Recently, the class of 2013 elected their senior class officers. President Andrew Kramer, Vice President Tony Darling, Class Agent J.R. Vanko and Secretary Nhi Nguyen will be representing the next senior class. Here, Kramer and Nguyen share a bit about themselves and their goals for next year’s senior class.
President-Elect Andrew Kraemer
Kraemer is a member of Beta and spends his time outside of the classroom working at the info-desk or reading. An economics major and fan of the liberal arts, he is excited to take classes that he didn’t have a chance to in previous years.
“Next term I plan on taking a 200-level math class, history class and Major British Writers,” he shared. For his final year at Lawrence, Kraemer looks forward to spending time in the VR to reach out to friends and the people he’s been unable to spend time with.
When asked why he decided to run for senior class president, Kraemer responded, “I felt I had a chance of winning. I [also] feel that I do fairly well at connecting with different people.”
Kraemer continued, “I was hesitant about coming to Lawrence, [but] since I’ve been here I just really loved Lawrence, and I love to get that enthusiasm across the board.”
As senior class president, a major part of his duty is to raise money for what will be the senior class gift. This gift is usually viewed as a way for the class to give back to Lawrence. In other years, graduating classes have decided to put money into the Lawrence fund or have created scholarships targeted toward students that would otherwise not be able to attend.
While Kraemer believes those are meaningful gifts, he and Vice President Tony Darling share a different ambition for their class’ gift to Lawrence. Already he has begun planning and discussing with class of ’12 president, Mara Kunin, how to approach the task of fundraising.
By reaching out to leaders of different organizations around campus from Greek life, to members of the conservatory, Kraemer plans to meet with a diverse group of students to brainstorm and decide on a class gift that everyone can agree on.
With this plan he is hopeful that more members of the senior class will be encouraged to contribute towards their class gift and that his class will be one that will be remembered. He also looks forward to keeping in touch with the members of his class long after they have left Lawrence.
President-Elect Tony Darling
Tony Darling, an economics and Government double major has been elected senior class Vice President. Darling was born and raised in the greater metropolitan area of Hortonville, Wisconsin.
When asked why he decided to run for senior class Vice President, Darling shared that he had an interest in giving back to Lawrence. Said Darling, “I thought it would be a great chance to give back to a community that has had a deep impact on who I am today and to which I owe a great deal of my past success.”
Darling would like to work towards increasing student engagement on campus. Said Darling, “If somebody who is not involved with us has a really great idea for an event or campaign, I want to create an atmosphere that allows them to share it comfortably. I believe the Senior Class Committee is also a vital component to our success, and I want to draw on them as a resource while allowing them opportunities to showcase their own leadership, organizational, and teamwork skills. This will allow us to expand our efforts and put on higher quality events.”
Outside of school, Darling enjoys spending time with close friends, racquetball, watching movies, and playing the occasional video game. He also has a passion for playing and listening to music. “I provide, the drums, keyboards, and sensual vocals for my band on campus…If you haven’t heard us play before, you really should. 9 out of 10 doctors agree. The 10th doctor is in our rival band.”
Secretary- Elect Nhi Ngyun
An international student from Vietnam, Nguyen is majoring in psychology with a minor in biology. After Lawrence, she plans on going to nursing school.
“I’m excited for next year. This is studying abroad for me, and I really want to make the best of my experience,” she shared.
Although she is involved in Lawrence International, is a Lawrence Fund Ambassador and is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Nhi felt as though she could get more involved with a leadership position. As secretary, she hopes get to know more members of her class.
Her role as senior class secretary is to maintain communication among the class and its board members. She also looks forward to keeping in touch with members of her class after graduation. Along with those responsibilities she will help with organizing and planning events for the senior class.
Aside from academics and extra-curricular activities, Nguyen said, “I like to take naps; it’s really really hard not to! I stay up late and what not. I like to eat out and take walks. I don’t really play sports, but I like to play volleyball and go shopping. I just mostly like to get to know people.”
When asked what her favorite memory at Lawrence has been, she shared, “There are many things I love about being at Lawrence. [During] Welcome Week freshman year, I won the rock paper scissors competition at Playfair! I love campus events, especially Mardi Gras; it’s really fun. I [also] really liked being a part of Kappa. That will be a very special memory because we don’t have sororities in Vietnam.”
On the other hand, a more disappointing yet humorous aspect she considers a “Lawrence difference” is never having a class canceled.
“We never have snow days. It’s a bad example of a Lawrence Difference, but really, my professors never get sick; I never get sick! I just never have a class canceled!”