Monday, April 14, the 333rd Student Assembly session was inaugurated in the Wren Great Hall refectory, formally transitioning power to the newly elected class President, Vice President, Graduate Council President and School Representatives.
The ceremony opened with statements by the outgoing 332nd Student Assembly executive board. The 332nd Student Assembly President Terra Sloane ’25 gave her closing remarks.
“Working in this role has truly been the best love letter to William and Mary that I could have asked for,” Sloane said. “I think one of the things we do the most and the best as Student Assembly is focus on what’s going wrong. This is normally a good thing as we are using this discussion to be able to make things better, to tackle problems and to grasp an understanding of what challenges students are facing in their day-to-day lives. However, we may do it a little too much. Today is a day where we sit back and take a moment and celebrate the things we do right.”
Sloane took a moment to remember the most notable community projects she and the 332nd Student Assembly accomplished, also reflecting on the beginning of her term.
“I want to take a moment to reflect on what I personally am the proudest of,” Sloane said. “When I remember sitting where Zoe is a year ago, I was incredibly anxious. I felt as though I had taken an entire world onto my plate, and I was especially worried being a relative newcomer in a group of people who had been involved in Student Assembly for a really long time. But I looked at this body, incredibly proud of the way they supported each other, challenged each other and truly achieved synergy in the past year that I never thought would be possible.”
Sloane concluded by welcoming the new members.
“To Zoe and Matt, the best of luck to you both,” Sloane said. “I am so excited to see what you do and to all of our new senators, welcome. To our graduating seniors, it’s been a pleasure doing work with you the past four years, and to administrative friends in the crowd, I will miss this job and my time with you terribly, and I’m very sad to go. I appreciate all of your faith in me, and I love William and Mary so much. Thank you.”
Following Sloane’s reflection, the ceremony proceeded with the Oath of Office administered by Chair of the Student Assembly Review Board Zane Peters J.D. ’26. 333rd Student Assembly President Zoe Wang ’25 MPP ’26, Student Assembly Vice President Matt Swenson ’26 and Graduate Council President Quinn Girasek M.S. were the first sworn in to their new positions. The Graduate Senator elects Brooks Alderman J.D. ’26 and Tina Capelo J.D. ’27 from the William and Mary Law School and Poojitha Kapireddy MBA ’26 from Raymond A. Mason School of Business were then sworn in.
Peters then swore in class presidents and senators under the oath as follows: Class of 2026 President Debbie Ho, Class of 2026 Senator Jason Zheng, Class of 2027 President Nico Giro-Martin, Class of 2027 Senators Quinn Clancy, Cheryl Dao, Tyson Liverman, Mayer Tawfik, Class of 2028 President Devaughn Henry, Class of 2028 Senators Nina Argel, Ryan Ponmakha, Ryan Sllien and Mackenna Wycoff.
Then the ceremony recognized every graduating member of past and prior Student Assembly sessions with a medal.
The inauguration of the new Student Assembly President and Vice President was central to the event. Thursday, March 27, former class of 2026 President Zoe Wang and former class of 2026 senator Matt Swenson won the College of William and Mary’s Student Assembly presidential election. The newly elected administration gave Introductory remarksn.
Wang reflected on her and Swenson’s work.
“Over the last three years, we have had the honor of serving as Class of 2026 President and Class of 2026 Senator, and we are so excited for the opportunity to use what we’ve learned about Student Assembly and about student needs to continue serving you,” Wang said. “During the campaign, we went to a diverse and inclusive variety of student groups, we talked to graduate students, student athletes, multicultural organizations, performing arts organizations, fraternities and sororities and student advocacy groups.”
Swenson explained the administration’s goal for Student Assembly.
“We like to think we’re good listeners–and we hear you,” Swenson said. “We will improve clarity and access to our resources for students and student organizations on campus, and we will continue going to you to understand student issues and work together to achieve tangible results.We notice that advocacy and communication is more important now than ever, and we will be proactive when it comes to responding to this chaotic world around us. Thank you for giving us this incredible opportunity.”
Wang jumped in with a final remark
“Let’s get to work!” Wang said.
Following the ceremony, Student Assembly alumni and the incoming session gathered for an evening of refreshments on the porch of the Wren. The 333rd Student Assembly President and Vice President shared their gratitude and excitement with the remainder of the student body.
“We are looking forward to getting ready to work,” Wang said. “Matt and I are both the sort of people who are very result-driven driven and we have been able to do a lot of really good work over the last three years. We know that this year especially, it is important to address a lot of the issues– That is, responding to the world around us is very important to us, so looking forward to that and making sure we are advocating for students.”
Swenson echoed this sentiment.
“Zoe and I, we love the relationship we have built with students in Student Assembly and throughout the student body, and I think that’s a very important part about being good leaders because we like to listen, and we like to genuinely care about what students want to see,” Swenson said.
Sloane provided some farewell remarks.
“It’s been a phenomenal experience to be president of the student body, and I’ve learned so much from the experience,” Sloane said. “I wish Zoe and Matt so much luck, it’s going to be great, and they’re going to have a great time. I’m really proud of all of the work that we did, and I think that Student Assembly has the capacity to do so much. I really want all students to feel like they can tap into that, and that was something we really strive to emphasize, and I hope we continue to do so.”
Outgoing Vice President Oscar Lazo ’25 shared some advice for the remainder of the student body.
“If you want to be a leader on campus, you don’t need to be a part of a Student Assembly to do so,” Lazo said. “If you think that there is something that you need to advocate for, if there is something that needs changing, starting with your closest administrator, starting with your closest faculty or staff, or friends, that is the way to do it. This campus is so vibrant, it is so loving, it is so caring that if you need to shift things up, I recommend to the highest extent that you look for a way to do it. Exist in spite of the way things are.”
