SGA presidential and vice presidential candidates Nicole Tran and Courtney Castellow participated in a town hall where members of the university could directly ask the candidates questions Tuesday at 7 p.m. 

The pair discussed a variety of topics, from communication, to managing conflict to their leadership styles during the event. 

Both Tran and Castellow discussed what they can offer as leaders. 

Tran said she is a person of color and comes from “a very complex and diverse background” as a first generation student who has to navigate “a lot all at once.”

“I think it’s important to have a leader with diverse perspectives because oftentimes when you don’t have that diverse perspective you can’t really think about all the different ways that this is going to affect students,” Tran said.

Castellow, who is also a first generation college student, said she learns through communication and she is always willing to make the effort to speak with others. 

One point each candidate emphasized was communication between SGA, university administration and the student body. One way they said they could ensure student’s voices are heard is through being accessible to students.

Tran said she values personal connection and has made it a goal to approach people on a personal level to “meet them where they are.” 

Tran said that she also wants to ensure that she is “present and intentional” with her conversations. 

Castellow, who is the current SGA assembly speaker, said one of their administration’s goals is to have a form that would be attached to the App State Instagram page where people can send in their thoughts about the university. She also wanted to emphasize that students are free to come to the SGA office, which is located in room 213 in the Plemmons Student Union. 

Castellow also said she and Tran both use Google Calendar and will continue to use it as a way to make themselves accessible to students. 

“We would love to talk to you whether it’s one-on-one or come to our organizations because you can’t learn what people want and what’s going on if you don’t talk to others,” Castellow said. 

Voting for candidates will close on Friday and the official election results will be released on that same date.