As the school year comes to an end, so does the reign of a two-time Student Government Association president. Jay Perry’s plans for the future will not take him far from the campus and city he has come to call home.
Perry said that his four years here was well spent. He said that Saint Louis University was the right choice: “There are incredible people here. It’s been amazing for me,” he said.
Next year, Perry will not be leaving his alma mater behind. After graduation, he will head Student Alumni Programming in the Student Life office. “We’re trying to do better to connect the students with the alumni,” he said. “If we do more for them, they’ll do more for the University.”
In addition to SLU, the St. Louis area beckons Perry to remain close. Coming from Chicago, he said that this city is a nice change of scenery. “It’s just something that I can’t leave this University,” he said. “I think that it’s the people mostly.”
Perry’s ultimate goal may return him to the political arena. He is looking into law school, and may one day run for a political office.
However, he is looking forward to a break from the political life. “Even if it doesn’t seem like it, SGA is pretty political,” he said.
What Perry considers his biggest accomplishment may not come as a surprise to students: “Undoubtedly Project SLUnion,” he said. “It took more than a year and a half. Students may think we can’t get things done, but it got approved.”
Perry said that a new student union will be awesome for student life and for the recruitment and retention of students.
One month ago, Perry would have said that his biggest regret was not seeing the approval of the union. “Now, I just don’t know,” Perry said.
Chuckling, Perry said that he regretted not running for a third term for SGA president to see what could have happened.
“We’ve accomplished everything that I set out to do, everything that was on my platform,” he continued.
Perry had two pieces of advice for his successor, Mike Cappel: “Don’t get frustrated, and maintain a high level of patience.” Perry said that dealing with both students and administration can be difficult, as the two groups have such different perspectives.
“Cappel should stay organized,” Perry said, “and tell SGA Senator Nick Fagan to shut up once a in a while.”
