Originally from California, Sïonan Barrett has always wanted to attend an east coast university. The University of Massachusetts, she said, has turned out to be a perfect fit.

Redondo Beach native Sïonan (pronounced Shannon) Barrett was elected speaker of the Student Government Association last spring after serving a short term as a senator. A sophomore journalism student, Barrett is a big personality with equally big aspirations.

As SGA speaker, Barrett is the mediating voice between the student body and the administration. With this responsibility comes a great deal of satisfaction.

“I like to know that I can make a difference,” she said. “The SGA is really the bridge between the student voice and the administrators.”

Barrett is motivated; dedicating herself to the SGA without hesitation, she is looking forward to making the SGA much more visible on campus this year.

“Students can expect to see SGA members around campus tabling, talking and participating in the lives of UMass students,” she said.

Though only in her second year, Barrett has a full plate. Not only does she juggle class and SGA responsibilities, but she also runs a news segment with UVC-TV, plays intermural tennis, is a resident assistant and works as a Eucharistic minister at the Newman Center. As if this were not enough, Barrett is in the process of creating her own TV show, “The Show with Sïonan.”

The drive to work hard and participate fully in all aspects of campus life is part of who Barrett is: “If I’m stagnant, I’m bored. I always have to be learning something,” she said.

After graduating, Barrett wants to work in broadcast journalism as a political news correspondent and she strives to one day become a news anchor. She is considering working in Boston or perhaps heading back west to Los Angeles if the opportunity arises.

“If I want something, I really go for it and I do everything I can to get it,” she said of her goals.

Ten minutes after a gas main broke in the middle of campus Sept. 12, Barrett was already the first one back in the SGA office, which had been previously evacuated, turning back on the lights and the air-conditioning.

Barrett is still settling into her new SGA home, located in room 420 of the Student Union. Her office is minimally adorned with UMass paraphernalia that sits on an almost cartoonishly large business desk. The wall next to her swiveling office chair is covered with neatly organized business cards and hand-written motivational sayings. One lonely peppermint remained at the bottom of a candy dish, the result of many student meetings.

Although Barrett is always looking for new experiences, she knows she’s got a good thing going. Though there are positions above the speaker in the SGA hierarchy, Barrett is not looking to upgrade.

“I think I like my position as speaker and I would like to stay in this position because you have so much direct contact with your constituents every day,” she said.

Jason Kotoch can be reached at [email protected].