Class leaders ready for new challenges

It was a mere coincidence that color helped spark an instant connection.

“Amir was wearing a green shirt and I was wearing an orange shirt,” first-year pharmacy student Caleb Reaves said of his running mate.

Amir Webb and Reaves shared more than wearing Florida A&M University’s school colors. They held the common goal of leading the freshman class as president and vice president.

Reaves, 18, from Perry, said after their first conversation, both realized it was fate that brought them together.

After weeks of campaigning, Webb and Reaves won the election.

Reaves said his experiences as class president for three consecutive years while a student at Taylor County High School prepared him for freshmen class president.

“They taught me the proper skills to lead,” he said. “I like to build on previous achievements.”

He was president of the National Honor Society and named a Coca Cola, Inc. regional scholar. Reaves said the numerous accolades he received should be attributed to his parents, grandparents and siblings.

“They gave me my guts,” he said.Even though the young man is a pharmacy student, he said his ability to manage time and his love of people has made him the right person for the position as class president.

“I’m a people person,” he said. “It’s my mission to change a life.”

With a vision to make freshman year a memorable one, Reaves said it was vital to choose the right people to work with them.

Webb, 18, freshman class vice president, said he and Reaves were impressed with the people they chose for cabinet positions.

“Everybody was about change,” said Webb, a first-year accounting student from Raleigh, N.C. Webb added that all cabinet members were sincere.

Chief of Staff, Antoinyce Eaton, 18, said she knows Reaves and Webb are ready to lead the freshman class.

“They are strong leaders who have the potential to take our freshman class to heights unknown,” said the first-year accounting student from Raleigh, N.C. “They also have the drive to remain committed throughout the duration of the school year.”

Both Reaves and Webb wanted to be president at first, but later agreed that Reaves should lead as freshman president.

“Even though the abilities exist in both of us…I told him I could back him and be his right-hand man,” Webb said. “He’s just so far ahead of his time.”

Like Reaves, leadership roles during high school inspired Webb to take on the position.

Webb was president of William G. Enloe High School’s black student union, captain of his high schools’ varsity basketball team and a member of Top Teens of America, Inc.

He said his first choice was Morehouse College but FAMU offered him a full academic scholarship.

When Webb first came to FAMU, he wanted to “play the keep-to-myself role” but changed his mind when he found out about the freshman class positions.

“There are so many opportunities, it’s about going out and getting it,” he said when it comes to on-campus involvement.

After he teamed up with Reaves, the only thing left was to campaign.

“It was a lot of hard work,” Webb said. “It was a thrill to see that people would actually listen to me.”

In a close run-off race with the Mitchell/Sangster ticket, Reaves/Webb won with 258 votes, just 15 more than their competitors.

With a vision to lead their class “the real way”, “the refreshed way” and the “right way,” Reaves and Webb said they want to implement programs that will help the freshman retention rate, focus on community service and unite the freshman class through social events.

“It’s going to be a long year but hopefully a fun one,” Reaves said.