By Natasha Sabey
Making things run smoothly at the BYUSA office is not an easy task, but President Chris Giovarelli and Executive Vice President Tristan Leavitt are up to the challenge.
Many indications, including the contagious smile on his face and the jar of blue and white M&Ms on his desk, prove that Giovarelli has true BYU spirit and puts a lot of time and effort into making BYUSA what it is.
“I”ve been involved in student leadership since first grade,” he said. “It”s just what I do. It”s who I am. I”ve always loved getting involved on this level.”
Leavitt said it is his love of other people that originally got him involved in BYUSA.
“The more I learned about BYUSA, the more that I really came to appreciate the unique roll it has,” he said. “BYUSA helps people to serve, and I think that”s one of the best ways we can spend our time here at BYU.”
A day in the life of a BYUSA member is filled with classes, multiple meetings and other responsibilities.
Giovarelli said he spends about 30 hours per week in the BYUSA office. He also works part-time as a Spanish teacher at the Missionary Training Center and is engaged to be married in April. He met his fianc?e Lindsay just prior to his campaign last winter semester.
“We met, and then I didn”t call her for about three months because it was right during elections,” he said with a laugh. “I just assumed she had forgotten who I was, but finally I did call her and we started dating.”
Giovarelli said one hard thing about being BYUSA president is not having much time to do things he loves, like sleep, play racquetball and go out with his fianc?e.
“My time just isn”t my own,” he said. “You look around and [see] people who have a lot of free time to do a lot of different things, and I just don”t have that.”
Despite this problem, he said he has no regrets.
“I don”t dislike it,” he said. “It”s just a reality of how it is.”
Leavitt said the main thing he misses is having ample time to read. Turning to a copy of Charles Dickens” novel “A Tale of Two Cities” on his desk, he said he especially enjoys classics, but he will read practically anything when he gets the chance.
Despite being some of the busiest students on campus, Giovarelli and Leavitt said that being able to make a difference in other people”s lives is what makes it all worthwhile.
“There are certain issues that I think are really important to students on campus, and being able to work on those and see change is a really satisfying thing,” Leavitt said.
At a devotional near the beginning of this semester, Giovarelli issued a challenge to students to perform one act of service each week for the rest of the school year. He said hearing about the fulfillment of that challenge is one of the most rewarding things about what he does.
Giovarelli and Leavitt met as freshmen in 2001 while working on the Student Advisory Council, and they have been good friends ever since. Leavitt said they decided to run for election together because they have a similar vision of BYUSA”s potential. He said they chose their campaign slogan, “Come Do More,” because they want everyone to be as involved as possible.
Involvement, they believe, is the key to having a successful BYU experience.
“I”ve tried to get involved in everything that I possibly could get involved in here, and I”ve found that”s it,” Giovarelli said.
Giovarelli and Leavitt said getting involved in BUSA has made a positive impact on their lives, and now they have dedicated a big part of their time to sharing that wisdom with other students.
Whether it”s a club, a job, a service project or something else, they both agree students should branch out from academics and participate in something worthwhile.
“Find something outside of your classes that will give you an opportunity to interact with people and to make memories,” Leavitt said.
In light of some students” negative feelings toward BYUSA, Giovarelli said he wants everyone to know that the work they do is on behalf of the student body.
“Sometimes there are things outside of our control that don”t allow things to happen, [but] we are here 365 days [per year] working to get things done,” he said. “We really want students to have a great experience at BYU.”
