On first impression few would know that Student Government Association Sen. John Wooding has struggled most of his life. Out of necessity to help support his family, he started working at age 13.

Wooding’s mother taught him to value hard work, empathy and perseverance. 

“She’s taught me what it means to have compassion for other people,” he said. “She’s taught me how to be a stronger person, and that when you face adversity you can truly overcome it.”

Now, Wooding is hoping to take the next step at St. Edward’s University by running for SGA president. 

Wooding says that a lot of his real world experience, including interning for a state representative, makes him a strong candidate to lead the university into the future.

He feels that he is qualified because he has worked “beyond student life and campus,” he said. 

“I’ve seen how great it is to make a real difference and that means sometimes you have to make difficult choices. I stand behind what I believe in.”

Since being appointed to fill a vacant senate seat his sophomore year, Wooding thinks that one of his top achievements has been communicating outside of Student Life and incorporating new viewpoints into SGA. 

This idea has even influenced his pick for vice president Sen. Souther Recio, who is a sophomore fine arts major. 

“My motivation behind picking her is that Souther is really outgoing, really approachable, really kind, bubbly, warmhearted and she’s someone you can talk to,” he said. “If we win, I want someone that is at the head of the senate that people can approach.”

Other than Recio’s approachability, Wooding thinks her biggest advantage is that she doesn’t come from student life.

“She’s a fresh perspective, and that is something we desperately need,” he said. “We need someone outside the third floor office of Rags running things.”

During his time as senator, Wooding cited his Gmail bill, which would transition the university to the email service from Zimbra, and his Capital Metro bill, which would let St. Edward’s students ride the city bus for free, as two of his major pieces of legislation.

For his campaign Wooding said he will focus on three major issues: tuition, parking and housing. 

If elected president, Wooding wants to develop a better relationship between students and the administration so that students and their families know why their tuition is increasing.

“I deserve to know, you deserve to know, everyone deserves to know precisely where their money is going,” Wooding said. “If elected I will heavily push for creating a student and faculty tuition oversight board.” 

Another area Wooding plans to focus on is parking permits and violations. 

“I think when students go to the polls in April and vote, I know that I may not be the most popular guy on campus, actually I’m not, but you will be hard pressed to find someone who will work as hard and put in as many hours into making sure that students have representation on this campus,” he said.

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