2025 Officer Elections: Bimala Ranabhat

Bimala (she/her) is a student at Minnesota State University – Mankato, and is applying for the position of Treasurer.

The responses to the application questions are unedited and are written by the candidate. Why are you interested in this specific officer position?

As a Community Leadership Fellow of the 2023-2024 Cohort, I have had the opportunity to work closely and directly with Students United, especially on the finances and operations side. As a finance major student of MNSU and as someone with extensive experience working on various finances, operations, and fundraising aspects of Students United, I believe I possess the right experience as well as unique strengths fit for the Treasurer position. Having also worked as a consultant at U.S. bank, I have continued to polish and improve upon my strengths in financial handling, strategizing, preparing detailed spreadsheets, and incorporating efficiency in every work I do.

Finally, my values closely align with the mission of Students United to help make a positive impact on the students and community by addressing and tackling issues that affect the students. This role would be a great fit given my strengths and experiences and I’d love to contribute to the best of my abilities.

Please describe your understanding of Students United Students United is one of the most important non-profit organizations for Minnesota state universities in ensuring that student voices are effectively heard and best efforts are made to make equal and accessible education for all and without any biases. Personally, Students United has been very close to my own experiences as a student and as a community leadership fellow of the 2023-2024 Cohort. Seeing the internal workings of Students United and consistently seeing the value it brings to the student community makes me deeply appreciate the existence of the organization.

Having previously served as a fellow, I would love to give back to Students United and the student community through my strengths and through the role of a Treasurer. Please describe your understanding of the role officers play at Students United Officers play a crucial role in the governance of Students United. The board elects the State Chair, Vice Chair, and Treasurer secretary. The State Chair helps in implementing and coordinating the Students United proposals and programs. The State Chair also needs to be responsible for administrative duties which include accountabilities for calling and chairing meetings. More importantly, the State chair has to work with the board of directors, other officer roles, and staff to make sure the program goals, objectives, and outcome of the organization are being met.

The Vice-Chair is to take the responsibilities of the State Chair in their absence in addition to helping perform duties assigned by the board of directors and planning and coordinating special events and programs by Students United.

The treasurer secretary is responsible for assisting the Chair, Vice Chair, and Board of directors and handling the financial aspects of all Students United events. Important responsibilities include discussing and handling grants, and donations as well as several fundraising events and conducting campus visits. The role of the treasurer secretary is also important in validating invoices and signatures on all checks. Besides, there are also responsibilities in acting as the liaison between the board of directors, the financial team as well as the accountant, chairing the fiscal committee, and preparing and presenting budget materials.

Overall, each officer's role is intricately connected to the proper and efficient functioning of Students United and serves as an important pillar for the success of Students United. What goals do you have for this position and/or for Students United?

My primary goal is to fully excel in the role of Treasurer and contribute to Students United, Minnesota State University students as well as communities to the best of my abilities.

Having worked at Students United before as a fellow on the finances and operations side, I deeply understand the responsibilities, organization skills, and set of actions needed to flourish in this role and I am excitedly looking forward to this opportunity.

As a finance major, I have the skillsets needed to undertake this role of managing grants, donations, and fundraising events as well as various other financial operations. Having had multiple years of experience working in students/customers facing roles, I have the necessary aptitude and communication skills in order to effectively act as a liaison between the board of directors, financial team, officers as well as other bodies of Students United.

Additionally, having worked at U.S. bank as a consultant, I bring additional professional experience in financial handling, creating detailed spreadsheets, budget handling, responding to requests, planning, co-ordination, and strategizing.

Given the opportunity, I plan to closely work with my fellow officers, board of directors, and students across campuses to further the mission of Students United. Is there anything else you would like the Board of Directors and the public to know? I deeply appreciate my journey with Students United as a student and as a fellow and after a lot of experience over the years, I am now looking to contribute as Students United Treasurer. I bring in the right experience and skillsets for the role and would give my absolute best efforts to further the mission of Students United.

View all candidates for the 2025 Officer Elections here