In an effort to highlight the people who are leading colleges and universities across the nation, we at Watch The Yard reached out to Morgan State University and did an interview with Alexander Freeman the 2020-2021 Student Government Association president.

The position of SGA president is a highly respected role and there is a special pride that one takes. Freeman, who is majoring in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Human Resource Management, is from Baltimore.

We interviewed Freeman, and talked to him about his position, goals, future and what it means to hold this type of leadership position in 2021.

Read the full interview below.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned as an SGA president so far?

So far, the biggest thing I’ve learned from being SGA President was to understand that I can’t and won’t please everyone. The important thing is to make sure that whatever decisions I make, will benefit all of us and later generations of students to come.

What made you decide to attend Morgan State University for undergrad?

Originally I was accepted to UMD College Park and was also weighing my options with MIT for Mechanical Engineering, I didn’t have the resources for either but then a young man from Morgan visited my high school and presented me with a scholarship, resources, and various opportunities to learn and grow with Morgan.

How has Morgan State University molded you into the person you are today?

I truly owe a great deal to Morgan State University, I was a troubled kid but was also smart and knew what I wanted out of life- Morgan simple helped me find my self and allowed me to create my own paths to follow. The leadership programs, various organizations, caring professors, becoming an RA and being mentored by my RD Chad, it all helped make me the man I am today.

What specific initiatives have you headed up this year and how do you think they will improve the school and surrounding community?

My favorite and most focused on initiative would be our Going Green Initiative. This project focuses on reducing our carbon footprint at Morgan, becoming more environmentally friendly and conscious, starting urban community gardens/farms to create partnerships with our students, staff, faculty members, and the residence of the numerous communities in the Baltimore area. The list of possibilities goes on when it comes to this initiative, it truly would be a blessing for both the students and people of Baltimore.

How is your school currently responding to the coronavirus and what is your SGA administration doing to help students? 

At the beginning of the outbreak, our University’s President Dr. Wilson was one of the first University Presidents to act swiftly. After shutting school down and moving everything virtual, he moved to stop all study abroad and created several communities- some in which I sit/sat on to help create plans for our returning the campus for both the Fall ‘20 and Spring ‘21 semesters. We’re currently looking at a hybrid mode of learning, with social distancing all across campus and within our off campus facilities and housing. As SGA leaders, we played a big role in voicing the concerns of our students, making sure their safety was first, and helping create and highlight resources for them during this pandemic. We’ve worked with he Food Resource Center to help aid food insecurities, partnered with the University Foundation to raise funds for those severely impacted by Covid and even worked with the university to make sure students had adequate resources such as laptops for classes.

What does leadership mean to you?

To me, leadership is understanding your strengths and weaknesses, assessing them and them applying that to whatever problems or obstacles that may come your way, even if it means stepping back to allow others to lead.

We now live in a digital world, what do you think schools need to do to represent themselves online in 2021?

Adapt. This goes for K-12 as well, the original mode of learning and teaching needs to be improved because using old in person techniques of teaching won’t always work for a student that’s staring at a screen for hours. The environment has changed and so should the modes of teaching and learning.

Why do you think Watch The Yard is important to Black students and college culture?

Watch The Yard has not only become an archive for Black History and culture but is also a platform for highlighting, embracing, and showcasing the many talents, history, records, culture, and so much more attributes of black students.

What do you plan on doing after graduation?

I plan on starting my own tech company, working on a vertical indoor farming and traveling the world.

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend Alexander Freeman for his work as the SGA president of Morgan State University.

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