When Tatem first came to UD, she said she felt a warm welcome thanks
to fellow students and student-led organizations. In turn, she has also
worked to build community and become actively involved in UD student
life. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the former president of the Sisters on the Move student organization and an Each One Reach One peer mentor at the Center for Black Culture.
Her dedication to her UD community and passion for helping others led
her to become more involved with SGA. Her fellow Blue Hens took note. A
groundswell of support during the 2020 SGA elections led Tatem to
become the SGA Vice President of University Affairs, and her success
inspired her to run for SGA President in 2021. As SGA President, Tatem
has emphasized the importance of mental health and wellbeing,
diversifying representation on campus and increasing student retention
so that all students feel seen and heard.
“I wanted to serve as inspiration for people who looked like me or
who identified like me at this University,” Tatem said. “Oftentimes,
minoritized students feel excluded from main campus and we don't feel
seen, we feel pretty invisible, so it was my way of saying you're not
invisible, that you deserve to be in these spaces.”
Since joining SGA, Tatem has navigated issues specific to campus as
well as those that are part of larger national and international
conversations. As an intern with Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s
office this past summer, Tatem said she had an “eye-opening experience”
working on legislation related to LGBTQIA rights and seeing how
government affected individuals on a personal level.
And student leadership, just like any other type of leadership, doesn’t go on a break during challenging or historic times.
While navigating the world of virtual learning herself, and
anticipating the return to campus, she served on University committees
and shared her experiences as a student facing the challenges of the
coronavirus pandemic. She noted the pandemic revealed certain student
inequities – such as access to technology and varied family situations –
that may not be apparent, and that this is all the more reason to be
accepting of and compassionate toward others.
Equity and inclusion are themes throughout Tatem’s SGA experience.
Over the summer of 2020, she helped establish student body town halls,
including one that brought together students from SGA, UD’s NAACP
chapter and the Black Student Union and University leaders with UD
Police. That meeting led to the creation of the UD Police Advisory
Council. Another student body town hall connected students with
high-level administrators in UD Student Health Services and Student
Life.
As Tatem looks toward the second half of her presidency and her own
graduation, she hopes to continue such important conversations with
students and University leaders as well as alumni and other members of
the Blue Hen community.
“SGA sets the foundation for how the University administration
interacts with students and how they include students,” Tatem said. “We
have a very vital role on this campus, and I do feel like I am part of a
legacy of student activism.”