Hey there students of Purdue North Central! Each Spring comes the time to learn about those of your peers that aspire to be student leaders on our campus, and make your voice count in deciding who will have the privilege of serving you by casting your vote!
We have provided you with the profiles of the 12 candidates that are running for the 2012-2013 Student Government line-up.
After reading these profiles:
- Log into your PNC email account
- Find the email titled “Vote Now! – Student Government Election”
- Cast your votes!
Sean Casey
Sean Casey is a senior, majoring in both Business Management and Marketing. In addition to serving as SGA Vice President, he has served four years as a member of Dean’s Leadership Group. Casey has received the Chancellor’s Leadership Award for four consecutive years and, in 2008, received the Distinguished Freshman Scholarship. Furthermore, he has worked on campus in various capacities, including for Panther News Network, PNC’s new student news media outlet. When asked why he chose to run for the position of Student Government Representative, Casey responded, “Being involved with these groups has given me a good understanding of how PNC operates and how to go about issues and situations when they arise…I feel I have many abilities that I can contribute to helping the campus and dealing with issues and complaints as they may arise on the PNC campus.” He organized the PNC Midnight Bash, a lock-in on campus for student organizations in the beginning of the Spring 2012 semester. When asked where he envisioned PNC in the next 5 years, he sees PNC growing to be the center of the surrounding community as the U.S. 421 corridor becomes fully developed.
Alexis Lange
Alexis Lange is a sophomore at PNC, studying Business and is interested in International Business Practices. In addition to serving as Student Government Representative, Alexis has been a member of Dean’s Leadership Group, member of the Tennis Club, and is heavily involved in the Smoke-Free Chesterton initiative. She has received the Chancellor’s Leadership Award, Semester Honors, and Chancellor’s List. When asked why she ran for SGA Representative, she responded, “I am a person who wants to focus on things that are relevant to the student body and continue to work towards a more active, involved campus in order to make everyone’s experience a positive one…In order to continue to serve the student body, I would like to bring more guest speakers to campus to talk about relevant and important topics that everyone hears about but not everyone can explain.” Lange has served as the chairperson for the Open Forum Committee and has successfully led and participated in various events. When asked where she envisioned PNC in the next 5 years, she said that she has high hopes for our campus because the group of people we have here is extraordinary and that she sees more involvement and a better connection between PNC and the surrounding communities.
Rebecca Tucker
Rebecca Tucker is a senior at PNC, double majoring in Business Management and Organizational Leadership & Supervision. In addition to having served on the PNC Student Government, she has served 4 years as a member of Dean’s Leadership Group and as the Secretary of the PNC SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Student Chapter. Additionally, she has received the Chancellor’s Leadership Award and has utilized the skills she has acquired by minoring in Marketing to created materials that have helped various student organizations. Namely, she led this year’s Student Government in putting together a PNC Marketing Handbook that was distributed to all student organizations and various PNC offices and has helped people publicize various events this spring. When asked why she chose to run for the position of Student Government Representative, she responded, “I really enjoyed my first year of Student Government… It is a lot of work but well worth the effort that I have had to put into it and cannot wait until next year so I can take on even more responsibilities and become even more involved to better serve the students.” She wants to see Student Government actively engage more students in meaningful conversations about what they would like to see on campus and envisions PNC offering more and more degrees over the coming years, meanwhile fostering a continually more diverse student body.
Travis McClaskey
Travis McClaskey is a senior at PNC, studying Human Resource Management and minoring in Spanish. In addition to serving as Student Government Representative, Travis is a Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society inductee, recipient of the Distinguished Freshman Award Scholarship, recipient of the St. Mary’s Medical Center Student Award, member of the Hobart Chapter of the National Honor’s Society, and recipient of Chancellor’s List. When asked why he chose to become a SGA Representative, Travis responded, “I want to positively impact student life here on campus and increase the amount of activities we have each semester…Student Government enriches and supports all student activities on campus and…also gains insight into student concerns and presents them to the proper higher-ups.” McClaskey is known for his savvy social media skills and believes that he can increase SGA’s presence on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, thereby keeping the student body better informed of opportunities available to them. When asked about the future he envisions for PNC, he says, “I would envision our student body population to increase…with the building of our new athletics center, I could see our regional presence to increase…Furthermore, it would become more of a community-focused university.”
Katie Hines
Katie Hines is a sophomore at PNC, studying Elementary Education. In addition to serving as an SGA Representative, she is Co-President of Dean’s Leadership Group, President of PNC’s newly established Circle K Chapter, and a Panther Pride Tour Guide. In 2010 and 2011, Hines received the Chancellor’s Leadership Scholarship, and when asked why she chose to run for the position of Student Government Representative, she said, “I would like to become a Student Government Representative because I feel that I have the leadership ability and drive to be a part of such an important organization on campus. I would like to do my best to serve the students and faculty of Purdue North Central and make campus life and activities larger than it is now.” When asked how she thinks she could improve student life and participation on campus, she said, “I believe that the key to improving student life and participation of activities on this campus is visibility…It is our job as the Student Government to unite all clubs and put forth an effort to make visibility possible.” When asked where she envisioned PNC in the next 5 years, Hines replied, “Within the next 5 years, I envision that we will have our Activities Building. My hopes are that campus life will have doubled and more and more students will be involved in the many activities and opportunities that this campus offers…(the building) would also raise more awareness within the community… to become more involved with the campus.”
Greg Mohlke
Greg Mohlke is a junior at PNC. He is majoring in Elementary Education and minoring in Communications. In addition to serving as the Secretary of SGA, he has been the Secretary and Treasurer of Dean’s Leadership Group and also served the greater NWI community as an Americorps Service Engagement Corps Volunteer. He’s been the recipient of the Chancellor’s Leadership Award and Dean’s List, and chose to run for the office of Student Government Representative because “I want to become a Student Government Representative because I feel I have experiences and knowledge that could benefit the student population at PNC…I have a year of experience as Secretary of Student Government. I helped write the Constitution that will take effect next year and can offer guidance on implementing that.” When asked how he could improve student life at PNC, he said that he believes he can contribute by offering ideas for marketing and activities. When asked where he envisions PNC in 5 years, he replied, “PNC will continue to grow…with the completion of the student activities building. In addition to the building, enrollment will continue to grow with the advent of more courses, online courses, and dual enrollment classes.”
Kathryn Orr
Kathryn Orr is a Business Management major at PNC and, when asked why she wants to become a Student Government Representative, replied, “…because I want to get involved at Purdue North Central. I am new to PNC this semester, so I have a fresh perspective on issues, marketing, and how to get students involved. I want to take the concerns I have, and those that I have heard about, and create solutions. I want to help students feel their opinions are important to making PNC a better college.” Orr has been a part of Student Council since she was in third grade and, in high school, served Student Government as Treasurer. She was also the Secretary and later the President of Key Club, which was a community service organization that taught her how to take a problem and work towards a solution by talking to and compromising with the students, staff, and faculty. When asked how she can improve student life at PNC, she said that her fresh perspective is a major benefit to her having a role on SGA. She wants “students to know what is going on at campus. Being new to the school, I was scared to get involved at first because I didn’t know where to go. More events should be planned and posted on the calendar on the PNC website. I want to encourage more activities to be planned specifically during school lunch hours at Westville campus so more people can interact and get to know each other.” In the next 5 years, Orr envisions PNC to continue growing and the students to continue becoming more involved both on-campus and in the community.
Morgan Olsen
Morgan Olsen is a junior studying Accounting at PNC and, when asked why she wants to become a Student Government Representative, replied, “…because the position would give me a more active role on campus, along with allowing me to build and better past and future relationships with my peers.” In addition to being the 2011-2012 Treasurer for the PNC SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Student Chapter, she has also developed good teamwork skills from playing volleyball and softball in high school. Olsen is a transfer student and while she attended Ferris State University prior to coming to PNC, she also participated in intramural volleyball. “Working in organizations on campus, having a job, and playing sports has allowed me to gain experience in time management, along with experience in organizing projects and events and following them through to completion.” When asked how she can improve student life on campus, she said that she would like to bring experiences gained from being a transfer student from another campus here to PNC, but also has insight and knowledge into what can work here at our commuter campus and what may not be the best fit for our students. When asked where she sees PNC in the next 5 years, Olsen replied, “I envision both the campus and the community at PNC losing the stigma of being a commuter campus, while at the same time becoming more and more like a typical four-year university.”
Joseph Guncheon
Joseph Guncheon is studying Mechanical Engineering at PNC and when asked why he wants to become a Student Government Representative, replied, “I would like to become a Representative so that I can broaden my horizon in a way that is beneficial not just to myself but to other students as well.” As a self-described problem solver, Guncheon is eager to bring his analytical skills and abilities to SGA as he strongly believes that they would be helpful in serving the students. When asked how he believes he can improve student life at PNC, he said that “I believe that the best way to improve participation would be to make the information more accessible.” When asked to describe what Student Government does, Guncheon described SGA as a platform for students to express their concerns and ideas in a way that gives them the greatest chance of having their voice heard, and he wants to be a part of that. When asked where he sees PNC in the next 5 years, Guncheon replied, “I think that in the coming years the campus will grow a significant amount. It seems that almost every semester student enrollment is higher than the last year’s.”
James Ziegler
James Ziegler is going to be a senior, studying Biology at PNC. When asked why he wants to be a Student Government Representative, Ziegler replied, “I believe as a SGA Rep, I could bring a lot to what the school may have to offer. I would like to represent the College of Science and be the voice for any concerns that may arise. I feel I would be a great asset to the future of Purdue North Central.” Ziegler has been a member of Dean’s Leadership Group and led DLG in organizing PNC’s first Haunted Trail event in October 2011. Additionally, Ziegler has served as a tutor in the Student Success Center and is an editor for the Panther News Network. “I am a very responsible person. I have no problem stating my opinion and expressing leadership across the board. I have fulfilled many roles at PNC and would love the opportunity to enhance as well as portray my knowledge and experience with others to get the job done.” When asked how he could improve student life at PNC, Ziegler states that he has seen many areas of PNC and hear many issues that students have. He wants to spread all sorts of participation and activities through PNN and market opportunities to transform into a place where students want to stay throughout the day. When asked where he sees PNC in 5 years, he replied that he believes PNC has many things in store for the future and as time goes on, enrollment and PNC’s role in the community will continue to expand.
Robb Stephenson
Robb Stephenson is studying Behavioral Science at PNC and, when asked why he wants to run for Student Government Representative, he replied, “I believe that I have the organizational and communication skills that can be harnessed for the betterment of the student body and the PNC campus.” In addition to having been the Vice President of the Gamerholics club, Stephenson has worked at the PNC Helpdesk for almost 3 years and this experience has given him a great understanding of the bureaucratic functions and interdepartmental networking that will help to efficiently elicit necessary change. He has networked with many students which he says will improve relations with SGA’s constituency. When asked how he will improve student life at PNC, he stated that, if elected, he will first take the time to communicate with the students to find out what they want to change and then he will work with SGA to determine how to take action. “It is my dedication to promoting the beneficence of the student constituency that will help better student life and this campus.” When asked where he envisions PNC in the next 5 years, Stephenson replied that he sees PNC “actively engaging its student body more to promote and ever evolving environment of context awareness, the accruing of resources that benefit students, and the community. PNC has the potential to be a major force in several components of its surrounding community.”
Jonathan Wilhelm
Jonathan is going to be a sophomore at PNC, studying Electrical Computer Engineering Technology. He is also passionate about the study of robotics and is taking courses to expand his knowledge base in that field. In addition to serving as a Student Government Representative, he has served as a computer technician in the Army Reserves and as the President of the PNC Robotics Club. In high school, Jon was the recipient of multiple academic awards and that trend continued through his service in the military. When asked why he wants to continue serving as Student Government Representative, Wilhelm replied, “I want to be the voice and representative for the Engineering Technology Department.” In terms of how he believes he can improve student life and on-campus participation, Wilhelm replied, “The concern that the students’ lab fees have not been going towards what the students need to learn their degree… This concern is directly reflected by the lab equipment that is in the engineering department.” One of his major goals is to see that engineering students have all of the tools and equipment that they could have available to them on other campuses. When asked where he sees PNC in 5 years, he said, “I see every student having one piece of technology that will have all of their school work on it, in addition to being their personal assistant. The sight of robotics will become a every day event. With not only the home but school, work, and around town. Robotics is the way of the future.”
