This is the final issue of The Stute before the beginning of the Unified Elections Period, when most on-campus organizations will nominate and elect new executive officers. The first piece I wrote for this column—“Passion”—focused on the central message that life at Stevens really isn’t complete unless you find a place to fit in, a place on campus that can be yours and you can call home here. I wrote of how life as an undergraduate at Stevens can empower you and uniquely offer you a chance to create amazing memories and experiences. I also wrote about how intense passion can lead to conflict, a need to fight and defend those experiences, and the ability to make those amazing memories.
Elections are where those fights begin, and where that defense begins to take hold.
Becoming a student leader is entering the ranks of a unique class of citizen on this campus. As a student leader, you will often find yourself in the company of other student leaders — people who, while representing different organizations, subcommittees, backgrounds, and goals, nevertheless will be able to relate with you over the shared experience of being a leader at Stevens. Sometimes these will be people you know from class, have attended clubs with before, or have just seen around campus. Sometimes they will be people you knew nothing about or have never even seen before. What I have come to realize is that almost all successful student leaders at Stevens share some basic personality traits and generally have little difficulty relating to and getting along with other on-campus leaders. Some of my favorite moments in my Stevens career have been during executive board meetings, subcommittee meetings, or larger-scale events that bring together student leaders. It’s always exciting and inspiring to watch people who really care about and have passion for a subject coming together to indulge in those passions together.
Since being appointed to my first executive board position during September of my freshman year, I’ve competed in four organizational elections and won three of those, all of which were contested. I’ll be honest here, holding an elected office in an organization is no party. The vast, vast majority of my free time at Stevens is dedicated to fulfilling the duties and obligations of my titles, and this has been the case for me since Spring 2018. However, I can proudly and resolutely say that it is absolutely worth the work. Being a part of creating something amazing for other people, helping new and old students at Stevens find their homes and cement their memory of life at college in a positive way, is one of the greatest privileges of my young adult life.
So while I previously called upon all of you who read this back in October to find your passion at Stevens, I call upon you now to do the next logical thing — defend it! Run for a position! If you’re nominated for something, accept the nomination! One of my mentors as a freshman leader once told me never to deny a nomination for a position that someone else tendered because even if you lose the election it can be a great and fun experience. I now pass this advice along to you! Most organizations love to see as many people run for positions as possible, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up finding the next step of your journey placed in front of you.
For all of you who do accept nominations and go on to win your elections — congratulations, and I’ll see you at Leadership Connect.
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