Editor’s note: This story is the first in a four-part series on the Student Goverment campaigns. The candidates will be presented alphabetically by last name.Student Government presidential candidate Brooksie Bonvillain and vice presidential candidate Chris Sellers are “leading the way” into election season with a campaign of more than 90 students. Bonvillain and Sellers announced their candidacy under the slogan “Leading the Way” on Wednesday to a crowd of supporters in the Manship School of Mass Communication.Sellers said “Leading the Way” summed up his and Bonvillain’s personalities perfectly.”It’s very self-explanatory,” Sellers said. “Our mission is to lead the way, and that’s what we’re here to accomplish.”The pair has worked together in SG since their freshman year.”[Sellers] ran on a fall ticket, and I ran independent,” Bonvillain said. “He sent me a Facebook message supporting me, and our relationship has blossomed from there.”Bonvillain and Sellers worked together on several issues, committees and organizations. In the search for a running mate, Bonvillain said she knew Sellers had “great work ethic and dedication to see the job through.”Sellers was first approached by two other candidates for help with campaigns, but he turned them down to support Bonvillain.”Brooksie is the only person I can see that has the experience and leadership to do the job,” Sellers said. “I could not be more supportive of her.”Bonvillain said the leadership qualities are shared.”I feel like we’re both more than capable to do any duty that comes up,” Bonvillain said. “We’re a very versatile pairing, and I completely trust Chris to do anything I’d have to do myself.”Bonvillain and Sellers have already started campaigning under their tent in front of the Student Union. To accommodate the University’s financial hardships, Bonvillain and Sellers devoted a special section on their pushcard to finance. One issue Bonvillain looks forward to working on is creating an SG scholarship fund.”With the discussion of TOPS funding to be cut … we couldn’t give back to the students in the magnitude that TOPS does,” Bonvillain said. “But we could help alleviate those financial hardships.”She said she hopes the fund will start small but accommodate room for growth.Sellers said one of his top priorities if elected is to interact more with organizations by making a comprehensive list of accounts so students know what money is out there and available.”It’s going to make it so much easier to put on events for campus,” Sellers said.Reflecting on this year’s SG administration, Bonvillain said she is a fan of this year’s new SG position, director of sustainability.She plans to create a “Purple, Gold and Green” sustainability program that would further extend the position and encourage recycling throughout campus.”We’re very proud of the initiatives we put forward,” Sellers said. “Now that we see the initiatives other campaigns put forward, we feel we have the most tangible issues. One year later, students will see what has changed on campus.”–Contact Catherine Threlkeld@[email protected]