You might think Justin Amann is looking to build a career in politics. After all, he is 20 years old and just entering his junior year this fall, yet the history major already has a stint as chair of the academic affairs committee of the Student Senate behind him, as well as seats on numerous other committees (academic affairs committee to the council of trustees, president\u2019s steering committee, \u201cESU Reads\u201d among others). This semester is also the beginning of his tenure as student senate president, with an executive board of ten reporting to him. In the hard-as-nails political world, you might consider all that to be a resume built for a future statesman. But you would be wrong. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I graduate, I hope to get a job teaching social studies to seventh to twelfth graders,\u201d says Amann. \u201cI have a passion for teaching and working with younger students. I would love to one day be principal of a school. And I would like to continue serving ESU in whatever capacity it needs. I love this University. And I value the experiences I continue to receive.\u201d <\/p>\n
Indeed, far from the sometimes forced behavior found in climbers of political ladders, Justin Amann finds his niche in giving back, especially to those people who have given much to him.
\nWhat Amann does he does simply because he cares. He cares about education. He obviously cares about ESU. And he cares, very much, about ESU’s students.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy most important duty here,\u201d says Amann, \u201cis to be a servant to the students of ESU. And that duty means being an active participant in conversations that affect students. As their lead advocate I feel it is my responsibility to make sure the student voice is heard at every boardroom table.\u201d No one can be everywhere at once, of course, and his ten executive board members help keep Amann up to speed by acting as surrogate student voices when he is elsewhere. <\/p>\n
Amann does do his own share of connecting with students though. He enjoys speaking directly with them, whether by chance encounter or at university events, to hear their thoughts – about ESU and about the senate – especially on how to make them work better. He also attended several orientation sections this semester, particularly important for a newly minted president. \u201cI set high expectations for the public relations committee of the student senate,\u201d says Amann. \u201cWe need to reach out to students. We need to include specific target goals for voting results, and we must be transparent with the information we receive.\u201d <\/p>\n
Amann has also kept his employment as desk receptionist \u2013 one position in performing arts and one in a residence hall \u2013 simply because \u201cthey are phenomenal outlets\u201d to hear students\u2019 different perspectives. And if that were not enough, President Amann employs electronic means to connect with his constituency; that is, social media. \u201cI have received many comments and\/or concerns on my personal accounts,\u201d he says, \u201cas well as on our [student senate] official accounts. <\/p>\n
Other than having a certain number of credits, the post of president has no real prerequisites; it, and the vice presidency, are positions elected by the students. Fortunately, Amann, with input from his vice president, Kwaku Adjei-Bohyen, has appointed a board who also care and who, at least as far as the bottom line goes, believe as he does. \u201cWe share the same philosophy,\u201d says Amann, speaking of his fellow senators, \u201cand that is that our job is to advocate in the best interests of the students. I think that is the real vision of the student senate.\u201d <\/p>\n
The senate is also a very diverse group. \u201cWe have Muslim, African American, Caucasian, males, females,\u201d Amann says. \u201cAnd it was not done purposely. It just worked out that way. They were simply the best leaders. They’re great advocates. I know we won’t always agree. But that\u2019s good too. As long as they disagree with me because they feel their argument is in the best interests of the students, then I chose the right people.\u201d<\/p>\n
As senate president, Amann hopes to strengthen ESU’s student. He personally challenges himself to promote the rights and needs of students and believes that it is his responsibility to be vocal in those efforts. \u201cI want strong communication among faculty, staff and administration,\u201d Amann says. \u201cIt is so important to collaborate on all university concerns.\u201d <\/p>\n
When Amann talks about his hoped-for accomplishments, seeing that students receive an \u201cinnovative and engaging education, delivered effectively\u201d is one of his more adamant driving points. Amann wants to be sure ESU is offering its students the most contemporary education possible. He defines \u201ccontemporary education\u201d as a curriculum whose courses are valid now, in the time they’re being taught. \u201cFor example, PC\u2019s and Its Uses is a general education course available,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat course was probably one of the best 10-15 years ago. But does every student need to take it now? These are the conversations we need to have.\u201d <\/p>\n
In fairness, this talk about a given course\u2019s relevancy is part of a larger concern about the amount of general education credits required. Amann would rather have students put more of those credits into courses related to their majors. It’s a concern that goes hand-in-hand with a hard look at curriculum. And though it might make for some tough meetings ahead, Amann believes they are necessary. What he doesn\u2019t want to see is for the university to offer the same courses and\/or the same Gen Ed credit requirement simply because it is what has always been done. <\/p>\n
Whatever the outcome, if the answer is that molds must be broken, Amann feels they should break. \u201cHow it was done last year is not a defining question for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI challenge myself to ask tough questions, and I challenge the student senate and the college community, too.\u201d In pushing for his views on credits and curriculum Amann isn’t looking to be a bad guy. He just wants what everyone wants: for ESU’s students to be properly served. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
History Major Succeeds Through Campus Service<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,22,28,42,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-esu-success-stories","category-facebook","category-history","category-news-release","category-slider"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7102"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7103,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7102\/revisions\/7103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}