Student Government Association Trustee Megan Kingston went through her entire campaign without coffee — and loved every minute of it.

“I’m the worst campaigner in history,” she said.

Along with serving as trustee for the SGA, Kingston, a senior accounting major, has spent her time at the University of Massachusetts working as a resident assistant and peer mentor in Washington in Southwest.

Elected by students in April, she said that her campaign was intense, with the idea to, “reach as many people as quickly as possible.”

Prior to campaigning for trustee, Kingston was not involved in the SGA. She is what she refers to as an “SGA outsider.”

According to Kingston, the SGA benefits students by giving them an opportunity to have their voices heard with more authority and validity. By serving in the SGA, members also have many more connections and more access to resources.

Though Kingston is a senior, her favorite memory of the time that she has spent at UMass is her campaign this past spring. She said the work was a “rewarding process.”

Although she has enjoyed her time at UMass and does not think that she could have fit anything more into her time schedule as a student, Kingston wishes that she had been more involved in clubs and activities outside of her “comfort zone.” As a business student, she spent a lot of time doing things for the Isenberg School of Management, and she feels that this prevented her from doing other things that she may have really enjoyed.

When not devoting time to SGA, Kingston enjoys being an RA, hiking and drinking iced chai tea.

After graduating from UMass, Kingston wants to continue living in New England because she enjoys watching the seasons change. She has already accepted a full time job at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which she will start once she receives her diploma. PwC is an accounting firm for risk assurance in Boston.

Kingston wants to advocate for the voice of the students during her time as trustee. She wants to open the communication lines with graduate students, get more decision making power and improve the Student Union by creating more space while increasing affordability.

Looking back, Kingston said that she would have wanted to get involved with SGA sooner than she did because she now realizes just how important the SGA is and what a huge difference they can make for others on campus.

Marleigh Felsenstein can be reached at [email protected]