The Student Government Association swore in new executives and celebrated the 2016-17 school year accomplishments among their colleagues, executive faculty and staff on April 19.

The officer transitions made were through the executive branch. The positions transitioned were: President, Vice President of Senate, Vice President of University Program Council, Secretary and Treasurer.

Four members of the executive team stepped down, President Sarah Green, Vice President of Senate Tyler Delano, Vice President of University Program Council Nic Smith and Secretary Jessica Matthews.

Treasure for the 2016-17 year Nikki Matthews will maintain her position in the 2017-18 year.

Associate Justice Megan Statom officially swore in President Hugo Dante, Vice President of Senate Jason Sparks, Vice President of University Program Council Jose Figueroa-Cifuentes, Treasurer Nicki Matthews, and Secretary Jessie Harbuck.

Outgoing President Sarah Green said she felt the executive branch put in a lot of unnoticed ground work in the past year.

“We started our year with no experience. None of us had been on exec before,” Green said. “We quickly realized that trust and respect had to be our foundation. These four were people that I could count on to keep the students as the priority. I’ve had many students come up to me and mention that this is the first year that they feel SGA has cared about them as individuals.”

She said during the 2016-17 term, the biggest complaints the executive branch received from students on campus were the lack of food options, the lack of parking compared to the number of students who drive to campus and the question of UNA’s possible transition to Division I.

SGA partnered with UNA to switch food service providers, put in a new parking lot and announced UNA will join Division I in fall 2018.

“I’m not saying that we did all this, but we had a great part in it,” Green said. “If we, as SGA, have changed one student’s life for the better; we have accomplished our job. We have done all that we can to stand for what the students want.”