Trio of Student Leaders Ready for WT’s Academic Year to Begin

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Three new student leaders at West Texas A&M University have spent the summer preparing to represent their peers for the upcoming academic year.

Mary Vivian Ivey, a junior agricultural media and communication major from Fort Smith, Arkansas, was elected president. Boone Begert, a junior agriculture major from Allison, was chosen vice president, and Hunter Heady, a senior mechanical engineering major from Roscoe, was named chief justice.

The three were installed as the new leadership team for Student Government Association at the close of the spring 2025 semester following a campus-wide election.

Classes for the fall 2025 semester begin Aug. 25.

SGA works closely with faculty and staff to ensure an academically challenging University while providing opportunities for fun and community. In addition to the officers, SGA includes student senators elected to represent each of WT’s Colleges, Graduate School and the freshman class.

Over the summer, the team recruited potential new SGA members at New Student Orientations, brainstormed Homecoming activities, organized appointments to University-wide committees and engaged in internal planning, Ivey said.

As president, Ivey represents the student body and is the principal liaison between WT students and faculty, staff and administration. The president also acts as the chief executive officer of SGA and is the official student spokesperson for the University at the local, System, state and national levels.

“Being elected student body president is an incredible privilege that I don’t take lightly,” Ivey said. “Over the coming year, I’m committed to fostering a stronger campus community, enhancing our academic resources, and serving this University—a place I’m proud to call home—with everything I have.”

Begert, who serves as the leader for SGA’s legislative branch and elected student senators, said he is eager to serve.

“I’m truly honored to serve as student body vice president,” Begert said. “This opportunity means a lot to me, and I’m excited to give back to a campus that’s given me so much. I look forward to listening to students, supporting their ideas, and working hard to create a positive impact across our campus.”

Heady presides over the SGA’s judicial branch and is a member of the Student Judicial Board, overseeing general elections and referendums.

“I am honored to be serving the student body as well as upholding the values of fairness, integrity and accountability for our community,” Heady said. “I will give my best effort to maintain and improve WT’s justice system and continue to foster an environment in which all students feel respected, heard and treated equally.”

Dr. Chris Thomas, vice president for student affairs, is the University liaison to SGA and said he is excited to work with the young leaders.

“Each year I wonder how the new SGA leaders are going to outdo their predecessors and somehow they do, which is a high bar considering one recent SGA president, Annie Valicek, was our Texas A&M Student Regent; another, Filiberto Avila, served as a Fulbright Scholar; and last year’s president, Kyal Brown, finished college early with honors,” Thomas said. “Mary Vivian, Boone, and Hunter know the expectations set before them and are just the kind of high-achieving students you want representing WT. I have enjoyed working with them this summer and look forward to their leadership this fall.”

SGA is one way in which WT creates in its students a commitment to being self-reliant, courageous, resourceful and part of something larger than one’s self, a primary goal of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $165 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: Mary Vivian Ivey, center, Boone Begert, left, and Hunter Heady, right, will lead West Texas A&M University's Student Government Association for the 2025-2026 academic year.

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