The Student Bar Association at the University of Idaho law school, recently held elections for new officers for the executive board. Six positions were vacant: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, sergeant-at-arms and Boise vice president for next year.
Each student at the college of law is automatically a member of SBA. SBA maintains and supports an Executive Board, a governing council and student organizations.
This year’s SBA Sergeant-at-Arms, Ni-Amma Ollennu, was elected SBA President. Ollennu is studying general law and is finishing his second year at the law school. He is from Frisco, Texas and studied at University of Texas at El Paso, prior to moving to Moscow.
“I enjoy my time at the law school and I wanted to give back,” Ollennu said. “I thought this position would allow me to represent the school that I have come to love.”
The president of SBA’s duty is to coordinate communication between faculty and students.
Katie Hendricks, a first-year law student was elected vice president. Hendricks is from Sumner, Wash. and studied psychology and justice studies at UI, before attending law school. She is now looking into criminal law based studies.
She said she was originally planning to run for a representative position, until Ollennu asked her to be his running mate.
“He was looking for in a partner to make the law school a more cohesive unit,” Hendricks said.
The vice president assists the president and plans events and gatherings.
Bonnie Groller is originally from Spokane and is studying criminal law. She was elected secretary and is a first-year law student. She studied business finance and economics at Eastern Oregon University and wanted a leadership role in SBA, because it is the organization that oversees other groups in the law school.
“My particular position does the mentor mentee program for incoming first-year students,” Groller said. “That’s the most important thing I was excited about, helping students feel connected and part of the community.”
As a first-year law student, elected treasurer and from Fruitland, Sandy Lockett will be responsible for making sure each club has funding for activities and programs at the law school. Lockett received her undergraduate degree at Eastern Oregon University.
“I wanted to be an integral part of making the most of the limited resources we have for the clubs we have at the law school,” she said.
Loni Hinton is a first-year law student from Seattle studying business law. She was elected sergeant-at-arms and previously studied at the University of Washington. She said she ran because she wanted to be involved in student government. SBA sergeant-at-arms helps run meetings and works with students around the law school.
Currently a second-year law student, Katy Jibben, was elected Boise vice president. Jibben received her undergraduate degree in secondary education at Boise State University in her hometown. She is studying family law and began her role as SBA treasurer this year. Before attending UI’s law school, Jibben taught high school students for five years. She said she’d been involved in student government throughout her life and constantly seeks leadership roles.
“With the Boise program, it’s really important that we keep the two campuses connected as best as we can — especially since it’s expanding,” Jibben said.
The Boise vice president is responsible for posting video conferences between the Moscow and Boise law campuses, via Skype.
“I’ll also be in charge of communicating with the dean and the faculty members, and I’ll host events for the students,” Jibben said.
Arianna Anchustegui can be reached at [email protected]