Student Senate confirmed senior Matthew Mansaray as the newly elected Commuter President for Eastern Nazarene College (ENC).

Mansaray explained why he felt himself qualified for the position, saying, “I’ve been a commuter at ENC for the past three years, but actually this year I decided to move on campus because I commuted an hour away from here in New Bedford. That makes me realize a lot of the struggles that Commuters go through and the commitment they have to do to get here.”

Mansaray felt that he needed to become Commuter President because he was trying to find a purpose for himself at ENC. “I saw the opportunity open, and I felt like I’ve wanted to seek a purpose. I prayed about it, how I could help because of my struggles as a commuter,” Mansaray said. “I can hopefully help other commuters get through their struggle and make ENC a comfortable place for them. I wanted to take that opportunity to be with them and be good support.”

Mansaray shared his vision for providing a better environment for commuters at ENC.

“My goal is to make commuters have a more comfortable place at ENC since this is like God’s institution. They all deserve to have all of the benefits here. We are working on better transportation for commuters in the morning so that they can get to their 7:45 am and 9:00 am classes early. We are also working on meal plans as well so they can get similar meal plans as the residents do with multiple meals a day. We are also planning on doing events in the future, and it won’t just be for commuters, it would be for the campus as a whole,” explains Mansaray.

Going forward, Mansaray wants commuters to “feel more a part of the ENC community.” He wants them to feel more eager to take part in extracurricular activities and maybe even get a job on Campus. They should be willing to put themselves out there.

Darvence Chery, member of the Commuter Council and senior at ENC, was able to comment on Mansaray’s performance so far in this new role as Commuter President.

“I think he’s done a good job so far, all things considered, we just put together the council about a month ago. He’s very supportive and listens very well regarding what we have to offer. He’s going to SGA almost every week and coming back to us with stuff he needs advocating for,” said Chery.

Chery commutes from Brockton to ENC every day, and he is glad to see that Mansaray is pushing for transportation for commuters in the morning to ENC.

“I don’t know if this is his plan or an accumulation of plans from the past, but they’re talking about getting rid of 7:45’s and pushing that first-class timeslot to 8:10. So, we are trying to schedule the shuttle schedule around that for next spring. I think that’s the one big thing that he’s doing right now. Just getting commuters to school promptly and getting them back home using the shuttles”, said Chery.

The Commuter Council of ENC meets every other Monday in the Family Room during the chapel break. At the meetings, they have discussions about how to make being a commuter here at ENC easier. For more details, contact Matthew Mansaray at matthew.s.mansaray@lions.enc.edu.