President: Updates on the NISG lower cabinet

Typically in my columns I have talked about some of my own goals and accomplishments as president. I have also written about the accomplishments of our senate, Vice President Ian Goldsmith and the upper cabinet directors who work with me in the Northern Iowa Student Government office. However, I have largely neglected to mention the efforts of our lower cabinet directors. They do a lot of great work and volunteer their time and energy to help further student interests. I'd like to use this week's column to highlight some of the things they have been working on.

Our directors of Greek affairs, Luke Hansen and Ellyn Konrardy, have been hard at work planning Alcohol Awareness Week. This week will begin March 5 and will include speakers and events to help you learn how to drink responsibly and react appropriately if you feel your friend may have a drinking problem.

Zach Fisher, director of campus activities, is an amazing student. He almost single-handedly planned and organized the hugely successful Glowstock at the beginning of the fall semester, aided the External Relations Committee and Director of Governmental Relations Rhonda Greenway in planning our second annual Voterpalooza and is working with Directors Hansen and Konrardy to plan Alcohol Awareness Week. He is enthusiastic and extraordinarily gifted at planning events and mobilizing resources, while rarely seeking credit for his input.

The Director of Volunteerism, Kelsie Früchtenicht, is busy organizing a Basic Needs Drive for the Salvation Army Women and Children's Lodge in Waterloo that will be held Feb. 6-10. Be sure to check out the Facebook page she's created – Volunteer Programs and Opportunities-NISG – to keep abreast of volunteer opportunities for UNI students. She has also been brainstorming other service projects for NISG to sponsor; if you have an idea, get in contact with Kelsie and help NISG and the University of Northern Iowa give back to the community.

Adam Beaves, my former opponent in last year's NISG election, has been serving as our director of campus outreach for several months. He was instrumental in starting the tabling efforts that allow Vice President Goldsmith and me to speak to students every Monday at noon in the Maucker Union. He is looking forward to helping me develop a Student Organization Handbook, with the aid of other student leaders, to guide new and struggling student organizations to success. Adam will soon begin working with Speaker of the Senate Ryan Alfred on ways to hold our Senators accountable to their constituents; if you have any ideas on this topic, be sure to get in contact with Mr. Beaves.

I was very excited to bring back an old position in the lower cabinet, director of environmental affairs, to which we appointed Hannah Wilson. Hannah has been instrumental in advocating student desires for greater environmental stewardship by the university. She serves as a student representative on the Sustainability Action Committee and is helping create the university's Sustainability Strategic Plan that will guide UNI's steps towards greater sustainability for the next 10 years. Very soon, Hannah will begin working with me to plan a "Green Month," filled with events and speakers, which I am tentatively scheduling for April.

Our Director of Residence Hall Relations, Amanda Passmore, has been working diligently with the Residence Hall Association and the Department of Residence on diversity and inclusivity initiatives. Amanda and Hannah will soon begin working together to plan a campus-wide RecycleMania and energy conservation competition for the residence halls.

I first said hi to Ramya Varadaraju, our director of international student affairs, because she looked an awful lot like one of my best friends from my freshman year at UNI, Rakshith. Turns out they are brother and sister! Ramya's leadership and passion for serving students has been of enormous benefit to NISG this year. She has been busy meeting with international student organizations and making sure their concerns are being heard. Ramya has also be instrumental in planning next year's Reaching For Higher Ground events and is working with the CIEP to develop ideas for encouraging students to go beyond being conversation partners, fostering friendship and inclusivity among people of different cultures.

Alicia Jessip is our director of diversity affairs, and she has been working closely with Director of Diversity and Student Life Skylar Mayberry-Mayes to meet with multicultural student organizations and ensure that they have all of the resources they need to be successful. Earlier this month she and Director Mayberry-Mayes held a meeting for executive members of multicultural student organizations to inform them about NISG's efforts and resources and to help get them acquainted with one another. She is a fantastic leader who never ceases to impress me and this campus will do well to follow her progress in the coming years.

The director of graduate student affairs, Orijit Kar, works with our office as a liaison of graduate students across campus. He has an interest in health initiatives, and with that in mind I appointed him to a city of Cedar Falls committee that has been working towards supporting Governor Branstad's Healthy State Initiative. With Orijit's assistance, Cedar Falls is a top contender to receive funding to help the city — students included — to become one of the healthiest cities in the state!

Our newest position is the director of public safety, occupied by Eric Carlson, and I would be remiss if I did not mention it. This is a brand-new position and we are still working to define it, but Eric has been an exciting addition to our staff and helped us with our safety walk last fall. This week we will also be interviewing candidates to fill our director of academic affairs position.

I wanted to save Ron DeVoll, director of veterans' affairs, for last because I am so impressed with the work he has done. Ron is incredibly passionate about improving the conditions and systems of support for our veterans on campus and he is completely self-driven and motivated in his endeavors. He has met with several individuals, including President Allen and Vice President Hogan, to discuss the possibility of creating a Veteran Student Center on campus. The Student Veterans Association, which he created, has put together a mentoring program for incoming veteran students. Ron has been attending committee meetings with faculty and staff to discuss progress toward allowing out-of-state veterans to pay in-state tuition and has been looking into grants that would help the university because of the difference in cost. Ron has boundless ambition to help improve the campus community and is limited only by his approaching graduation from UNI this spring.

I apologize for this lengthy column, but I wanted to recognize and thank our lower cabinet directors for their countless hours of service. Without them, NISG would be severely hampered in its ability to serve students. I also want to thank Chief of Staff EmilyAnn Brueck for her work, meeting with directors, communicating and setting goals, and reporting back to me with progress updates. Go Panthers!