With one semester under his belt as president of the Student Government Association, Colton Jessie said he thought the first half of his term had been successful.

But Jessie admitted it was stressful handling his responsibilities as head of the student body.

“Doing it for the first time is kind of like somebody blindfolding you and putting you in a room you’ve never been in before,” Jessie said.

Despite the stress, Jessie said he thinks SGA has kept student interest at the forefront of the group’s decisions.

The semester began with four members teaching classes at MASTER Plan, and ended with Dine with Decision Makers this week, which expanded from last year to include members of the Board of Regents and other state officials.

SGA still has more than half of its $113,335 budget remaining for next semester, according to information provided by Administrative Vice President Wade Pierce.

They’ve spent $29,586.80 of the $40,000 total designated for Organizational Aid.

“We are pleased with how many organizations have applied for Org Aid,” Pierce said.

Pierce also said he was happy about how many scholarships SGA was able to give out.

“A lot of money went out to students for scholarships this semester,” Pierce said. “There were a lot of qualified students that applied, so it was hard to deny a lot of people.”

Executive Vice President Kendrick Bryan, in his second year in that position, said this semester has gone much more smoothly than last year.

“We have established leaders who have SGA experience, and that has really helped us this year,” Bryan said.

Jessie said the staff has worked very well together throughout the past few months.

“We have learned what works throughout the course of the semester,” Jessie said. “We have the kinks worked out and figured out the best way to run things.”

Members of SGA had a lot of contact with administration earlier in the semester with the syllabus transparency bill, and Jessie said he has been able to have a “really good relationship with administrators all year.”

Jessie said having a good working relationship with the administration is a good tool.

SGA will address issues including off-campus housing and test preparation next semester, Bryan said.