GCC Student Senate

What is Student Senate?Join/ApplyUpcoming MeetingsOther GCC Meetings

Student Senate is the representative body for the students of GCC. Some of their primary responsibilities include making recommendations to the College on student issues, allocating student activity fee funds, and reviewing club/organization applications. Student Senate holds regularly scheduled meetings that all members of the campus community are invited to attend. Student Senate is comprised of eleven student leaders in the following positions: President, Vice President, Student Trustee, and eight Senators. The Student Senate Constitution can be viewed here: GCC Student Senate Constitution. One of the major responsibilities of Student Senate is to allocate the Student Activity Fee Budget. GCC groups or individuals seeking annual or one-time activity fee funding should complete the Activity Fee Budget Request.

2025-2026 Student Senate

  • Leilani Aires, President
  • Nate Woodard, Vice President
  • Michael Hannigan, Student Trustee
  • VACANT, Secretary
  • Henry Morgan, Treasurer
  • Lily Hohn, Senator
  • Lakshmi Moye, Senator
  • Peter Pavone, Senator
  • VACANT, Senator
  • VACANT, Senator
  • VACANT, Senator

Student Senate Positions

President: The President is responsible for drawing up an agenda prior to Senate meetings, and presiding over meetings (Bi-weekly). They meet with the Senate Advisor (Coordinator of Student Leadership & Engagement) regularly, and are in regular communication with the Vice President. The President (along with the Student Trustee) are encouraged to participate in Student Advisory Council (SAC) which is a statewide organization created to set up a dialogue between student leaders from every public college and university in Massachusetts and the Board of Higher Education.

Vice President: The Vice President assists with planning of agendas, and fills in for the President in the event they are unable to fulfill their responsibilities.

Senators (8): Senators attend Senate meetings (bi-weekly). Senators have the opportunity to fill the roles of Treasurer and Secretary, and may participate in Committees (ex: Finance Committee, Student Activities Council, Senate Review Committee, etc).

Student Trustee: In addition to attending bi-weekly Student Senate meetings, the Student Trustee is expected to attend GCC Board of Trustees meetings (monthly) and GCC Board Internal/External Committee meetings (every other month). During Board meetings, the Student Trustee will present a monthly Student Senate report. The Student Trustee (along with the Student Senate President) are encouraged to participate in Student Advisory Council (SAC) which is a statewide organization created to set up a dialogue between student leaders from every public college and university in Massachusetts and the Board of Higher Education.

Are you interested in developing yourself as a leader on campus? Do you want to have a positive impact on the student experience at GCC? Are you looking for a place to discuss current important issues on campus and work towards solutions? Are you interested in having a voice in how Student Activity Fees are allocated? If you answered YES to any of these questions, consider running for Student Senate! No prior experience is needed—we will provide training and support! Elections take place each fall (and spring if there are vacant seats).

For the spring of 2026, we are looking to appoint students to four (4) vacant Senator spots. This appointment will be for the spring 2026 semester only (until students are elected during the regular spring election in April). Appointees are invited to run in the spring Student Senate election to continue serving on Senate during following semesters.

Eligibility

To be eligible to hold the office of Vice President or Senator, students must be enrolled in at least one credit-bearing course and be in good standing with the College (i.e., maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average and good judicial standing).

Application Process
  • Meet with the Coordinator of Student Leadership and Engagement, Sara Allred, to review the responsibilities and time commitment of the Senator position. This meeting can take place at any time during your application process but must happen before the application deadline of February 27. To schedule an appointment (it’s best to do this right away!) email allreds@gcc.mass.edu.
  • Complete the application form by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 27.
  • Submit the signature sheet with 25 signatures of current GCC students OR have a GCC faculty or staff member submit a letter of recommendation for you to Sara Allred by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 27. You can pick up a signature sheet in C216.
Spring 2026 Timeline
  • Before February 27 – meet with Sara Allred to express interest and review responsibilities of positions
  • Friday, February 27, 2026 – completed application form (and 25 student signatures or a letter of recommendation) due by 11:59 p.m.
  • March 2-3 – Current Senate members review applications
  • Wednesday, March 4 – Applicants attend Senate meeting to introduce themselves, explain why they are interested in joining the Senate, and answer any questions the current Senate members have.  During this meeting, the Senate will go into executive session to make decisions about the applicants.  There is a chance that applicants will be appointed during that session, and sworn in immediately.
  • As a reminder, the term for appointed Senators is only until the next election, which will occur in April of 2026.
Apply/Self-Nominate
Name(Required)
Email(Required)
Must have a min. 2.0 GPA
Availability(Required)
Are you free to attend all Senate meetings (see schedule) on campus or via Zoom?
Describe yourself and why you want to represent the GCC student body in 5-8 sentences.
Upload a photo so your fellow students can meet you!
Accepted file types: jpg, png, gif, jpeg, webp, Max. file size: 8 MB.

Senate meets every other Wednesday (unless otherwise noted) from 3:30-5 p.m. in Macleish (C307) & via Zoom

  • Wednesday March 4 - 3:30pm
  • Wednesday March 25 - 3:30pm
  • Wednesday April 8 - 3:30pm
  • Wednesday April 22 - 3:30pm
  • Wednesday May 6 - 3:30pm

    • If you would like to contact the senate, email student_senate@stuemail.gcc.mass.edu

    All College Meetings usually take place every second Monday of the month from 12-1 p.m. in the Dining Commons.
  • Monday March 9 - 12:00pm
  • Monday April 13 - 12:00pm
  • Monday May 11 - 12:00pm

    • Board of Trustees Meetings take place the third Wednesday of the month from 4:30 p.m. and can be attended by Zoom. For dates, agenda and Zoom link, see the Board of Trustees webpage.Tab content