Emily Latham, Techsan Tradition: “We Want To Leave Something Behind”

Emily Latham said she is not the average business school student, describing herself as quirky and different. With bright red lips and a constant smile on her face, Latham does not seem like she is in the middle of her first election campaign.

Latham, a senior marketing major at Texas Tech University, is a chief of staff candidate running with the bloc Techsan Tradition. The chief of staff is an appointed, not elected, position, and Latham explained what exactly the person in this position does.

“They kind of preside over the executive candidates as a whole,” Latham said. “It focuses a lot on the student body president, but I think anything and everything; they kind of help handle that — so, everything from scheduling, events and things that they can’t make. You are kind of their catch all.”

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Chief of staff candidate Emily Latham. Picture provided by Techsan Tradition.Latham has plenty of experience with dealing with people.

Latham has plenty of experience with dealing with people. Latham has more than 100 first cousins, so she said she excels at knowing people’s names and talking to anyone. Although she did not expect to use these skills for something like Student Government Association, she said, it will help her if appointed to chief of staff.

As a first generation college student, Latham said, Texas Tech made her feel welcome in a time when she really needed it.

“I visited a couple of other places, and they just didn’t feel like home,” Latham said. “And then, I came here, and just meeting the people, that’s what made me come to Texas Tech. The people and the relationship that I felt like I could build here.”

This election has been Latham’s first experience with SGA. John Michael Getz, a senator at large candidate and part of the Techsan Tradition team, and Latham joked about forming their own bloc and running in this year’s election. When Getz called her the next day to seriously ask if she would like to help with the campaign, Latham did not hesitate to say yes.

Latham said that quick response is something she shares with other members of Techsan Tradition. She said they are all quick thinkers and know how to make smart decisions for a whole group.

“The amount of things we have been able to do in an hour is incredible,” Latham said. “We’ll hit the ground running and do campaigning stuff. We have a block from like 5 to 8:30 because our other meetings start at 8:30. The amount of stuff we do in that couple of hours is just incredible.”

From left to right: Holton Westbrook, president candidate, Saba Nafees, graduate vice president candidate, Valerie Briley, internal vice president candidate, and Ben Sharp, external vice president candidate. Picture by Jordann Fowler.

From left to right: Holton Westbrook, president candidate, Saba Nafees, graduate vice president candidate, Valerie Briley, internal vice president candidate, and Ben Sharp, external vice president candidate. Picture by Jordann Fowler.

Latham said a lot of that time together is spent campaigning. She said Techsan Tradition’s biggest campaign strategy is to keep people informed. Educating students about what SGA does and what they can do for students is the bloc’s main goal.

According to Latham, the name Techsan Tradition come from the idea of serving students. She said her bloc would like to get back to the roots of student government and focus on informing and improving the entire student body.

“We want to leave something behind,” Latham said. “We want to inspire others to join us and help us change.”

Although certain Hub staffers may or may not support various campaigns, their views or opinions do not reflect those of The Hub@TTU as a whole. In the interest of fairness, The Hub@TTU will not be endorsing a particular campaign.

About Sarah Self-Walbrick

Graduate Executive Director — Mass Communication Graduate Student, Class of 2017
Sarah, a Lubbock native, has two bachelor of art degrees in electronic media and communication and journalism, and is pursuing a master's in mass communications. She loves Texas, her husband and dog, and good storytelling.