Carleton College Scholars Lead as Student Government President, VP

Andrew Farias and Brittany Dominguez, both senior Posse Scholars at Carleton College, are now president and vice president of the Carleton Students Association (CSA). They first met when they were selected to attend Carleton College in the same Posse from Houston, Texas.

“Given the impact of COVID-19, we started serving our roles over spring break. There was no manual for this.”

They quickly became best friends on campus, and while each pursued divergent interests, both became involved with the CSA. In the winter of their junior year, they became running mates for its top leadership positions. They won the election this past March, making Andrew the organization’s first openly trans president.

While newly elected CSA officers normally start serving in spring term, Andrew and Brittany began earlier this year.

“Given the impact of COVID-19, we started serving our roles over spring break,” says Andrew, an environmental studies major who first began his CSA work on its environmental advisory committee. “There was no manual for this.”

“We were kind of thrown into it, and we had to adapt very quickly,” says Brittany, who notes that the CSA has worked closely with the college administration on a number of decisions. “It’s been really incredible to see how much of an impact students were having.”

With so much in flux, Brittany and Andrew have had to place campus concerns like remote study and public health ahead of some of their administration’s longer-term goals, at least for the time being. The Carleton student body as a whole remains the driving force behind their work.

“We saw the campaign as an opportunity to lift up voices of the student body.”

“We saw the campaign as an opportunity to lift up voices of the student body, people who may feel like they’re not supposed to be involved or who feel like student government is not something that represents them,” Andrew says.

Andrew and Brittany hope to eventually lead in their respective fields after graduation. For Brittany, that means becoming a teacher in her hometown of Houston before embarking on a career in school administration. Andrew will pursue a career in public policy, with the ultimate goal of working for the Environmental Protection Agency.