Fellow Demons, 

Ever since beginning my journey at Northwestern State University three years ago, becoming the Student Body President has been a dream of mine.  

I can remember back to my first year as a counselor at Louisiana Boys State in the summer of 2017 before my freshman year. While waiting for opening convocation to start, University President Dr. Chris Maggio came up to me before going on stage in the Friedman Student Union ballroom and said he was going to mention me in his speech. I had no idea what was about to happen.  

As he was addressing the group, he said that one of the counselors was an incoming freshman at NSU and would be his student body president in three years’ time. I was in disbelief that the president of my university after only knowing me a short while thought me capable of achieving this, but three short years later here we are.  

Being back with all of you over the past month has been so refreshing after such a long period of quarantine and physical distancing from the campus that we all call home. I am so incredibly thankful to be here even amidst natural disasters, global pandemics and other hardships that we may be experiencing.  

At the beginning of my term I made a promise to ensure that the Student Government Association would do everything that we could to ensure that all students feel safe, welcome, heard and above all, respected.  

Some of the things that we are doing to help fulfil this promise is hosting a variety of educational programs and events that highlight key aspects of student life while in college. Our three main focuses are on: diversity and inclusion, equity and mental health and civic engagement. Over the course of the year we plan to bring in experts to speak from many different advocates for a variety of groups, from political figures to mental health experts.  

We have already hosted student safety events to kick off the year, such as our “Meet Your Senator Day” where we passed out COVID-19 safety information and our “Mask Up Demons” event where we handed out masks, hand sanitizers and buttons to students.  

I’m proud to work alongside such an amazing, diverse and unique group in SGA and to work for 11,477 of the best students in the state of Louisiana.  

I am truly blessed to be in this position and to be able to serve the students of this great institution with such a compassionate and dedicated faculty, staff and administration.  

If there is anything that you need, my door is always open. SGA is here for you and happy to serve you in whatever way we can. Senate meetings are held virtually, every Monday at 6 p.m. and a new link will be posted every week on the Student Concerns Facebook page.  

I look forward to the rest of the year with you, and as always Fork ‘em Demons! 

Nicholas Reed Hopkins 

President 

Student Government Association