Adashia Franklyn provides a voice for student-athletes
As a tri-captain for the St. Joe’s women’s basketball team, senior forward Adashia Franklyn looks to apply her leadership skills to the St. Joe’s Student Senate.
“Senate is just like a team,” Franklyn said. “We all vote on things. We all reach out to help. It’s a very collaborative effort to improve students experience on campus. Us working together and trying different ideas is exactly like a team. We all have to work together.”
The Student Senate was in need of new perspective and new ideas. Franklyn said they reached out, seeking student-athlete opinions.
“They thought it would be beneficial to their organization,” Franklyn said. “Student-athletes have an underserved voice. We are leaders and faces of the school. Other than athletics, you don’t really hear our input. They wanted a different voice.”
Franklyn is only the second student athlete in this current senate besides junior Elaine Estes who runs cross country. According to the Vice President of Student Senate, Meg Kloss ’19, Franklyn’s experience as an athlete and her status as a senior set her apart from the other senators.
“We chose her [Franklyn] because of her willingness to come on to student senate as a senior in her second semester,” Kloss said. “That in itself outside of her being an athlete is something that the student senate doesn’t normally see.”
St. Joe’s women’s basketball head coach Cindy Griffin has coached and observed Franklyn for the past four years. She believes that Franklyn has the perfect work ethic to succeed in the Student Senate.
“Adashia’s really a diligent student-athlete,” Griffin said. “She’s very conscious about her day to day. She cares about academics and she cares about basketball. She’s a very well rounded student-athlete.”
Franklyn believes that she’ll be able to use the skills she gathered from Student Senate long after she graduates from St. Joe’s.
“You can tell that people in the senate are really special,” Franklyn said. “They’re going to be the future world leaders some day. It’s such a close knit bond and I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
Coming into college, Franklyn knew that she wanted to engage in the student experience. However, she didn’t expect to be a part of Student Senate.
“I knew I wanted to do more than just basketball,” Franklyn said. I was on the student council in high school but college is a different ball game. I thought it would be a good idea and I went for it.”
Franklyn has only been part of the senate for two weeks, but she has already had memorable experiences.
“When I got sworn in, I felt very proud of myself,” Franklyn said. “I mean it’s not that big of a deal but everyone votes. They’re not going to say they don’t want me but being sworn in was special.”
Franklyn said she looks to finish the year off strong and serve the student body throughout her closing months at St. Joe’s.
