UMW Student Government Association President Plants Seeds of Leadership

If you’d asked University of Mary Washington senior Amira Said to describe herself when she first came to campus, she might have used the word “shy.” Now Student Government Association (SGA) president and Class Council treasurer, she’s anything but, especially when it comes to planning one of UMW’s signature events – ASPIRE Week.

An acronym for Mary Washington values – accountability, scholarship, personal and institutional integrity, inclusive excellence, respect and civility, and engagement – ASPIRE is a campuswide mantra. It’s celebrated each year with a six-day event launched by one of Said’s SGA president predecessors Jaylyn Long ’24, who passed the torch to Said when she graduated.

“It’s a fantastic tradition,” Said said, “and a reminder of all the things we stand for and care about here at UMW.”

Her leadership journey began early in her college career, when she landed a key role on UMW’s Orientation team. As her confidence climbed, she considered various majors but environmental science best fit her ambitions and fueled her efforts to increase conservation efforts – including composting – on campus. And for every lesson she learned in the classroom, she discovered something about herself, too, and her power to bring others along on a mission.

Born in Egypt, Said was 7 when her family immigrated to Northern Virginia. A high school college- and career-planning course helped her home in on her interests, and she set out to study marine biology at a coastal college. One visit to UMW washed that plan away. “I went on so many college tours, but none of them felt like Mary Washington – the beautiful campus, the welcoming environment, the faculty and staff,” said Said, who arrived with enough dual enrollment and AP courses under her belt to feel free to explore … and also to focus.

She loaded up on computer science courses, then set out to pursue a second major in communication and digital studies, but a lunchtime discovery of tossed-away food at the Cedric Rucker University Center led to a field of study that stuck.

Said took her concerns to Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds, who offered her an individual study position on a composting project, and she hit the ground running, on a mission to turn discarded food into nourishment for University grounds. She earned a Fund for Mary Washington Impact Grant and a Sierra Club scholarship grant to build and maintain six compost bins, located in the pollinator garden on the northwest end of campus.

Jaylyn Long ’24 (left), who created the ASPIRE Week tradition during her time at Mary Washington, passed the torch to Amira Said ’26. Both women served as SGA president during their senior year.

When Amira Said (second from right) noticed leftover food tossed away at the Cedric Rucker University Center, she embarked on a mission to do something about it. Here, she stands near one of the compost bins she brought to campus to turn wasted meals into nourishment for UMW grounds.

Amira Said (second from left) poses with one of her Mary Washington mentors, Associate Provost for Community Relations and Compliance Shavonne Shorter (far left), and friends on Ball Circle.

Senior environmental sciences major Amira Said pitched one of the nine projects that earned a Fund for Mary Washington Impact Grant this spring. With the funding she received, she plans to implement an experiential learning program to teach UMW students about the importance of composting while preventing hundreds of pounds of food waste from going to landfills each week. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

She met with UMW Dining and the Office of Sustainability to discuss the future of composting at Mary Washington, and she started a weekly composting program with COAR (Community Outreach and Resources). Then she presented it all – from revelation to results – at the 2024 Virginia Student Climate Action Summit.

“I’m passionate about everything I do, especially sustainability,” she said. “We have a beautiful Earth. Why would you ever want to deplete it?”

A member of the President’s Council on Sustainability and the Presidential Emerging Leaders Program, she’s also a RISE peer mentor, Student Enrichment Program counselor and COAR volunteer. She also received the Sylvia McJilton Woodcock ’61 Scholarship and was twice named by student affairs officials a representative for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Student Advisory Committee, presenting on the importance of DEI programs and policies for increasing student engagement.

UMW senior Amira Said serves as Student Government Association president. She shared her passion for conservation by appearing, along with fellow Mary Washington student Adam McAninley ’27, on the premiere edition of the ‘What Matters Most With President Paino’ podcast.

Amira Said serves champagne during Grad Ball at UMW’s Anderson Center. An environmental sciences major, Said took her time finding a major that fit her passions and plans for the future.

Amira Said pets a ferret during an on-campus event. The senior Student Government Association president is also a member of the President’s Council on Sustainability and the Presidential Emerging Leaders Program, a RISE peer mentor, Student Enrichment Program counselor and COAR volunteer.

Senior Amira Said – a student leader who used her passion for sustainability to bring improvements to the UMW campus – participates in a Commencement exercise.

And Said shared her passion for conservation by appearing, along with fellow Mary Washington student Adam McAninley ’27, on the premiere edition of a new UMW podcast, What Matters Most With President Paino.

All this while serving as SGA president and planning the detailed events that comprise ASPIRE Week, set to take place April 13-18. “It’s really blossomed under her leadership,” said Associate Provost for Community Relations and Compliance Shavonne Shorter, who pointed to increased campus partnerships and the addition of nighttime activities. “We would not be where we are without her.”

With internships at the Fredericksburg Clean and Green Commission and the Fund for the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., under her belt, Said plans to pursue a master’s degree in environmental policy and become a consultant.

So much for being shy.

“I look at myself back when I just came in as a freshman, and I’m like, ‘wow’” she said. “I don’t think I’d ever have imagined this.”