Editor’s note: The above summaries were submitted by the candidates themselves, but may have been edited for length, clarity and AP Style.
Ally Swartzberg, a Politics & International Affairs and Anthropology double major, strives to understand the role of cultural identity in shaping group behavior – a focus which guides her view of the Wake Forest Community and how it can become more welcoming for a diverse student body. She has been identified as a leader on campus, being named as a Mullen Scholar of the Upperclass Carswell Scholars on the basis of her academic and extracurricular leadership at the university.
Having grown up in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith family, Swartzberg’s primary goal at Wake Forest has been to work with different communities to increase their sense of belonging on campus. She has been in student government for two years, serving as a member of the Campus Life Committee and, most recently, as Chair of Diversity and Inclusion. Through her positions, she has worked closely with administrative offices and academic departments in order to foster inclusion in both academic and social environments. In this work, she has built relationships with members of organizations including the Black Student Alliance, the Muslim Student Association, NPHC fraternities and sororities, and Hillel. In an effort to increase accountability between the student body and administration, Swartzberg has served as student representative to administrative boards including President Hatch’s Commission on Race, Equity, and Community and the Committee on Undergraduate Orientation and Lower Division Advising.
In addition to her goals of inclusion, Swartzberg has worked to increase engagement within the Winston Salem community. She currently tutors local students and continues to do this work remotely despite the global pandemic. She has a strong relationship with the Office of Civic and Community Engagement (formerly the Pro Humanitate Institute) and will serve as the Program Management Coordinator for SPARC, the community service pre-orientation program, in the fall. She is dedicated to providing a welcoming environment for incoming freshmen and served as a student advisor in 2019 in addition to leading pre-orientation.
Swartzberg is also a member of Delta Zeta sorority and takes pride in her organization’s philanthropy work. In the summer of 2019, she traveled to California to serve as Wake Forest’s chapter delegate to the Painted Turtle Camp, Delta Zeta’s national service project. Regardless of her position, Swartzberg consistently strives to serve others. If elected Speaker of the House, she hopes to collaborate with students, faculty, and administrators to create a more inclusive Wake Forest.
