SGA President Carsen Barrett flocks to build campus culture

If you've spent any time on Lamar University's (LU) campus, you've probably heard the name Carsen Barrett even if you haven't met him.

Barrett is a newly minted senior at LU majoring in kinesiology through the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program. Though he was originally expected to graduate this spring, he has chosen to extend his time at Lamar University for another year to continue growing The Flock and further his impact on campus culture.

He is also the newly elected president of the Student Government Association (SGA), a Reaud Honors College student, an LU Ambassador, and the founder of The Flock, a student organization focused on increasing attendance and energy at LU athletic events across multiple sports.

His presence on campus is difficult to separate from his goals. He is not tied to a single initiative so much as a network of them, most centered on getting students to show up and get involved.

"I think people underestimate how much that changes things," Barrett said. "Just having people show up changes everything."

Barrett is from Groves, TX, and attended Port Neches-Groves High School, where school pride is deeply embedded in the community identity. He said that environment shaped his understanding of participation and what it means for a community to show up for itself.

"At PNG, you don't really decide if you're going to the game," he said. "You just go. Win or lose, everybody's there."

He did not play football in high school, instead participating in soccer, but said the atmosphere around athletics left a lasting impression.

"It didn't matter what the record was," he said. "The stands were still full. That stuck with me."

When Barrett arrived at LU, he said he noticed a different level of student engagement at athletic events, even while still adjusting to college life.

"When I first got here, I was pretty unfocused," he said. "I was going to class, going to the Rec, going back to my dorm. I wasn't really involved in anything."

A basketball game against McNeese became a turning point in how he saw campus life.

"It was packed and it was loud. It was awesome," he said. "And I remember thinking, 'this is what it's supposed to feel like. Why isn't it always like this?'"

Not long after, he said he realized he needed to redirect his time and energy.

"I had all this free time," he said. "And I was like, 'I've got to do something with it.'"

That led him to start attending more events, inviting others, and eventually organizing groups of students to go together. That effort became The Flock.

"At first it was just a group chat," Barrett said. "Then it turned into an organization."

The idea, he said, was simple: show up consistently and bring others with you.

"We go to everything," he said. "Soccer, football, basketball, tennis-whatever it is, we're there."

He also said the goal extends beyond attendance and into connection between student groups across campus.

"If tennis goes to football, football goes to tennis," he said. "If baseball goes to soccer, soccer goes to baseball. It just builds on itself."

That same sense of connection carries into how Barrett approaches campus life and the people in it.

"I've never met a stranger," he said. "I'll talk to anybody."

That openness has become part of Barrett's reputation on campus, where he is often seen moving between organizations, events and athletic spaces with ease.

"Everyone wants to see change," he said. "But I feel like in order to see that change, someone has to act upon it."

That belief has shaped much of his involvement at LU, particularly through The Flock, which he founded to build student engagement at athletic events across multiple sports.

Barrett said even small moments of turnout stand out. One tennis match, for example, drew around 90 students through The Flock's efforts, something he acknowledged would not stand out for some but felt meaningful at LU.

"That's a lot for tennis here," he said. "And it changes how it feels when you're there."

For Barrett, the goal has never been limited to filling seats. He said the larger impact comes when students begin recognizing athletes as peers.

"You meet the athletes, and you realize they're just students like you," he said. "They're your classmates. Once you know them, it changes how you show up."

Through The Flock's presence at games and events, Barrett said he has developed friendships with many LU student-athletes, helping reduce the distance between teams, students and fans on campus.

That familiarity, he said, changes the experience on both sides. Athletes become classmates first, and students become part of the environment rather than distant spectators. Those relationships form through repeated interaction, shared spaces and consistent support across different sports.

He pointed to the way support has begun to circulate between programs where football players attend soccer matches, volleyball players show up at basketball games, and student-athletes from different teams sit alongside general students at events they might not otherwise attend.

"It just builds on itself," Barrett said. "Once people start showing up, other people start showing up too."

Barrett's involvement quickly spread beyond athletics. He also serves as a Lamar University Ambassador, a select group of students who represent the university at high-level campus and community events.

He is also a student in the Reaud Honors College, balancing academics with an increasingly visible role across campus organizations and events. Barrett said much of what keeps him grounded comes back to his family, particularly his parents and siblings, whom he credits for shaping how he approaches responsibility and involvement.

"I come from a big family," he said. "I feel like I owe a lot of my success to them."

As the middle of five siblings, Barrett said he grew up balancing different roles where he looked up to his older siblings while also setting an example for the younger ones.

"My older brother and older sister set the bar for me to chase," he said. "And then my younger brothers kind of make me feel an obligation to set the standard for them."

That openness has become part of his reputation on campus. Despite his visibility, Barrett repeatedly frames his involvement in collective terms, emphasizing student participation over personal recognition.

"Everyone wants to see change," he said. "But I feel like in order to see that change, someone has to act upon it."

His decision to run for student body president came after seeing how student-led efforts like The Flock could influence campus energy and realizing he wanted a broader platform to support that kind of engagement.

"People want things to change," he said. "But at some point, someone has to actually step up and try to do it."

As SGA president, Barrett said his focus is on accessibility and communication between students and administration.

"I want people to feel like they can reach out," he said. "If there's something on your mind, I want to hear it."

He said he does not expect to agree with every idea that comes forward but emphasized openness as the baseline.

"I can't promise every suggestion becomes reality," he said. "But I can promise I'll listen."

For Barrett, that work is less about visibility than investment. Whether he is helping organize students for athletic events, serving as an ambassador at university functions, or listening to feedback as SGA president, the throughline remains the same: campus culture is built through participation.

"I just want to leave Lamar in a better place than where I found it," he said.

That mindset has made Barrett one of the university's most visible students, but also one of its most consistently present. His enthusiasm for campus life reflects a broader truth about LU: its culture is shaped by the students who show up and take part in it, and every Cardinal has a role in that.