As the school year is winding down, it is already time to look ahead to next year. With that comes the duty of bringing in the teams that will help guide the college through 2013-14.

On April 26, the voting begins to elect the new student senators that will take the Madison College student body through next year. This year there are five open positions and a host of candidates.

Senate President:

Devon Cook

Devon Cook is a Liberal Arts Transfer student. He has served on the Student Senate for the last year and a half. He’s also spent last year as chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee.

Cook says he’s proud of the work he’s done with the Senate and he’d like to get students more involved in the decisions that Student Senate makes.

Colin Bowden

Colin Bowden is a second-year IT Programming student at Madison College. A member of United Common Ground, he’s been involved in strategic planning for the organization and worked to organize events for a number of student organizations.

“One of the biggest things that we can do — and I think it’s a great initiative — is to have an inclusive community safe space: somewhere people can go, no matter what color, no matter what background, no matter what ability, gender or orientation to console one another, to work (and) to make a more inclusive and accessible Madison College.”

Michael Patton

Michael Patton is a Liberal Arts Transfer student and has served on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and the Legislative Affairs Budget Committee.

Patton said he would like to see the development of a Veterans Committee as well as a Disabled Student Committee to better serve these populations at Madison College. He also said he is encouraged by the possibilities of bio-diesel usage at the college.

Vice President of Administration and Finance:

Rose Clearmont

Rose Clearmont is a second year Finance and Accounting Program student at Madison College. She is the secretary for Wisconsin Student Government, and has been a member for the past two years. She’s also been a member of the Student Activities Board.

“I would like to help to achieve the ability to keep all students up to date on what is happening with their campus,” Clearmont said.

Clearmont said her primary concern, though, is the handicapped students that drive to school.

“There are not enough parking spaces,” she said. “I have a walking issue and cannot walk to cafeteria from the parking lot by the current clinic.”

Yacouba Sibi 

Yacouba Sibi previously studied Business Law and Criminology in his home country of West Africa. He speaks five languages and studies English at Madison College. He’s a member of the Student Association and attended last year’s National Conference for Student Leadership, where he was certified as a national student leader. He is also president of the World Student Association at Madison College.

“The different degrees that I hold make me an outstanding candidate for this position,” he said.

Vice President of Public Relations:

Kevin Khyser 

Kevin Khyser is a freshman in the Marketing Program. He’s also a student senator who has worked closely with the Public Relations Committee.

“I would like to be the face of Student Senate,” Khyser said. “With my experiences, I feel like I could do a very good job from a Public Relations standpoint. I’ve taken on the position quite a bit this year.

Vice President of Team Development:

Makiko Omori 

Makiko Omori is an international student from Tokyo, Japan. She has served as a student senator since last December.

“I developed my leadership and business communication skills when I managed a French restaurant and bakery in Tokyo,” she said. “My wide variety of experiences in different cultures allows me to be open-minded and to be able to deal with different types of people.”

She said she has worked to establish relationships with other senators and to gain their trust as well. She also said one of her biggest accomplishments was creating a food service survey that collected more than 800 responses.

“Based on the huge data of the survey result, Food service promised to introduce some significant changes,” Omori said.

Kristin Zeier 

Kristin Zeier is a Liberal Arts Transfer student. She is a new member of the Student Senate and has served on Food and Health Services and Commuter Services Committee. She is also a student ambassador for Madison College.

Currently, Zeier is focused on assessing the needs of students with disabilities and making sure that commuting options are as efficient as possible. Her goal is to inspire others to get involved and take an interest in the issues that affect them.

Angie Danielski 

Angie Danielski has previously held the positions of vice president of public relations and marketing with the executive leadership team, and vice president of service with Phi Theta Kappa. She is also a certified student leader through the National Center for Student Leadership.

Danielski is a firefighter and an EMT, but also teaches fire safety and prevention materials to students in schools as well as to the general public.

“My vision with the Senate is that I may be able to take what I have learned to help cultivate the leadership qualities of my fellow student leaders so that we can be as effective as we possibly can to make an impact at Madison College,” she said.

Vice President of Legislative Affairs

Hana Pagel

Hana Pagel is in her third semester at Madison College. She is a full-time student and plans to pursue an economics degree at the UW-Madison.

“My experience with Madison College has completely transformed the way I approach my education and I would not be where I am today without the support and quality instruction provided by the teachers at this school,” Pagel said. “I am equally inspired by the diversity of my classmates and their shared commitment to education and the future.

She said that as vice president of legislative affairs, her primary concern will be to make certain quality higher education remains accessible to all.

“I firmly believe in equality of opportunity and I feel Madison College plays a unique and vital role in achieving this aim by providing flexible, affordable programs that link students to the workforce and four-year degree programs,” she said. “As a vice president, I will work to ensure students are provided with the support they need from the city, state, and school administration so this community can continue to grow and thrive.”

Caroline Russell

Caroline Russell is a Liberal Arts Transfer student. She is part of the UW Connections Program where she plans to major in Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology.
Caroline was previously appointed lieutenant governor of student government, which is a state level forum similar to Student Senate. Caroline has lobbied to get more money for community colleges across the state, including Pell grants, the Perkins Act and student relief.

Since becoming involved in the lobbying process, Caroline describes here main goal as to “make more students aware of the legislation that is going to affect them.” She’d like to encourage students to lobby at the Capitol on issues that they are passionate about.