“Are you just doing this for the resume?”
Finance junior Lucas Drumond has heard that question a lot while running for Student Association president alongside his vice presidential running mate, marketing junior Audrey Foster.
“I actually really like that question,” Drumond said. “I want to be a financial advisor,
and I got licensed for that a year ago. I’m in wealth management, and the deeper I dive,
the better it is for my resume, my career, etcetera.”
Drumond and Foster’s campaign centers on what they describe as a sense of “calling,”
“intentionality,” and a commitment to serving the broader student body rather than
advancing personal goals.
This Tuesday, every full-time ORU student will be able to vote Tuesday in the SA election on Vision, where the ballot will be open from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. The
results will be announced during Wednesday’s chapel service.
Drumond ’s interest in student leadership began early in his college experience after
being mentored by a former student leader, he said.
“I started to admire that he didn’t use the role as a power or influence position,” Drumond said. “He used it to be an example of a good leader, a dedicated student and a Christian.”
Foster shared a similar perspective, describing a season of prayer and discernment before deciding to run.
“I initially wanted to discount myself,” Foster said. “But I took time to pray about it, and
I felt a lot of peace moving forward.”
Choosing service over other opportunities
Drumond and Foster said stepping into these roles would require them to step back
from other leadership positions and commitments.
“If you feel called to something, you want to commit to it fully,” Drumond said.
Foster agreed, noting that she has already turned down other opportunities.
“I felt the Lord telling me to honor what I’ve already committed to,” she said. “And now,
stepping into this, it just feels like the right next step.”
The pair said their willingness to make sacrifices reflects one of their core values:
excellence.
“For everything you do, do it with all your heart,” Drumond said, referencing Colossians
3:23. “We want to actually live that out.”
‘Fresh eyes’ and a new perspective
A central theme of their campaign is what they call bringing “fresh eyes” into Student
Association leadership.
Rather than seeing their lack of prior Student Association experience as a disadvantage, Drumond said it allows them to “identify gaps.”
“When you’re already in the system, sometimes you stop asking why things are done a
certain way,” Drumond said. “We want to come in and ask those questions.”
Foster added that they have already begun meeting with current student leaders to
understand strengths and inefficiencies.
“We’ve been asking, ‘Where are things working, and where can they improve?’” she
said.
Focusing on student voices
The pair’s campaign is built around three core values: represent, unite and excel.
A major focus, they said, is improving how student voices are heard.
“Everyone says they want to represent students,” Drumond said. “But how are you
actually doing that?”
He pointed to a lack of clear, accessible ways for students to share feedback.
“No one’s going to knock on the office door and say ‘What needs to change?’” Drumond said.
His campaign has proposed creating more accessible platforms, such as
digital surveys, where students can easily share input.
“We don’t want to push our own agenda,” Drumond said. “We want to hear what students actually want and bring that to administration.”
‘For you, with you’
Foster emphasized unity as a personal priority, particularly when it comes to student
connection.
“I’ve known what it feels like to be an unfamiliar face on campus,” Foster said. “Now I
want to be someone who goes up to others and makes them feel seen.”
Foster described a vision where students feel personally known and included.
“It’s about creating spaces where people feel like they belong,” Foster said.
Their campaign slogan, “For you, with you,” reflects what they say is a commitment to
collaboration rather than authority, the candidates said.
“We’re not here to tell students what to do,” Drumond said. “We’re here to serve them
and work alongside them.
