Out of all of the functions of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), their role in determining the resources available to registered student organizations (RSOs) may be what they are best known for. The USG oversees the use of the Student Activity Fee (SAF), and the Treasurer, David Reeves, oversees how the money is handled and processed by the Ways and Means (WAM) committee.
While carrying out routine duties such as writing checks and reviewing purchase requests, Reeves makes it his mission to be an open book to those who are interested in the operations of the USG. “That’s one of my big goals, to make sure that what we’re spending is ultimately viewable by the students,” he says, “because it’s their money that they’re paying in, so they should see where it’s going.”
The processing of checks and purchase requests is one of the largest time sinks in Reeves’ day as Treasurer. Any way he can work toward streamlining the process helps the USG run more efficiently. He recalls the old workflow for processing a check, “You have to have like six different tabs open with everything,” he says, explaining the clunky process of verifying and publishing information. “[Now], we’re taking results from that platform, piping it into a spreadsheet, and then using that to verify everything. Instead of having to verify everything by hand, we have certain formulas and automation that does a sanity check.”
A Computer Science major with a minor in Psychology, Reeves is a third-year student from Plymouth, MI. His expertise in Computer Science is put to use in his position as Treasurer, where he helps maintain websites such as the WAM dashboard, the Break Bus information page, and off-campus housing information. He also holds a position on the executive board of Michigan Tech’s Rowing Club and an outgoing role on the Robotics Club. “Outside of that, I just like to get outside, do things around campus.”
“It’s interesting to kind of take a step back and be more of a management role,” Reeves says, reflecting on how he’s growing professionally as he meets, advises, and facilitates. “It feels like a lot more customer service than it actually is getting in the nitty gritty of work, both internally within USG and externally.”
For more information or questions to the Treasurer, email usg-treasurer@mtu.edu.
