Second-year international business and accounting student Laney Quickel will be the last USC student to hold the title of student body treasurer.
Quickel filled in the position left by former treasurer Kate Turner, who stepped down from the role before leaving to study abroad in November. Quickel's term will end in March 2022.
After the next election cycle, the treasurer position will be replaced by the secretary of finance, which is a new position in the student body president's cabinet. This new alignment is intended to allow open and direct communication during cabinet meetings, according to Quickel.
"By being a part of the presidential cabinet and being able to have those open conversations with the president during the cabinet meeting, it’ll just help with that communication and making everything more mainstream,” Quickel said.
The treasurer directs the entire funding allocation process and manages the Student Government’s internal budget for campus initiatives and funding. The role also oversees the treasury staff, who work directly with student organizations to request funding.
The student senate voted last year to remove the treasurer position and make it the secretary of finance. It felt that the treasurer’s role in comparison to the other executive offices was not comparable in workload and scope of their job, according to Morgiana McDevitt, the current speaker of the student senate.
“One of the big things the treasury staff is going to be focusing on for the remainder of the term is figuring out how to get effective outreach out to those organizations that may not know that they have this funding available to them,” Quickel said.
Every student at the university pays a tuition fee called the student activity fee, which creates the student activity fund. Student Government uses that budget for undergraduate organizations. Each student organization on campus is able to request funding as long as it meets the requirements established in the code outline for city governments.
Additionally, Student Government created a new fund called the Inter Monetary Fund, which is for new initiatives. This fund will allow people in Student Government or other students to fund new initiatives on campus every year, Quickel said.
Quickel's experience allowed her to jump right into the job, McDevitt said.
“Working with former treasurer Turner in learning about the role and the position really gave her an upper hand in coming in and jumping in as treasurer — starting right on day one without a transition period,” McDevitt, a fourth-year economics and environmental studies student, said.
Quickel first got involved with Student Government as a member of the Inclusion and Equity Committee of Freshman Council and has been heavily involved ever since, she said.
She was on the campaign for the previous student body treasurer and current study body president as well as the master of ceremonies for the Beneath the Bricks, a Black History Month panel event with Black Alumni to discuss their experiences at USC.
Emmie Thompson, a second-year public relations student and fellow cabinet member, worked alongside her in Student Body President Alex Harrell's cabinet.
“You can always count on (Quickel) getting the job done. She’s definitely somebody that if she starts something she’s gonna finish it,” Thompson said.
As part of her role, Quickel will assist in the transition of the treasurer to the secretary of finance position.