Working with finances other than my own is something I hadn’t done since my days on the high school Business Professionals of America team, until this year! I served on the committee fondly referred to across campus as SBAC, which is short for the Student Budget Allocation Committee! SBAC is a committee of about 10 members including a chair member and adviser who all collaborate to democratically determine who the recipients of certain campus funding should be and how much they should receive. This is done through an application process that is followed up by a meeting in which the committee reviews and addresses any concerns related to the application. At each meeting the applicants are given the opportunity to present their cause to the committee, once they are dismissed the committee discusses the situation, those involved and other relevant information in order to eventually reach a motion which is voted on and either awards or denies the applicant requested funding.
Throughout the year that I served on the committee I learned a great deal about finances and budgeting; I was also able to experience first hand the importance of consistent parliamentary procedure. I acted as record keeper for the group by typing the meeting minutes during every meeting and then sharing the document with all members. All of these individual aspects of the experience were things I noticed to be important for our committee, we had people on the committee that really cared about finances and budgeting, we had people in the group that helped remind us to continually stick to procedure and not become sloppy in our ways. That’s just it though, when you think about it, the things you take away from experiences like this don’t come from procedure or the notes you take, they come from the people you work closely with. Our group was small, and it changed membership slightly at the turn of the semester, but we had very diverse ideals and perspectives. I thoroughly enjoyed working with SBAC and appreciate all that they have taught me about the dynamics of collaborating effectively and progressively in a diverse group.
Claire's Conclusions 