Marketing major.

The conference helps students gain information on leadership and learn what other Student Governments around the country are doing. DSU students attended sessions, workshops, and roundtables, listened to speakers and took historical tours to learn more about becoming a productive leader.

“This conference was a great opportunity to interact with other universities, share information about our governments and exchange ideas,” said Maher. “The conference was very well organized and was an overall excellent experience. I hope that in the future DSU senators will be able to have the opportunity to attend and learn new things.”

“The trip down to Texas to attend the COSGA conference was terrific and I would recommend it to anyone who could get the chance to go,” said Miller. “We listened to a variety of speakers about the qualities of being a leader and what it takes to be a leader on an everyday basis.”

“I believe that leadership is something that is instilled in a person from birth,” added Miller. “It’s not something that you can acquire but leadership is something that you can always develop.”

Attending the conference is a benefit for the entire Dakota State Campus because the students who attend bring back what they’ve learned and can share it with their peers, creating a chain of learning.

“After learning all this information and being shown new ways in which I can develop these skills, I feel that it will defiantly benefit the DSU senate and other clubs around campus,” said Miller. “Even though DSU is not as large as Texas A&M, there are things that we could do on a smaller level to better leadership here.”