{"id":106051,"date":"2025-05-06T13:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=106051"},"modified":"2025-05-08T13:03:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T17:03:34","slug":"journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UMW
UMW senior Will Thompson set out in his college career to get to know everyone he could. That led him in part to become president of the Student Government Association, where he poured his efforts into making a difference for the Mary Washington student body. Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

When a last-minute change in his first year of college left University of Mary Washington senior Will Thompson without a Randolph Hall roommate, things started out “quiet.”<\/p>

That didn’t last long.<\/p>

A soccer player majoring in international business, Thompson pushed himself to get out of his room and meet as many people as possible.<\/p>

A teammate involved in the African Student Union? Thompson signed up for ASU too.<\/p>

A friend playing rugby? Thompson started going to games.<\/p>

Arab Culture Club? UMW Choirs? Talk to the Hands? You name it, Thompson was in.<\/p>

“Before I knew it, I was meeting so many people from so many different backgrounds,” he said.<\/p>

Flash forward four years, and he’s interned on Capitol Hill and played soccer on UMW’s top-performing Division III team. And all those connections? They’ve fed into what he calls a “journey of self-belief” that led him all the way to the top of student government.<\/p>

\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson signs a bill as Student Government Association president. He took a chance, he said, by running for office but believed he could make a difference at Mary Washington in the top student government role. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson took his role as Student Government Association president seriously, spending last summer reviewing the constitution and student handbook, arranging activities for SGA members and planning for the year ahead. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Will <\/a>
Will Thompson poses with Campus Dining employee and Special Olympian golfer Grace Anne Braxton outside Panera Bread in the Cedric Rucker University Center. Thompson describes Braxton as ‘a great friend and supporter for me over the course of my whole career at UMW.’ <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"As <\/a>
As part of his role as SGA president, Thompson was tapped to welcome the Fredericksburg community at a UMW-hosted debate for Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District in October 2024. The event was aired live by C-SPAN. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>

“Gaining confidence and knowing the community made me feel like I could represent and speak on the issues of our class,” said Thompson, this year’s Student Government Association (SGA) president. “It wasn’t hard to feel comfortable and realize I could do something bigger.”<\/p>

Growing up in a military family, he’d already lived in Alabama and Georgia, before spending his teens in Virginia and graduating from a Christian prep school where sports and service were key. Thompson excelled in both, playing soccer and rowing, and connecting with community, including serving meals at a food kitchen housed inside the school.<\/p>

He wanted all that for college, too, plus a place with an intimate feel. So when UMW Soccer Coach Jason Kilby spotted Thompson at a high school scrimmage and asked him to tour Mary Washington, a college career was set to kick off. “I got the feeling I was looking for the minute I walked through,” Thompson said. “I felt like I was home.”<\/p>

\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson poses with friend and fellow UMW Men’s Soccer player Gadsoni Abel. The two are seen here at the UMW Black Excellence Gala. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson poses on the soccer field with his mother and father, Tracy and Chris Thompson. ‘My dad taught me how to play soccer at the age of 3,’ Thompson said, ‘and has been my biggest supporter throughout my career.’ <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson (left) poses with his best friends and roommates, Atlan Murray and Carter Berg. Here, the friends pose for a photo while visiting a local market during a trip to play soccer with the UMW team in Costa Rica. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson as a young soccer player. He was recruited to Mary Washington by UMW Men’s Soccer Coach Jason Kilby, who saw him play at a high school scrimmage. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>

He found a personalized path in the classroom, as well, where a major in international business put a global slant on his dream of someday starting a company, perhaps a nonprofit, and took him to Germany for a tour of Berlin this past fall. A course in political science fed his passion for civic engagement and led to internships in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he handled concerns from constituents. And he sat in on hearings, meeting the likes of former House Speakers Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>

Last summer, Thompson made a turn toward technology. The Center for Career and Professional Development helped him land a project management job to build a detection and survey prototype for the U.S. Marine Corps.<\/span><\/p>

On campus, he found family in soccer, and when he needed after-practice rides, he got them from Burundian teammate Gadsoni Abel ’23. They’d stop by ASU meetings, and before they both knew it, Thompson had joined the group too. The club gave him a glimpse of African language, tradition and culture; pulled him into performing at the Colors of Africa fashion show; and sparked a trajectory of networking that just keeps on going.<\/p>

As his connections increased, his confidence climbed, and Thompson became immersed in student life, taking on roles as an SGA senator and chairman of the Student Life and Engagement Committee, and founding an ad-hoc committee on sustainability.<\/p>

The next step – running for SGA president – was a leap of faith: “I decided I was just going to jump in,” he said.<\/p>

\"Thompson <\/a>
Thompson poses here with his brother, Reed, and a detection and survey prototype built by a small team he managed during a summer internship with a national defense contractor. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"UMW <\/a>
UMW senior Will Thompson, who served during the 2024-25 school year as Student Government Association president, majored in international business. But his college exposure to courses in political science fed his passion for civic engagement and led him to multiple internships in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thompson is seen here looking on as Jimmy Carter lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"As <\/a>
As a UMW student, senior Will Thompson spent multiple stints working on Capitol Hill, where he met preeminent political figures, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"As <\/a>
As a UMW student, senior Will Thompson spent multiple stints working on Capitol Hill, where he met preeminent political figures, such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>

Thompson won the office last May. He spent the summer reviewing the constitution and the student handbook, arranging activities for SGA members and planning for the year.<\/p>

“Part of what he’s wanted is to amplify the positive aspect of being in community with one another at Mary Washington,” said Dean of Students Melissa Jones, who’s served as his mentor. “He’s wanted to create an environment where everybody feels seen and heard.”<\/p>

So much for that “quiet” start.<\/p>

“Everyone grows into themselves at different times,” Thompson said. “I think it took me coming to Mary Washington.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a last-minute change in his first year of college left University of Mary Washington senior Will Thompson without a Randolph Hall roommate, things started out “quiet.”That didn’t last long.A soccer player majoring in international business, Thompson pushed himself to get out of his room and meet as many people as possible.A teammate involved in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":106054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[15505,15380],"topics":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-106051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-commencement-2025","9":"tag-senior-stories","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When a last-minute change in his first year of college left University of Mary Washington senior Will Thompson without a Randolph Hall roommate, things started out “quiet.”That didn’t last long.A soccer player majoring in international business, Thompson pushed himself to get out of his room and meet as many people as possible.A teammate involved in […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T17:15:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-08T17:03:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"413\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T17:15:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-08T17:03:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":764,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Commencement 2025\",\"Senior Stories\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Top Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role - News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T17:15:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-08T17:03:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":413},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/06\\\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"News\",\"description\":\"University of Mary Washington\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of Mary Washington\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/2colorUMWprimarywordmark.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/2colorUMWprimarywordmark.png\",\"width\":2255,\"height\":580,\"caption\":\"University of Mary Washington\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/UniversityofMaryWashington\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/UMaryWash\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\",\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8cd48e50ced07a667a7ccc2683e7c499bbc79a10e20d4fab04d100cc5ccae276?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8cd48e50ced07a667a7ccc2683e7c499bbc79a10e20d4fab04d100cc5ccae276?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8cd48e50ced07a667a7ccc2683e7c499bbc79a10e20d4fab04d100cc5ccae276?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role - News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role","og_description":"When a last-minute change in his first year of college left University of Mary Washington senior Will Thompson without a Randolph Hall roommate, things started out “quiet.”That didn’t last long.A soccer player majoring in international business, Thompson pushed himself to get out of his room and meet as many people as possible.A teammate involved in […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/","og_site_name":"News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/","article_published_time":"2025-05-06T17:15:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-08T17:03:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":413,"url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lisa Chinn Marvashti","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@UMaryWash","twitter_site":"@UMaryWash","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa Chinn Marvashti","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/"},"author":{"name":"Lisa Chinn Marvashti","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7"},"headline":"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role","datePublished":"2025-05-06T17:15:14+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-08T17:03:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/"},"wordCount":764,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg","keywords":["Commencement 2025","Senior Stories"],"articleSection":["Top Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/","name":"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role - News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-06T17:15:14+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-08T17:03:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg","width":1024,"height":413},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/journey-of-self-belief-propels-umw-senior-to-top-student-government-role\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Journey of Self-Belief\u2019 Propelled UMW Senior to Top Student Government Role"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/","name":"News","description":"University of Mary Washington","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"University of Mary Washington","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/10\/2colorUMWprimarywordmark.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/10\/2colorUMWprimarywordmark.png","width":2255,"height":580,"caption":"University of Mary Washington"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/","https:\/\/x.com\/UMaryWash"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7","name":"Lisa Chinn Marvashti","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cd48e50ced07a667a7ccc2683e7c499bbc79a10e20d4fab04d100cc5ccae276?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cd48e50ced07a667a7ccc2683e7c499bbc79a10e20d4fab04d100cc5ccae276?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cd48e50ced07a667a7ccc2683e7c499bbc79a10e20d4fab04d100cc5ccae276?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lisa Chinn Marvashti"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/NewRelease_WillThompson-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-20 00:34:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106051"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=106051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}