By Bonita Hottel
Staff Writer
Bonita.Hottel6848@mb.rctc.edu
On July 1, RCTC’s student government will change hands, welcoming three new student leaders who, for the first time in 10 years, were elected by a general vote from the student body.
Drew Brinker was elected as Student Senate president for the 2018-2019 school year.
Brinker has been at RCTC since fall 2017 and has completed two semesters as a PSEO student. After he graduates with an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and Science, he plans to transfer to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities to triple major in linguistics, French and psychology.
In his first year here, Brinker has served as vice president of the French Club, secretary and treasurer of the RCTC Phi Theta Kappa Omicron Chapter, a senator for Student Senate, a student writer and editor for the Echo student newspaper, and an English tutor in the Learning Center. He also sits on the Health and Safety Committee and the Student Union Pre-Design Committee.
Outside of RCTC, Brinker volunteers at a local outreach organization called Friendship Place, where he tutors kids in math and English.
As the new student president, Brinker says that his ultimate goal is to listen to and advocate for the students. In addition to that, his priorities lie in increasing the student graduation and transfer rate. Overall, he just wants students to have a good experience at RCTC.
Isaac Iverson, the newly elected vice president, has been a student at RCTC for three semesters, starting in spring 2017.
Currently, he is working on his generals in order to complete a Liberal Arts and Science degree. After that, he hopes to transfer to the University of Minnesota, Duluth to go into biochemistry and research and eventually to get his Ph.D.
Iverson is president of the Dance Club, as well as a part of the LGBTQ+ Alliance. He sits on the Health and Safety Committee and the Finance Committee. He was also previously on the Elections Committee.
Iverson’s main goals during his term are to help build a more welcoming, compassionate campus and to bring awareness to the issues that students are having.
Kevin Mills, the treasurer-elect, has been a student at RCTC for one full school year. He has been a member of the Army National Guard for three and a half years and works as a Human Resource Specialist. After completing basic training and AIT, he started working as a builder for Boeing-737 wire harnesses and later was promoted to quality assurance. He now works in logistics at Benchmark Electronics here in Rochester and is studying Computer Science.
Mills is eager to get involved in his position as treasurer and hopes to increase efficiency at RCTC.
Voting for these student offices was held on April 3-4, both online and at on-campus polling stations. Applicants for the positions provided written information explaining their positions on various campus issues and stating what they would push for if elected.
Brinker, Iverson and Mills will serve as student government until the end of June 2019. They will serve on committees, providing a student voice on important issues and connecting the Student Senate to RCTC administration.
Members of the Student Senate will be elected early in the semester this coming fall.