Mizzell: ‘It’s important that we go beyond Student Government’
Student Body President Chase Mizzell accepted his new position with his trademark humility and campaign catchphrase.
Saying it would be impossible for him to succeed in his term without Treasurer Haley Guyton, Vice President Ryan Bailey and the other student leaders around him, Mizzell vowed that his administration’s reach would go far beyond the walls of the student senate chambers.
“It’s important to me that we go beyond Student Government ... because, simply put, being part of something great is much more than a role,” Mizzell said at the Student Government inauguration ceremony.
Mizzell, Guyton, Bailey and 45 student senators were sworn into their new roles as late afternoon sunlight streamed into Rutledge Chapel Wednesday.
The three new executive officers got a chance to lay out their plans for the coming year as peers and predecessors looked on. Outgoing Student Body President Kenny Tracy and outgoing Treasurer Coy Gibson looked on as Mizzell and Guyton took over their respective roles. Mizzell, who served as student body vice president in the last Student Government term, got to pass the torch on to Bailey.
Guyton gave a heartfelt thanks to her family, who financed her campaign for treasurer. When her eyes started to well up, she quipped that she didn’t think she’d get emotional and was unprepared, not wearing waterproof mascara.
The new vice president said he didn’t come to USC intending to fill his new role.
“I did, however, arrive with the intention of trying to make a difference for every student if at all possible, and that’s where Student Government came in for me,” Bailey said.
The outgoing chair of the senate Safety and Transportation Committee said it was his work in the committee that inspired him to seek executive office.
“Working with some of the most pertinent issues on campus quickly made me realize that this position was just so much bigger than itself,” Bailey said. “While working with the committee, we saw room for improvement, we saw room for growth and we saw room for possibilities. And I still see those for Student Government and for Carolina as well.”
Mizzell said he took pride in watching Bailey and Guyton take their oaths of office. He used his inaugural address to praise the many aspects of USC he said were “something great,” as well as to lay out his plans for the coming year.
“I vow that my administration, with the help of my team, my senate, my cabinet, will be contribute — and that’s the key word — will not lead, but will contribute to something great,” Mizzell said. “We will focus and work on student safety. We will work on our influence throughout the world of higher education as an investor. We will focus on improving every single student’s quality of life while they’re here at Carolina.”
And Mizzell, whose passion is the passion of others, left his audience with a challenge.
“I challenge each of us to be passionate, not only in this next year, but throughout life,” he said. “To look for opportunities to change the world and affect the people that know you, and to relentlessly pursue them, regardless of obstacle or trial.”