Going Far: SGA president finds inspiration from past tacticians

Josiah Lewis has always been fascinated by history and the very real people that outlive their time to be known in future eras. He goes into great detail about the strategies used by historic tacticians like Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan and the choices they made that brought them to power and out again. While he may not be conquering foreign lands, Lewis does try to bring aspects of perseverance and resourcefulness into his own role as the Student Government president of the Altamonte Springs Campus.

Lewis began with the GED program at Seminole State College of Florida, which he completed in October 2018, but he knew he wanted to continue. “My advice is to keep going,” Lewis said. “Don’t take time off. A week will make you feel some type of way, and a month will make you forget things you think are ingrained into you.”

As he works toward his Associate in Science and toward his goal of becoming a mechanical engineer, he has become more involved on the Altamonte Springs Campus, talking to the student body and seeing what their needs are. “The SGA promotes a lot of activities for fun, but also promotes ways for you to prepare yourself for after school,” Lewis said. Being off campus, resources such as the library, the Academic Success Center and more have had to find creative ways to stay in touch with students. It has been a challenge during his time as the campus SGA president to make sure students are aware of the tools that are available to them. “They do appreciate that SGA will bring this to their attention,” said Lewis. “Like how the Career Development Center [is] constantly having events about how to do resumes and how to do interviews.”

For those who have struggled to get involved with their SGA or campus due to COVID-19 or general shyness, he sympathizes but encourages them to try new things to grow their confidence. “You have to move forward. You can’t just stand there and expect things to change,” Lewis said. “Find the interest that you want and look for the clubs, and then give them a chance. It may not work the first meeting, but the second meeting probably will change. So, go listen and try to participate.”