St. Thomas Undergraduate Student Government elected sophomore Patrick Burns as sophomore class senator Sunday.

A member of the election committee approached Burns, a biology major and member of the St. Thomas string orchestra, after the previous senator left the position. He hopes to use his position to bring more attention to the fine arts department.

“Mainly what I hope to accomplish here is making the fine arts program more diverse as well as enriching it through orchestra,” Burns said.

Elections and Credentials Chair Braden Ericson headed up the election committee and interviewed Burns after he was recommended by another member of USG. Ericson said Burns’ interest in helping the St. Thomas community was one reason he was chosen.

“He’s got passion,” Ericson said. “His interest in fine arts was definitely intriguing. That’s something we haven’t seen a lot. We’re looking forward to see what he brings with that.”

Burns was sworn in to his new position on Sunday. While he has a vision for what he hopes to accomplish, Burns said he does not have any defined goals yet.

“I’m just looking over everything and seeing all the possibilities. We’ll see what formulates,” Burns said. “I’m pretty excited here. I feel like I’m getting to be a big part of this.”

The USG election committee is beginning the search for a second sophomore class senator since the other senator quit due to schedule commitments.

Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@stthomas.edu.