The Riverland Community College Student Senate is the central leadership for student concerns on campus, but now it’s starting to pick up the reigns of leadership on a much broader scale.

For the second year in a row, RCC was awarded the Star Campus designation by Lead MN and the college’s Student Senate President Oballa Oballa has been elected vice president for Lead MN, the first time a Riverland student has been elected to a state post.

“This is a great thing because no one has ever been elected from the southeast region,” Oballa said. “This is the first time that someone from a smaller campus gets elected to the state level.”

Leader on a state level

Oballa has been pushing for the students of Riverland for a couple years now, as vice president and then president of the college’s Student Senate.

When the opportunity came up to take his leadership to a higher platform, Oballa didn’t hesitate.

“I was like, ‘Why don’t I try on a bigger level,’” Oballa said. “Take my leadership to the next level.”

Oballa campaigned for the seat for two months, culminating in him winning the seat during an election at Breezy Point Resort on April 21.

The win was not just a win for Oballa, but southeast Minnesota as well, as he serves a term in Lead MN’s ruling body.

It also allows for Oballa to continue the strong work the body has done.

“It means a lot, because I feel like there is more work that needs to be done,” he said. “The current cabinet did an amazing job … we need more people as energized and to take the next step and keep fighting for the students of Minnesota.”

For Oballa, those fights are on a couple different fronts of affordability: Particularly in the areas of food needs and textbook affordability, both of which have been existing efforts by RCC’s Student Senate.

“The main thing, which started here, is fighting for food security within colleges,” Oballa said. “I made a motion last year in front of the general assembly among more than 400 students to have a system that will help our students fighting with food security.”

The other is making sure students can afford textbooks which again has been an ongoing concern.

All of this work has put him on the main stage of Lead MN, but it was already common knowledge for Student Senate advisor Keith Cich.

“[He’s] very caring and generous with his time and his actions,” Cich said. “Just to see him get that position: For one I’m not surprised. It’s well deserved. But I also think it’s important in the sense a lot of times those positions are held by people in the metro area. This is an opportunity for somebody outstate to say, ‘Okay this is what the needs are of smaller and more rural campuses.’

As Oballa takes his seat with Lead MN in July, he won’t just be representing Riverland or the state’s two-year students. He also has an eye on what he can do for Austin as a whole.

“The next step is taking what I’ve learned through all this and bringing it back to the community,” Oballa said. “This will be the journey now. I know where I’m heading. I will always have a passion to help others not only with the school, but I should help within the community.”

Rising star

For the second year in a row Riverland Student Senate has been honored for the work they’ve been doing around the school and for its students with the Star Campus designation.

This achievement is awarded for a variety of things student senates do and continue to do.

“Star Campus, according to Lead MN, which is the umbrella group for student senates across two-year colleges across Minnesota, is to gauge whether you are on track,” Cich said. “Are you an active senate, are you doing things that are going to make a difference for your students or your state to represent your college students?”

For Oballa it’s a clear sign of the conviction of students serving on the senate.

“It means a lot,” he said. “It means that our students are ready to work hard on their campus and also with Lead MN. It motivates our students, not just on the student senate. How are they showing they are working as a senate member?”

It also shows that the senate is consistently showing off those convictions.

“To have that going for two years in a row shows a very consistent senate that’s working really hard and really diligently for their students on important issues,” Cich said.