New Art Senator Talks Plans, Collaboration and Her Love for the Arts

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts is welcoming a new student leader, Lily Takemoto, a senior vocal performance major from Northern Virginia, who will serve as the 2025-2026 USUSA Art Senator.

Takemoto arrived at USU with no political aspirations but her experience on the Arts Council this past year and working with 2024-2025 CCA Senator Lauren Tougas sparked her interest to run.

“I’d never really thought about running before,” Takemoto said. “But I realized how much I care about the Caine College of the Arts and the students here. I felt like I could be a good advocate.”

Takemoto ran unopposed in the election, which gave her time to focus more on building ideas for her upcoming term, which includes a lot of collaboration.

“The Caine College of the Arts is made up of three very distinct departments, music, theatre, and art + design,” Takemoto said. “There’s rarely a chance for students across those areas to connect. One of my goals is to change that and to help students build support systems across disciplines.”

She hopes to achieve that goal through events like a college-wide service project and by continuing events like the “Concert for a Cause.” This event raised funds to support a snack pantry for students.

Takemoto will also be navigating the merging college change. Utah State University leadership announced a major reorganization that among other changes will merge the Caine College of the Arts, College of Science, and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences.

“It’s all very fast-paced,” Takemoto said. “But I’m excited to collaborate with the other senators, and I think together we can help restructure our schools to be more efficient and unified. I’ll still be the art senator. Our roles were elected by the student body, and we’ll continue advocating for our departments. We’re just expanding who we collaborate with.”

Takemoto’s connection to USU runs deep. Her grandfather was a professor of microbiology, and her parents met on campus while they were students. Her mother also studied vocal performance.

“I grew up watching her teach and perform, and that definitely led me to where I am today,” Takemoto said.

Stepping into her new role with both enthusiasm and humility, Takemoto said there is still a lot to figure out, but she is excited to get to work.