SMS Marketing Major Leads Student Body...
By Sherry Cook

Sometimes a person can surprise you. That may be the case with SGA President and Marketing major Chris Curtis. He laughingly admits that some of his high school teachers would probably scratch their heads in amazement at his college accomplishments. “During high school I really focused on playing baseball, my friends and not a whole lot on academics or leadership,” he says. 

That has certainly changed, however, since Chris came to SMSU. Currently the President of Student Government Association, Chris has been involved with SGA since 2001. He has also studied abroad in New Zealand, has served on Student Activities Council, backpacked through several countries including Australia, Thailand, Italy, France, England and Norway and just recently returned from China, serving as a student representative to our branch campus in Dailian. He’s balanced that and much more with his academic studies in Marketing. He next looks at perhaps pursuing an MBA upon his graduation in May.

Why did this Springfield native choose SMSU? “First and foremost, we have a strong business program,” says Chris. “There were many other factors that also weighed into my decision such as a beautiful campus, other friends attending and liking Springfield.” As for his major in Marketing, he says he feels “fortunate that each time I take a marketing class, it reaffirms my decision. It’s kind of like having your cake and eating it too. It’s so much fun and you can make a good living.”

During the elections of 2000, Chris found himself fascinated with the politics of the time. “I can remember staying up for hours watching CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and anything else that would talk about the strategies of the candidates, their speeches, the critics, and anything else about politics. I think I have always been pushed to get involved and take leadership roles, but until then, had never ceased the opportunities.”

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The interest spurred involvement in leadership roles both within student government and within his fraternity. This culminated with Chris’s decision to run for President of SGA last year. “The main reason I decided to step up and run was because I knew there was a lot of issues that needed to be addressed at SMS and in SGA. There are two separate roles that I play, one being Student Body President and the other one as President of SGA, but they both come when you are elected in the Spring.” He notes that it’s important to distinguish between the two. As the President of the Student Body, he represents students to the Board of Governors, to the SMS administration and to local and state government officials at social and university functions. As the President of SGA, he has the responsibility of heading the organization. This entails establishing a cabinet of 15 other students, recruiting students to serve on all university-wide committees and researching and investigating student concerns. Ultimately this leads to making policy recommendations to the University’s administration. 

“The biggest challenge I face in this role,” he says, “is trying to get students to tell us their concerns so we can address them. When Lindsay Haymes, my vice-president, and I decided to run together, we started asking all our friends what their concerns were, what they wanted to fix, what they liked and what they hated.”

That led to the development of a list of ten projects the two hoped to see through. “I am very excited to say,” explains Chris, “that prior to the school year even beginning, we already had substantially started or completed 7 out of the 10 projects.” For a complete list of Chris and Lindsay’s goals, one can go online to www.chrisandlindsay.net.

As SGA President, Chris traveled to Dailian, China in September to the SMSU branch there. “It was so enlightening to visit with our students there and really get to understand the program. The students are so excited and honored to attend an American university. It is hard for Chinese students to obtain visas right now, so this is a great alternative.” 

As Chris nears the end of his undergraduate career at SMSU, what advice does he offer other students? “Get involved,” he says. “You hear it all the time, but if you don’t get involved then you will be left out and left behind. There are not excuses not to. I worked my way through college, lived off campus, and had no financial support from my family. College is supposed to be the experience of a lifetime and it is up to each student if they really want it to be. I’ve had less than ideal circumstances, but somehow managed to do it. So can you.”

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