Rowan University Campus Leader Prefers Online Classes Rowan University senior Zackary Brown, a double major in both philosophy and public relations, will graduate this spring. This year Zackary stepped into the most impactful, and important, student leadership role on campus: that of student body president (SGA). Not only has he taken on significant leadership responsibilities, […]
SGA
Rowan University NAACP President on Cultivating a Caring Community for Students of Color
This Black History Month we hear from Esther Lendore, president of Rowan NAACP, on her journey as a Rowan student and her passion for creating a sense of community for students of color. A double major in political science and law & justice studies, senior Esther Lendore, from Far Rockaway, NY, holds a variety of […]
Making the Most of Student Leadership: Admissions Ambassador, President of National Honor Fraternity, and Student Government Association Member Reflects
What is your favorite part of the program? My favorite part of the program is the connections that I have made with people. I have made some of my best friends, but also so many connections with the professional staff at Rowan. I know so many people on this campus, and a lot of it […]
How I Parent My College Student: SGA Mom Shares
Today we hear from Lori Bathurst, a Rowan mom from Gloucester County, NJ. Lori’s daughter Paige will enter her senior year this fall as a supply chain and logistics major through the Rohrer College of Business, and holds the distinction of being a past president of Student Government Association (SGA). As an experienced Rowan parent, […]
Building a Community: Raymond Wos Jr’s Undergraduate Experience
Rising senior Raymond Wos Jr. (he/him/his) from Gloucester County, NJ, is a subject-matter history major and double minor in both international studies and political science, and he’s also heavily involved with the inner workings of campus as a leader of change. Today he will share with us his personal journey and contributions to the University community.
At what point did you become comfortable with your sexuality and disability both with yourself and expressing it to other people?
For my disability, I was diagnosed at the age of 6 and then that was with my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Then I came out as bisexual, being comfortable with it and couldn’t hold it in to myself around my second year in community college so I was probably 18 or 19 years old at the time. I was thinking I feel comfortable with myself and realizing that I needed to be comfortable with these identities regardless and there’s nothing wrong or imperfect about me, it’s just that I know I am the best version I can possibly be and I can be proud of my identities without any criticism or any backlash from these issues.
What has Rowan done to make you feel accepted as part of the LGBQTIA+ community on campus and what gave you the courage to give back to the Rowan community?
As an individual, realizing how much empowerment and power I have on this campus, I realized as someone who’s a part of it but also realizing there’s so many more identities that need to be represented through SGA (Student Government Association) and many other facets I’m involved with. It’s just shown the amount this institution will give, but there’s always room for improvement regardless. However, there’s times where I’m in these roles to make change and I was able to help create legislation throughout the year. One of them, this past spring, I had written a piece of a resolution for transgender rights, acknowledgement, and more condensed stuff on our campus through the wellness center and many other facets of the community. With everything that’s happened within the trans community today outside of Rowan, it just shows that we need to pay more attention to these issues. Since we are not really, this is the first to take a course of action that I’ve done with PRISM and so forth to make this thing happen and it did pass. We’re now working together collaboratively with several offices in particular. Right now at the moment, with the Wellness Center we’re making sure they have fantastic resources for our trans community on this campus.
What drew you to get involved with Rowan’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and can you share what you have accomplished in your role as AVP?
My time in the role as Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I have completed a lot during my time. I’ve written at least 3 to 4 different resolutions that’s helped many facets of the Disabled community, mental health, and LGBTQIA+ community this past year and made sure there was an emphasis on the importance that these communities need to be represented on this campus and making sure of it. I’ve helped write responses to things that have happened within our community through the backlash that’s happened at Holly Point and even on Twitter where people posted derogatory terms. My well known accomplishment that I’m really proud of is getting a Rowan Announcer created for Judy Heumann, who’s an internationally recognized Disability Rights advocate and leader throughout this nation. She recently passed in March and I got that settled by writing articles and blogs that were published in the campus newspaper, The Whit and DEI blog about it so there’s a lot of work I’ve gotten done.
There are a lot of accomplishments that have happened throughout the academic year. However, I’ve also attended a lot of cultural events, I’ve worked with The BSU (Black Student Union) and NAACP to try and support the local community around me within these facets, within the Division of DEI. But most importantly I do work in the office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution office with Tara Ferrucci and Dominique Pierson who are in charge of the facilities over there. They’re absolutely amazing people. Just gaining more knowledge for their office and working collaboratively with them, even super close with them. Besides that I’m involved within the facet of the Division of DEI, I’m involved in 8 committees they have on campus related to DEI. I’m so embedded into it I understand where the Division is leading to but also how I can help them and give the student perspective as much as possible. I’m proud that I’m able to give that and have faculty, staff, students, and many other supporters understand what I do and how much I care from the student body perspective and how much change I want to see, but also for future generations to realize it’s a lot to consider. But it needed to be done for us.
What moments at Rowan gave you the confidence to up such a large role in representing the LGBQTIA+ community?
The reason why is because it’s not for me personally, it’s not represented as a big facet that I was hoping for. Since I had my predecessor, Alex Butler, they were a part of the LGBTQIA+ community as well. I felt a motivation– a very high interest in making a change, but also being a part of a community and realizing I do have a voice as well as seeing the facets of the community, realizing as a person in the community and as an ally, there are so many problems and issues that are not being mentioned in and out of our institution and how we’re going to fix them. I realized I can make a change, not just within the LGBTQIA+ community, but so many other communities that I am not a part of but also within my own disabled identities as well because I feel like they’re left out of the conversation. In addition, neurodiversity is a part of it as well that is missing in these conversations. I just don’t see these issues through my queer and disabled perspective. All these lenses of identities have different facets and need to be represented on campus. The role has gotten bigger and the perception of it has gotten bigger and people may not realize it.
What challenges have you had to navigate through your time here as an undergraduate student here that other students might not have had to?
For me personally, I have navigated here at Rowan through different challenges. I was a transfer and commuter student here on this campus and it was a very different environment. I transferred the semester that COVID happened and I was here probably two and half to three months in person then COVID hit, then schools shutdown, spring break was two weeks that got extended. From there I learned online and everything else. We went to a universal design type of platform like Zoom and WebEx and learning that way was very different in the beginning, but now it’s a tool that utilizes a lot more than I was expecting to use– I’m grateful I was able to use it. But it’s always been a challenge, also being a student who doesn’t share a lot sometimes. Also, now becoming more comfortable and being empowered, I was able to represent myself on this campus being a transfer from a community college and a commuter. The other facets of my identity I represent on this campus, I have decided to make myself a powerful voice and I think a lot of people have seen that within the last year and a half through every facet of this University.
Are there certain goals that you have set out to achieve whether it’s spreading acceptance or reforming previously held views at the university level that you have achieved?
Some of the things that I personally have achieved during my time here, I can definitely tell you one of my goals is intersectionality which is something that is so important in realizing that we do have a sense of community. It’s also that we need to realize our individuality and we do have a sense of purpose, but also we’re able to have different identities but can relate to each other through this intersectionality. We realize we can share the same experiences but some of us might have it easier than others as expected. I think that’s a philosophy the position needs to have and realize, yes, I can be a person who is a cis white man that is bisexual and disabled and realize I face challenges within two identities, but being a cis white man isn’t a challenge because there’s so many benefits I get from society. But the other identities that I can’t because of how things are structured and how things are happening in our society.
Another one was mental health within DEI. I have passed a legislation resolution to get mental health resources to our campus student website, Canvas, hopefully that’s being implemented soon. Another legislation resolution that I’ve passed again that I have mentioned previously was the transgender awareness legislation and getting the Wellness Center to be more accepting and being open and having it be more accessible.
Another thing I was trying to hit upon was writing opinion pieces and stuff like that within other communities like BIPOC, Neurodiversity, within Disabled, within LGBTQIA+ and I felt like we have gotten there by expanding with our Rowan DEI blog which is absolutely amazing. I highly encourage everyone to check it out, it’s very nice.
A new goal that I was about to start on this campus and it might transition to our next AVP of DEI will be creating a Disability Student Union. From all the conversations and what I’ve been seeing, the empowerment from other communities being seen on campus has been absolutely empowering. It gave power to those who had a voice and gave it and became a force that was not to be reckoned with and being able to make an important change on this campus. But now, since seeing that having an organization called a Disability Student Union in the near future will be a huge benefit to this institution to make change. I think that is something we should look forward to and hopefully will be seeing in the near future. Those are some of my initiatives but there are many more besides that.
Are there specific moments that stand out to you that show the growth within the community at Rowan?
Seeing people becoming more of a family and realizing we’re coming and growing as individuals, but also as people within our society. Also within our clubs and organizations a lot of them are becoming more closely knit and trying to work on my collaboration ideas and working together– it’s a start. Plus we’ve been out of the pandemic and been fully back into school, full fledged with all these activities and everything else for about a year or two now. We’re still rebuilding that stage up again. I think we’ll need a few more years to do it, but I think the communities, the sense of belonging, and what we’re trying to bring to Rowan, seeing the potential next year is gonna be really good. We’re going in the right direction.
Are you satisfied with the changes you’ve helped create at Rowan and what would you like the next crop of students to do to carry on your work here?
For the legacy I left is definitely having empathy for others, but also having empathy that happened on this campus where we need to have a shared responsibility to care for one another and also empower each other. To give each other the power to make change and evolve as a whole and work collaboratively with SGA, with all these various organizations to really make change and challenge the administration to do better, but also to make them more knowledgeable on issues that we’re facing at this time. For the next crop of students, I want them to realize that empathy will go far and wide, showing kindness to others will take a great deal of responsibility for these roles and of these executives for what we’re trying to do for the future. Students should realize just overall empathy, love, and kindness will always take you far in what you do in these careers.
Can you talk about your next steps after you graduate?
After I graduate I want to become a high school history teacher, somewhere locally or somewhere within the state of New Jersey to work with students in history. To show them what the potential of history is, but also destigmatizing history, showing there is so much more potential in history, what is undiscovered, and showing what we learn in the classroom is not always true. We have to challenge what writers have perceived and what has been written by the victors. We need to do better and realize there’s other historical information out there, many more historians have better writing and so forth like that. In the near future, after I’m done teaching for a few years, I want to come back to Rowan and do a double master’s of arts program in Special Education and the Diversity and Inclusion program as well. Having those two facets of programs combined together and working on it, I will have the potential to grow as a self-advocate, an advocate, and an activist, and something bigger within the state or locally. That’s my goal for the future.
After your experience with Rowan, after your experience with community college, how has your education experience impacted how you will teach?
What I have learned during my time here and my time at community college is that if you have something you have your mind to and you put it to it and as someone who’s going into a teaching career, you’re gonna be able to have the same determination and the same energy you want to bring into the classroom. You want to make an impact on these students to be engaged and learn the material you’re teaching them, but go beyond that and have more of a special interest in topics in history. But even more, realizing the importance of having humanities and history in our society to still exist. Where today it’s falling apart in some of the different states, we’re losing humanities, music, and sports throughout public education. We need to refocus our energy throughout the nation to make sure we bring back humanities and I want people to realize they’re equally as important as the STEM fields.
Like what you see?
Written by Thomas Ubelhoer, rising junior political science and international studies double major
Rowan University’s Student-Led Flow Forward Initiative To Improve Campus Education and Access
Story by:Natalie DePersia, junior public relations major Photos by:Stephanie Batista, senior business management major
Passing the Torch: Outgoing SGA President Matthew Beck’s Parting Advice and Rowan Legacy
“Put yourself out there, take those opportunities, because if you ask for them and are looking for them, then the opportunities will come.” From leading the student body to interning for the company he will now join after graduation, Mechanical Engineering major Matthew Beck of Monmouth County stayed open to new possibilities throughout his Rowan […]
Passing the Torch: Outgoing Student Government Vice President Sarah McClure
As a graduating senior, Sarah McClure reflects on her time as a Rowan student. Sarah was an International Studies and Political Science double major and on-campus resident from Rockaway, NJ (Morris County).
Sarah held positions on the Student Government Association and Honors Student Organization executive boards.
“My executive boards, through the Honors Student Organization and the Student Government Association, especially this year, left me with lifelong friends. These are people I’m going to come back and visit next year and check-in with. I’m really lucky to be blessed with such amazing people I was able to work alongside that I could eventually call my friends.”
Sarah is passing her Executive Vice President (EVP) position on SGA to one of her newfound lifelong friends.
“I’m so thrilled with my successor that was elected, Emily Lowe. She was on the board with me this year and she was the Vice President of Student Affairs. She is so lovely, so nice, and I’m really confident that she’s going to do a really good job.”
Although she is thrilled with her successor, Sarah will miss being in the Executive Vice President role.
“I really loved the position of EVP. I enjoy engaging with all the clubs and getting to see what they all do on campus. When clubs did really cool things, I celebrated their successes with them, whether it was like a really awesome event or a great fundraiser. It’s hard saying goodbye, but I know Emily will do great things. SGA is something I will really miss,” she says.
Sarah reflects on her Rowan experiences and leaves a piece of advice for incoming students.
“I just got a letter from my freshman year self through a mentorship program I did through the Honors College and the end of the letter said, ‘I hope you become someone that we can be proud of.’ It really moved me reading that because I think I have become someone that I would have been proud of because I got involved and that was something that I didn’t do freshman year.”
She adds, “I think one of my biggest regrets in college is not getting the jump on that sooner and looking at clubs and organizations during my first year of college. I would say to put yourself out there and don’t let your past experiences define who you’re going to become in college.”
Sarah is looking forward to starting her M.A. in Political Science in the fall through Rutgers University’s United Nations and Global Policy Studies program.
Like what you see?
Story by:
Rachel Rumsby, junior communication studies and public relations double major
Photos by:
Stephanie Batista, junior business management major
International Student Dalsha Douglas on Her Rowan University Experience
Dalsha Douglas, an international student from Dominica, shares her experience as a senior Accounting major at Rowan University.
Dalsha always knew she wanted to go to college and get her education. “Rowan University provided me with a lot of scholarship assistance, so it made the decision to come here really easy.” Now, Dalsha is wrapping up her senior year as an Accounting major, all while juggling extra-curricular activities.
On campus, Dalsha joined a variety of clubs to make Rowan University feel like home.
“International Club is a place where all international students can come together and have fun,” she says. “In the club, we spend time playing games and developing relationships with people who are all in the same situation. It’s a great community for international students to feel more at home and connected to others.”
Along with the International Club, Dalsha was involved in the American Sign Language Club. “There were spots open on the e-board, so I ran for senator and ended up earning the position. On top of learning sign language, as the senator of the club, I got to attend SGA meetings each week and report back to members of the club about what was discussed and decisions that were made.”
As an extended commitment to her academics, Dalsha joined the Accounting Society. “Accounting Society has been so influential,” she says. “Representatives from different businesses come to talk about their experiences in the field. Getting out of the classroom and hearing from others has really helped me narrow down the paths I want to take in the future. I would definitely recommend this club to all accounting majors.”
Dalsha has also created valuable relationships with her professors.
“My Principals of Marketing Professor Dr. Pontes really made an impact on me. He was an international student as well, so he really understood my experiences. He helped reach out to other departments at Rowan University so that I could get experience internally. That effort and care really meant a lot to me.”
In the future, Dalsha hopes to use her skills and experiences to work with the Freidman Accounting Agency, a company she was introduced to through the Accounting Society.
Like what you see?
Story by:
Loredonna Fiore, senior public relations and advertising major
#PROFspective: Leading the Student Body, Matthew Beck
Matthew Beck, a senior Mechanical Engineering major within the Honors College, shares his #PROFspective as a Rowan student and President of Student Government Association (SGA). Matthew is from Marlboro, NJ (Monmouth County) and involved with many extracurriculars and clubs. He is an Admissions Ambassador, the Logistics Manager for Food Recovery Network, SGA President, and a member of Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Rowan Environmental Action League.
Why did you choose to study Mechanical Engineering? Have you always wanted to pursue a career in this field?
I would not say I have always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. The main reason why I wanted to be an engineer was because I have always loved building stuff. As long as I was able to play with toys, I always had Bob the Builder toys and things like that, and this is what initially struck my attention.
What really made me decide to become a mechanical engineer was because of a class I took freshman year of high school called Electronics I. In this class we learned the basics of engineering design and electric circuit analysis, which is how I fell in love with innovating, crafting and designing things. I think it’s awesome how you can go from having nothing to developing something that works and can be utilized.
The one project that I think stood out to me most was when we built a speaker that you can plug into your phone. We built it completely from scratch, and I just really loved that project; it inspired me to take Electronics II the following year. I also took a 3D modeling course in high school that also made me realize I was very interested in engineering as a major.
Why did you choose Rowan to study Mechanical Engineering?
I have a few reasons on why I chose Rowan. Location wise, Rowan is close enough to home to where I can go home whenever I want, but also far enough from home to where I feel independent and on my own. I also like Rowan’s proximity to all the major cities of where I would potentially like to work in the future like Philadelphia, New York or even Washington DC.
The price of Rowan was another huge reason why I chose this university. The price of Rowan is one that I couldn’t really beat when comparing it to other colleges and universities.
In general, the mechanical engineering program within the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering really stood out to me. I visited a ton of schools and I even applied to 11 different schools, and Rowan’s facilities and opportunities really stood out to me. When I was looking, Rowan had one newly renovated building and one brand new building for engineering, and it was cool to know it was rapidly expanding.
I also was able to make connections with the administrators very quickly here. The Dean of the college at the time was a really good resource to me. He had an open door policy and was always guiding me and answering all my questions thoroughly.
How would you describe SGA (Student Government Association) to someone who is unfamiliar with it?
Student Government Association (SGA) is kind of like a governing and advocating body for students. The way we operate is kind of like a small business that oversees and kind of manages all the clubs and organizations on campus. We take our budget and we allocate it to all the clubs and organizations, so we help them make their events, make reservations, approve reservations, help them order food, and help provide them with all the resources that they need.
We also advocate on the behalf of all the clubs and organizations. Any student at Rowan University always has the support of SGA. At any time anyone can come into our offices and we would be happy to help them and assist them with their needs.
What is your role within the Student Government Association?
My biggest responsibility is making sure all operations associated with SGA are running smoothly. We have 14 different executive board members ranging from Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and more. My daily task is to make sure that everyone is held accountable and doing their specific tasks.
Besides this task, I am able to pursue my own personal initiatives. I take time out of every day to answer my emails, to go and look at my initiatives, meet with administrators, and other tasks that voice student opinion.
What are your goals and aspirations for the future of this association?
In general, I just want the students to be heard. One of the things that we are really focusing on as an organization is promoting the SGA so that people know who we are, what we do and how our actions can help the students. We have spent a lot of time brainstorming how we should promote and advertise ourselves. Overall, I just hope that we make the most positive change to the lives of the students at Rowan that we can.
How did you get involved with SGA?
This is actually a funny story. In high school, I was not involved or really interested in student government. I was always a person who preferred to keep their head in the books and to keep themselves out of the spotlight.
One day I decided I wanted to learn more about a certain club on campus. All I wanted was to receive more information on the club, and I was unaware of any information about the meeting that day.
It turned out that there were SGA elections that day so the meeting was canceled. I was all upset sitting there because I wanted to hear more about this club and I thought it was rude to get up and leave during the elections, so I decided to just stay and listen and to vote for the elections. I got to the end of the elections and no one ran for SGA Senator so they asked if anyone in the audience was interested in taking on that role. At the time, I was interested in the club and I kind of just said yes. I think it’s funny that because I even joined the club, I was on the executive board.
As the Senator, I went to the senate meetings every other Monday. I really enjoyed the experience and from there it just went on for me. I stayed very involved over the years and eventually I ran to be SGA President. This challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and a way to make sure I was giving my best to impact the lives of the students.
What have you gotten out of being part of SGA personally and professionally?
I think a lot of the soft skills of working with administrators, working in and opening myself up to the business world, really contributed to how this experience helped me professionally. When I first started SGA, I was timid and was not used to the working world. This experience provided professional experience and equipped me with knowledge that I will be able to utilize in my future professional environments. Working with the Board of Trustees was an awesome experience. The board is composed of some of the most influential people at Rowan University, and it was really cool to network with them.
Personally, I think this experience has definitely helped my public speaking skills, communication skills. It has expanded my comfort level and expanded my knowledge on simply dealing with people. This experience overall has truly expanded so many skills for me.
How do you think your leadership role within SGA has prepared you for your future endeavors?
I think SGA has prepared me tremendously for my future endeavors and plans. First off, I think this experience is really going to help me when I aspire to move up in an organization. I have a good understanding of how a large organization like Rowan University runs.
I also think it will help me in my career because I already have a lot of experience of managing 15 plus people within SGA and then trying to help and guide an entire student body with the help of my colleagues.
By major, I am an engineer as previously mentioned. This summer I will be entering into a very technical role at Lockheed Martin. I think my role within SGA has made me realize some things I would like to do in the future and the settings I would like to work in.
What does a typical day for you look like?
I like to make a habit of wellness everyday. With that being said, I like to have at least 30-60 minutes a day of mindfulness, or physical activity or even time to just take a walk outside in fresh air. I blocked off my mornings everyday from 7:30-10 a.m. to just have that time and the space for that. I have learned that the more things and responsibilities I have picked up, the more I value that time for myself and my wellness in my mornings.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I am usually pretty busy with SGA, so I will head to my office hours from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. During this time I usually have 3-4 meetings for the day. On Monday nights I have executive board meetings from 5-7 p.m. and sometimes I also have night events that start at 7 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are similar. I start with my wellness routine, then have class basically from 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Overall, my days are pretty jam packed and busy from the morning all the way till around 9 p.m.
Like what you see?
Story by:
Natalie DePersia, junior public relations major
Photos by:
Stephanie Batista, junior business management major
Women in Leadership #PROFspective: Riya Bhatt, the AVP of University Advancement
Today we feature Riya Bhatt, the AVP of University Advancement for Student Government. Riya is a sophomore Biological Sciences major who also minors in Public Health and Wellness. Riya discusses her involvement in SGA (Student Government Association) and her future plans as a biological sciences major.