As Matt Correia took a seat on the couch in the Resident Hall Association office, he was greeted by a passing Office of Residence Life staffer who congratulated him on a recent letter to the editor sent to The Daily Orange.

A junior double major in economics and philosophy, Correia is no stranger to leadership. He became active on campus during his freshman year, when he served as president of Day Hall. During his sophomore year, Correia moved on to the position of director of finance for RHA, then ran for and was elected as the organization’s president.

His current campus activities include National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Residence Hall Honorary, Student Association Finance Board and RHA campus president.

As president of RHA, Correia has done many things to enhance the campus experience for Syracuse University students. Some of his accomplishments include working with Computing and Media Services to help implement the wireless Internet system and MyMail, helping to get Haven and Shaw dining halls open until 9 p.m., bringing free movies to channel 2 OTN and helping to finance and support numerous student organizations on campus.

‘I am currently working with (the Department of Public Safety) to enhance and fix lighting around campus,’ Correia said, mentioning that this is something SA has also been involved with.

Some may wonder, with all of the things he has accomplished with RHA, why Correia decided to run for SA president.

‘I have a desire as a student leader to make the biggest impact on campus,’ Correia said, going on to explain that SA has the ability to help solve one of the biggest problems on campus, which he says is a divide among student groups.

‘As someone who works closely with Matthew, I witness many of the policies he implements and would like to take to the Student Association,’ said sophomore history major and director of Community Service for RHA Anthony Grant.

Correia’s vision for SA centers on his self-titled ‘Seven Keys to Success,’ and he has put much of his energy into the first, which is promoting collaboration between student groups. Collaboration has been an important word for Correia, not only during his SA campaign, but also as RHA president.

‘Non-interaction has been with our students for a long time,’ Correia said during the presidential debate on Nov. 7.

His vision, he said, is to get everyone on the same page, and he has several ideas for how to go about doing just that.

‘For starters, OSL keeps a record of all of the presidents and financial controllers from all student groups, but nothing is done with it,’ Correia noted.

His hope would be to create a listserv that would bring the leaders of student groups together.

In addition to creating a listserv, Correia said he hopes to enhance the mandatory RSO training that all student organization leaders must attend to make it more worthwhile.

Getting student organizations around campus to collaborate is just step one for Correia. He also indicates that SA itself needs to be supported as an organization, and hopes to make the experience of SA for representatives better so they feel like they are making a difference.

‘If you want to be a great leader, you need to get people enthused and involved,’ Correia said. ‘You need to be a catalyst to action.’

He said he hopes to make SA more internally efficient so it can best serve the students of SU, noting the problem that SA has had in the past of not filling seats.

‘Freshmen who come in are looking for experiences,’ Correia said. ‘You need to grab them in August and September when they make the decision of what they want to do.’

Throughout his campaign, Correia said he has received much support from friends, peers, faculty members and others.

‘They pushed for me to run,’ he said. ‘I think they have this confidence in me because they know I can do it.’

His campaign team is comprised of a campaign manager, junior engineering and computer science major Matt McAllister; public relations manager, junior advertising and design major Erik Burger; and chief political advisor, junior political science major Andy Olek. All three are Correia’s roommates in Haven Hall.

‘Because I live with him, I know how much time and effort he puts into RHA,’ Burger said. ‘He has a lot of responsibilities he willingly takes up, and he wants the position so he can provide for the students. When Matt speaks about issues, he knows what he’s talking about. He is a person of the people.’

Correia is most grateful to those who have supported him throughout his campaign.

‘To be surrounded by such passionate and dedicated people makes me better as a person,’ he said.

Published on November 11, 2006 at 12:00 pm