The Daily News is catching up will the four members of the incoming SGA executive board before they take office. Get to know your campus leaders.
Brock Frazer — secretary
Ana Batres — vice president
James Wells — president
For a small town girl, Emily Halley has anything but small goals.
Originally from Goshen, Ind., the future SGA treasurer grew up close to her mom and dad as an only child. She said her home town is small, but full of adventure with all of its diversity.
“We have a lot of people who move to work in [the RV] industries there, so we have a lot of different food places there, bringing in authentic Mexican food and an Indian place as well," Halley said. "So it's cool to be adventurous with the food options as well as the different cultures and the events that they put on."
Halley has traveled to more than 40 states in the U.S. with her parents, and they hope to travel to all 50. She said because her parents come from small towns, they wanted to give her the opportunities they didn’t have — to be invested in different cultures, which has had a great impact on Halley’s life.
“Often time when you’re not able to travel it’s easier to be almost close-minded about issues because you’re not able to see all the different things happening in the world,” Halley said. “Traveling has really opened my eyes to those issues, and that’s why I think I can relate to those emotions. It's much easier to be humble about the things you have in your life and be grateful to live the life you have.”
Being close to her family, it's almost natural that Halley took after their instincts for business.
Halley’s mother is a marketing coordinator, her father is a business accountant and her grandfather owned several businesses in Ohio.
Halley said she thinks she mostly takes after her father when it comes to business.
“Being the granddaughter of a business owner is where I get my spirit and passion for marketing,” she said. “My dad is more on the business side and I think I gained that actually from him, as well as my grandpa.”
She is the president and founder of Women in Business here at Ball State. She helped found the organization after participating in several seminars in high school and college.
“All the ideas came to life about doing an organization that empowered women to pursue a degree in business and to continue to break leadership barriers and just the work life balance,” she said. “I wanted to give the same opportunities to college women.”
For Halley, business has been her hobby.
Ever since high school, Halley has been involved in a number of student organizations based around giving students a taste of the business world. She helped host her high school's Young Women in Business event, which consisted of speakers and an etiquette dinner to help educate women on the field.
She was also a part of her school's Red Zone store, where students got to dip their hands into the creative world of marketing to help sell items. Halley said this store was where she really gained her interest for marketing.
“I wanted to find that perfect balance between analytical and creative, and I think marketing embodies both those characteristics,” Halley said. “Marketing lets you not only be analytical, but lets you be creative and innovative and find ways to relate to people.”
Halley said her dream job would be to work for the American Girl Doll company. Growing up, she said she was very fortunate to have more than her fair share of American Girl dolls, and they inspired her to be the woman she is today.
“American Girl truly inspires girls to love themselves just the way they are and it ties back to Women in Business and empowering college women," she said.
She said some issues in Women in Business could be eliminated if people started talking about them at a younger age.
“Toys in marketing really have the ability to change lives, and I hope that one day I can work for a company that goes against societal norms and just tries to provide more than as product or service as well as making sure they are being a good influence on their consumers," she said.
As the new SGA terms nears, Halley says she is more passionate than ever. Passion is what describes her character, she said, and it's what she hopes to draw out of people in SGA.
“There’s this feeling when you're truly passionate about something that I can’t really explain," she said. "Something I really like is helping people find their passions, because I know that feeling and I want everyone to have that feeling."
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