Practice Makes Perfect: SGA President Andrew Fox Continues Tradition by Addressing La Salle Freshmen and their Families 

It is a tradition for La Salle University’s Students’ Government Association (SGA) president to make a speech on move-in day to the incoming freshman class, their families, the faculty, administration, and the other student leaders.  For Andrew Fox, who had never spoken in front of a large crowd, this meant addressing more than 1,500 people.

 “It was a lot scarier than I thought it would be,” he said, “but a lot of people in the university helped me through it.”

To prepare, Fox practiced countless times. “I read it to (University Chaplain) Father Jim Dever in the chapel,” he said, “and he helped me to walk through the steps, since he’s used to speaking in front of crowds.” Fox read it so many times that by the time he gave the speech, he had it memorized.

In his speech, Fox encouraged the incoming freshmen to do accomplish three goals: First, to fulfill their personal potential by defining their own success at La Salle. “Success is defined as doing what you love; it is the drive to do your very best every single day with passion, happiness, discipline, and determination,” he said. Secondly, Fox told them to build character by working hard and doing the best they can. Lastly, he stressed the importance of getting involved. With La Salle’s 120 organizations, there is something for everyone,” he said.

A West Chester native, Fox graduated from Devon Preparatory School and is a Finance and Marketing double major. He joined the Resident Student Organization as a freshman and was the president of three dorms on La Salle’s north campus. He recently became involved in the new Explorers Student Mentor Program, in which upperclassmen become mentors for the incoming freshman class and work with their student advisors.

Fox started thinking about getting involved with the SGA at the end of his freshman year, when Ricardo Johnson, the SGA’s president, encouraged him to join. As a sophomore, he was elected senator, and then, as a junior, he became an affiliate while he studied abroad in Rome for the fall semester. He described his trip to Italy as “Perfect. Everyone should do it; it was the opportunity of a lifetime.”

It was while there he made the decision to run for president. “I wanted to be a part of something else here at La Salle. I also wanted to gain leadership abilities,” he said. When he came back to La Salle for the spring semester, Fox ran unopposed.

This past summer, Fox interned at United States Liability Insurance Group, and during the previous summer he interned at Tegler McHenry & Associates, Inc. He said the experiences at those internships inspired him to work in the insurance field after graduation. “I hope to own my own company down the road,” he said.

-- Kristine Witko