The Honors College Assembly has had a great first year on campus! The program has provided an event or program for students to participate in almost every week and has made great strides towards representing the interests of all Honors students.

A great first year, but there is still work to be done, progress to be made. You, fellow Honors students, deserve a president who is committed to seeking this progress. It is for this reason I have decided to pursue the office and to focus my run for HCA president on three pillars: my experience within HCA, expanding HCA’s role as an advocate for students and broadening the scope of programming HCA provides for students.

I have been honored to serve as the HCA Director of Student Life since last spring. The founding vision for HCA, provided by students two years ago, was to create a fun and engaging social environment for the Honors College, while focused on promoting student well-being in every aspect of their life at the University and contributing to the student culture of Nott Hall. I have wholeheartedly bought into this idea during my term as Director of Student Life and will stay true to this vision as HCA president.

I am not running a campaign to promote “my vision” for the Honors College, but rather seeking this office to further the excellent vision already affirmed by my fellow students.

I have gained a tremendous amount of experience while serving on HCA’s Executive Leadership Team over the past year. Through countless hours of planning, budgeting and team collaboration, I have learned an unequaled amount about the daily operations of HCA — a primary responsibility of president. My branch has been responsible for executing the largest portion of HCA’s budget and we were fortunate enough to host the largest events of the year. It is imperative we have an experienced leader to guide our organization during this next year of critical growth and development.

The most important area of growth for HCA is in the organization’s role as an advocate for students. So many individuals have important concerns and great ideas, but often it is difficult knowing who to approach with these topics. I want HCA to become a comfortable and easily recognized option for students to come and talk with.

If elected, I guarantee students that next year I will be sitting outside the HCA office every Tuesday from 2-3:30 p.m. and every Wednesday from 9-11:00 a.m. to listen to students’ concerns and ideas. Also, I plan to work with the RHA to establish town hall style events at each dorm once a semester to hear from students, right where they live. I will go to my fellow students to find out how we can serve them best. No one will ever be expected to come to us!

To promote a diverse student organization, I am excited to work with next year’s directors to greatly increase the range of programs HCA provides. It is my hope each student will find something they are interested in within the Honors College and have the opportunity to become actively engaged. Each student deserves access to all the resources and opportunities the Honors College provides to ensure their interests are represented. HCA will accomplish this for students under my leadership. That’s not an empty campaign promise, but a promise from one University of Alabama student to another!

Thank you for your interest in the future of HCA. I would be humbled to have your support this week. Together we can work to make HCA truly great!

Michael Forst is a sophomore majoring in economics and English and a candidate for HCA president.