Goodbyes were said to USG President Hannah Woodworth on Tuesday night as the university welcomed in fresh faces of leadership at the state of USG address.
“I am truly delighted as I look at this group before me,” Woodworth said. “As I look at all of these faces, I see colleagues, mentors and advocates that have contributed to our historic success this year.”
Woodworth began the address by sharing the goals she and her vice president, Nivea Krishnan, entered their term with. She emphasized their mission to maximize student government’s full potential: to build relationships and come together as an organization, student body and partner with university administration.
“At the start of the academic year, Nivea and I felt a strong sense of optimism,” Woodworth said. “I think many of us thought that — we were entering our first fully in-person year since 2018.”
But just days before the beginning of the semester, an overwhelming majority of USC’s fraternities disaffiliated from the university — an obstacle Woodworth said they couldn’t have seen coming.
“This year we would inevitably face obstacles, things that were out of control — but what we could control is how we react,” Woodworth said.
With the support of her executive cabinet, partners in student affairs and senior leadership, Woodworth said they got to work on an ambitious agenda.
In October 2022, USG launched a pilot program offering free shuttle rides to LAX for students during school breaks. The affordability and sustainability initiative was used by over 4,000 students and was designed to eliminate travel barriers for students as well as decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Woodworth proudly announced that the project is being overtaken by university administration, increasing USG’s budget for the following year.
“[This] offers us the flexibility to keep pursuing dynamic initiatives that reflect the changing needs of our student body … it was a reflection of our approach to advocacy this year,” Woodworth said.
This accomplishment inspired USG’s qualitative interview initiative — a program in which cabinet members met with over 20 student leaders from registered student organizations across the university. They used these conversations to inform their agenda for the year and learn how to better serve the student body and its many diverse interests.
Some of these agenda items included increasing accessibility of funds towards registered student organizations and advocacy completion through outreach.
Woodworth shared that they achieved these goals with the funding department allocated 98% of its budget this year compared to only 64% last year, and their communications channels reaching over 50,000 students digitally.
She thanked her programming department as well for their work in hosting roughly 170 events for students and celebrated the passage of over 50 bills by the Senate.
“I think this really speaks to the willingness of our senators to tackle the tough issues and engage in meaningful dialogue about the structural changes that are needed to make student government the most effective for most students,” Woodworth said.
To close the cabinet’s long list of accomplishments, Woodworth left attendees with the success she’s most proud of.
“We are well on our way to fully revitalizing our organizational culture,” Woodworth said. “From day one, our cabinet committed to being in the office day in and day out; it doesn’t just mean being physically in the office, it means being committed to this role.”
Woodworth went on to say she never saw herself in student government, and instead had always been the one criticizing the institution. After returning to campus her junior year though, she was encouraged to apply and said she saw the organization’s potential.
Two years later, she reflects on that decision and looks forward to the future she hopes USG has been able to create.
“In this moment, it is my utmost goal that, when we look back in 10 years from now, we know that we are setting up the next year and the next, to be better than we are, to have the ability to make the changes we could not,” Woodworth said.
To close, she provided some parting words of advice.
“Be courageous in your advocacy because if you don’t, you’ll never know what is possible,” Woodworth said. “And for one last time, as always, fight on.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the president-elect was sworn in. Annenberg Media regrets this error.