Olivia Tata: “A President’s Role”

By Harry Spaulding – 1851 Contributor

“Everybody’s voice matters and we all deserve to be heard” Olivia Tata said.

Olivia Tata, born in Worcester, Massachusetts who now living in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts is 21 years old and the Senior President of SGA at Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts. Tata is a double major in Accounting and Finance.

Before attending Lasell University, Tata attended Shrewsbury High School (2013-2017) and she enjoyed making connections with others. “I was really close with my neighbors at the time and carpooling was the best” Tata said.

Tata decided to join the SGA to develop her leadership skills and to have a voice for her fellow students at the University. Back when Tata was a freshman her RA told her that she should join. “At the time I didn’t even know what SGA stood for” she said.

The SGA recently held their “Values to Live by Day” which took place Thursday, Feb. 25th from 2:00-4:00pm in the Arnow Campus center at Lasell University. The “Values to Live by Day” was created by the SGA to spread awareness for how students should be treating others on campus. The SGA recently changed and highlighted two important aspects to their values such as the platinum rule and welcoming differences.

Tata and the SGA team seemed hopeful that the “Values to Live by Event” and its positive message will help spark change across campus. It was an event meant to bring the community together.

“Everybody at Lasell fits a certain atmosphere” Tata said. She hopes nothing but the best for the upcoming students. As President of SGA, Tata is very driven to get stuff done, she recognizes the importance of organization, time management and academic responsibility.

Regarding Tata’s many responsibilities throughout SGA and on campus, Junior Vice President of communications Melaney Jenkins said, “Olivia is one of the most organized and dedicated people I know on this campus. This year specifically, her role as SGA president has not been easy having our meetings on Zoom, having some in person and some online events running at the same time, and making sure that all of the members of SGA are being heard and respected is a lot to handle, but Olivia has done an incredible job doing so.”

Upon graduating, Tata hopes to go into Accounting. She has already been hired at one company as a staff accountant. “If I like what I’m doing at the company I’m hoping to take the four CPA exams, which are the Certified Public Accounting exams and I also would need to gain 150 credits” Tata said.

As President of SGA, Tata has a lot to focus on. She appreciates the students that come to her with issues they are struggling with. She thinks it makes a huge difference when students bring up problems to more than one student. As a result, many more proposals or issues get resolved more efficiently and at a faster pace.

Tata has really changed the way that students and faculty see the SGA the past four years. She has worked very hard to make sure she is creating a respectful and welcoming environment not just for SGA members, but also for the Lasell community. Tata has strived to make sure that everybody’s voice is being heard and represented when needed.