Hannah Ingo: Women in Leadership Roles at Bluefield College
Bluefield College senior Hannah Ingo of Max Meadows, VA, is a role model for female students on campus, especially in her leadership role as president of the Student Government Association (SGA).
As the main voice for the student body, Ingo serves as a liaison between students and the administration and vice versa.
“If students have problems, they’ll come to me, and then I’ll present it to the people above us,” said Ingo. “If the faculty or administration have something to address to the students, they’ll come to me, as well.”
In addition to her SGA role, Ingo serves the school in many different ways. She participates in Students Today Alumni Tomorrow (STAT), Student Virginia Education Association (SVEA), Student Activities Leadership Team (SALT), and Active Minds. She also teaches for the Fine Arts Community School (FACS) and is a member of BC’s music ensembles. Managing time for her active servant leadership roles along with classes and rehearsals for two instruments as a music education major requires serious planning.
“I keep a to-do list on my phone, an actual planner in my bag for daily to-do stuff, and a white board calendar in my room” said Ingo.
Through her SGA position, Ingo claims she is now a more confident person than she was when she first came to Bluefield College. However, she doesn’t deny the stereotypes of being a woman in a leadership role.
“You know, I’ve noticed things that my male predecessors didn’t last year,” she said. “If they were bold and they took initiative, they were seen as natural great leaders. But if I want to take the same actions, I’m seen as bossy or being too overbearing.”
Despite the challenges, Ingo added, the college has been really supportive to her and the SGA Cabinet members, represented by all female students this year – Ashley Burton as secretary and Sharon Cobbler as treasurer. Establishing a firm student government and reaching online students are some of the current projects Ingo is working on with her team. In fact, she said she’d like to add online students as representatives of SGA so that all BC students have an equal voice. Above all, she hopes all students will participate with her more.
“I want them to know I’m not here to tell them what to do, but to serve them,” said Ingo. “If they have any problem at all, I want to know about it.”
Being a female in a leadership role requires women to overcome many barriers that Ingo has been experiencing lately. Although it can be stressful, she feels like women in society are not heard as much, and she encourages female students to use their voices.
“You will go through a lot of struggles just because you are a female, but don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself and be bold, because you need your voice to be heard,” said Ingo. “No one is going to know what’s going through your mind if you don’t speak up and tell them.”