The Carolina Union Board of Directors conducted interviews on Saturday, February 1, 2014, for the position of 2014-2015 Carolina Union President. Following an afternoon of interviews and deliberation, Gabe Chess was selected to serve as the Carolina Union President with responsibilities including Chair of the Carolina Union Board of Directors and President of the Carolina Union Activities Board.
No stranger to the Carolina Union over the last year, Chess has served as the Carolina Union Activities Board Music Committee Chair and as an appointed member of the Carolina Union Board of Directors.
Chess, a junior from Asheville, NC, has been instrumental in the planning, promotion, fundraising, and success of the ConvergeNC Music Festival. He has also produced numerous programs for the campus community, collaborating with individuals and organizations from a wide range of backgrounds and interests.
Chess stated that he believes that the Union serves as a “central hub and a platform for students to achieve whatever they want to do.” Additionally, he stated that the Union has offered him “the best career insight and guidance out of any place on campus.”
As Carolina Union President, Chess is committed to working with CUAB to produce successful events that will enrich the University experience for a greater number of students and to building upon former Carolina Union President Carly Mathews’s charge of recognizing and improving internal deficiencies. He plans to strengthen subcommittee communication to the larger Carolina Union Board and to work with the Director of the Carolina Union to establish the 5-10 year goals of the Union.
When asked what role the Carolina Union should play in a student’s experience at Carolina, Chess commented, “A student doesn’t need to know the Union is helping them all of the time; but, a student should never feel that the Union is inhibiting his or her experience.”