Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Middletown, Pennsylvania
Major: International affairs, concentration in indigenous minority studies
Student organizations/activities: President of Students for Indigenous and Native American Rights, Anything But Colonial Coalition key organizer, resident adviser
Previous SA experience: Director of Diversity and Inclusion Summer 2019, SA senior policy adviser to SA President SJ Matthews
Favorite GWorld spot: Subway
Favorite off-campus spot: National Museum of the American Indian
Dream job: First female secretary of defense
Favorite childhood memory: When I was younger my brother poked me in the eye with a stick and we went to the ophthalmologist. My dad made shadow puppets
Proudest GW moment: When I finished organizing Native American Heritage Month and Indigenous Peoples Day
Fun Fact: I am a champion elk caller. I did hunting shows growing up, so I did elk calling competitions at the Northeastern Hunting Show
Favorite place in the world: The restaurant and old castle I frequented in Banja Luka, Bosnia while studying abroad there
Role model: My grandmother
Georgie Britcher said overcoming her own financial obstacles to stay at GW connected her with fellow students and prepared her to lead the Student Association.
Britcher said she worked last semester with the financial aid office to find a plan for her to pay tuition, but she was often sent to different advisers at every trip and struggled to find answers. She said her experience navigating the office inspired her to become a voice for those facing similar hardships.
“I want to make sure students have an advocate that has their best interest at heart,” Britcher said. “I want to install accountable change at this University, make this University more affordable and just advocate for students’ rights and make sure that we all have a place here.”
Britcher’s platform includes more than 15 initiatives tackling projects like changing the Colonials moniker and establishing more consistent communication between the SA and resident advisers to better meet student housing needs. She said her “insider” experience working on the SA as a senior policy adviser for the current SA president has readied her to work with administrators and student organizations.
“I have advocated for students, but I also know what it’s like to need an advocate,” she said.
She said she would push officials to ensure buildings and facilities align with guidelines set in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The SA released an accessibility report in February highlighting more than 60 spaces on campus that do not adhere to ADA regulations, which SA leaders said leaves many disabled students to face daily challenges.
Britcher added that she wants to build a greater sense of community between the SA and other student organizations. She wants to create a council of multicultural student organizations made up of representatives from each group.
SA leaders held pizza dinners with student organizations last spring to improve transparency and build connections between student leaders.
“This campaign is about far more than me,” Britcher said. “It’s about everyone here. It’s for all of us that have felt like we’ve been unheard, but it is also about enacting attainable change.”
