Robyn Seniors and her running mate Rebekah Hawkins
Photo Submitted by Robyn Seniors.
In her first campaign, Seniors won a Student Senate seat by ensuring her classmates that she would “Serve Our Senate” in the freshman senator elections. In the spring, she ran for vice-president of Student Government Association alongside David Jackson, encouraging the campus to “Do the Right Thing.” They won. This made Seniors the youngest VP in the history of FAMU.
In this past election, Seniors decided to run for SGA president with Rebekah Hawkins as vice-president in hopes to keep “Rattlers Rising.” On the night of voting day, the results did not come in their favor. The “Rattlers Rising” campaign fell short of a run-off against opponents Rochard Moricette and Natalie Antenor. “Robyn and Rebekah ran a phenomenal race. They truly believe in the celebration of women who work tirelessly to better the community both on campus and off of it,” Zoe Mitchell said.
Through every election Seniors has taken part in, she has found joy in getting to know the students across this campus and listening to their concerns. It has shown her that every Rattler is striving to keep FAMU here for another 131 years.
The defeat did not stop her. Realizing that there is life after FAMU, Seniors plans to now focus on her academic career for the remainder of her time at the university.
“I plan to be a student first, grounded in my schoolwork so I can create a successful life for myself. This summer I will be interning as a markets analyst in the investment bank at JP Morgan & Chase company, and that will be my main focus,” Seniors said.
During her internship, she plans to be an example to firms on Wall Street of what a FAMU student is, so more companies can recruit at the university. She is also in the process of applying for a study abroad internship in Europe for her junior year and plans to return to FAMU for her senior year.
The majority of her platform was a comprehensive plan that would have to be executed through the role of president and vice-president, Seniors is currently working on her organization called “1887.” This will be a leadership academy for students that will provide them with unique mentoring relationships, business etiquette lessons and exclusive networking opportunities.
As her term for vice-president comes to an end, she will continue to lobby during this legislative session to help FAMU secure the funding it needs. However, she plans to take a step back for the remainder of the year to allow the next administration to prepare for the next year. “Robyn has been an exceptional vice-president who has gone above and beyond her call of duty by being an active force in lobbying for the university’s needs to members of the Board of Governors and the legislature as well as promoting voter efficacy and political engagement across the campus,” Jackson said.
Seniors said: “My advice to the next administration is to put the students first, every need, concern, and want of theirs is now your need, want, and concern as well. This will mean having to take a stand against the administration during tough times and calling them out when they are wrong and most importantly reminding them that the ultimate stakeholders at this university are the students. So you fight for the students, because we ultimately hold the power. Also, enjoy this time, take in every amazing moment and all the fun experiences you will get to have.”
Seniors has had the greatest joy in serving FAMU. While she is a little sad over the loss, she is also excited to enjoy this break. She has confidence in the university’s future and is thankful to have served it for a time.