Student Body President, UCF – Florida
“I heard at a conference—and I truly believe this—that “sometimes you have to go to the edge and jump and build your wings on the way up.” Take that risk, put yourself out there. It’s part of a journey.”
Brandie Hollinger is a post-baccalaureate student with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Central Florida. She has been involved in the Student Government Association for four years, serving in various capacities such as: Chair of the Student Body President’s Advisory Council, Director of Campus Involvement, and Director of Campus Life. She was recently elected Student Body President by the UCF student body, making Brandie the first female president to be elected at UCF. In addition to her involvement in SGA, Brandie was selected as a member of the President’s Leadership Council and as a Class of 2007 Order of Pegasus Recipient. Additionally, Brandie was chosen to represent UCF on the 2006 Homecoming Court.
In the past, Brandie has been involved with organizations such as LEAD Scholars, African American Student Union, and CAB (Spectacular Knights), while also serving as a Resident Assistant in affiliated housing for two years. Brandie has volunteered in the community as a Junior Achievement teacher, and speaks at various elementary schools on UCF’s behalf. She is a strong proponent of servant leadership and believes in helping others. After her term as student body President, Brandie would like to work as a registered nurse in a pediatric intensive care unit. Eventually, she would like to pursue a career in hospital administration at a children’s hospital. Brandie loves UCF and will forever be a Golden Knight.
How did you become interested and involved in student government?
My interest in student government began with a few high school friends who encouraged me to become involved. Though they were not active in student government themselves, they believed that I could and should be a leader. Their support is what gave me the confidence to continue my efforts while in college at the University of Central Florida. While serving on the President’s Leadership Council, I was able to network with other students and administrators, including the president. I made valuable connections, and that helped me when I applied to be on cabinet.
What is your role as SGA President and what do you hope to accomplish during your term in office?
This year is a great year to be a UCF Knight, since we are opening an on-campus stadium (which will seat 45,000) and new, larger convocation center. With these additions, I hope to see an increase in school spirit; I would love to encourage a strong sense of pride and camaraderie among students. This is something that we have struggled with, since our campus is so young and we do not have the entrenched traditions that you see at more established universities.
In terms of my campaign platform, I emphasized safety and security. Though this preceded the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the events cemented my commitment to these efforts. We have created a task force at UCF and have already accomplished one primary goal: putting emergency phone numbers on the back of UCF identification cards. Additionally, we hope to improve the lighting on campus by adding emergency blue lights that will include a map of campus.
From a public image standpoint, I will strive to ensure that students realize the government is for them and acts in their interest. We are student-run and initiatives affect the student body as a whole. I want to be seen as approachable, accessible, and accountable. If we aren’t doing a good job, our constituents should feel comfortable with letting us know.
What lessons have you learned from your experiences running a competitive campaign and serving as SGA President?
It’s a huge undertaking if you want to run for president at this school. During the campaign, we would get to campus 6:30 a.m. and not leave until 1:00 a.m. the following morning. You have to have a great support system, whether it is the people who design your website and graphics, or just people that you can talk to during the campaign. We really had a great team who helped us with public speaking—in fact, we had mock debates and interviews—and platform listening parties during which we talked to students and received feedback from them. Without their help, we would not have been successful.
Running a campaign was new to me, although I had been involved with previous political efforts on campus. My background is in nursing; thankfully, some of the people who were helping me had worked in local or national campaigns, possessed web design knowledge, and could teach me about messaging. It was from them that my campaign received its slogan, “your campus, your decisions, your legacy.”
Did you face any obstacles and, if so, how were they overcome?
While running, I was still in school as a nursing major. It was difficult to get my instructors to understand that I was doing everything that I could do for school. I was not always able to make it to class, which was a disappointment both to my professors and me. At that time, there were occasionally other responsibilities and priorities that conflicted. Actually, things were even harder after the campaign because I had to play catch-up. Once the election was over it was back to reality, assignments, and everything else.
From the campaign, I learned how to stay motivated and enthusiastic even when you say the same thing fifty million times a day. I also learned that a platform evolves; it’s ever-changing based on student input.
How has your experience been shaped by being a woman? An African-American?
UCF has never had a female president until now. A lot of people were surprised to learn that statistic and thought that it was just crazy. Still, I didn’t want people to vote for me because I was a woman, but rather because I was qualified and could accomplish goals, take a position, and make students proud to have a president they could rely on.
Being an African American woman made me even more passionate and driven to achieve. It pushed me; I wanted to be the first, to change the way that things had been for so long. Women said that I inspired them, made them want to do it as well. Seeing that also helped me stay motivated during the campaign. Interactions in sororities were particularly touching, since girls would come up after I spoke to thank me for running.
What advice do you have for young girls who are interested in SGA or have leadership aspirations?
If you know on the inside that you can do something, if you know in your heart that this is what you want to do, don’t listen to anyone else. You do it. You might be told by other people that this isn’t your year, you should wait, and that can really eat away at you. If you feel like you can make an impact, go for it.
I heard at a conference—and I truly believe this—that “sometimes you have to go to the edge and jump and build your wings on the way up.” Take that risk, put yourself out there. It’s part of a journey.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I’m a very family-oriented person, so I want to have a few kids by that time. As far as career goals, I definitely want to work in healthcare, where my passion lies. Running a campaign and working in student government has developed my interest in hospital administration as well, but I want to be a nurse first.