Her Campus American: Tell us about yourself. What made you decide to come to AU?
Alex Kokinchak: I’m a current freshman majoring in Business Administration and Economics and a member of the new AU Honors program. I’m from outside of Cleveland, Ohio and AU’s location in D.C. was one of the first things that interested me. I knew I wanted to be in a city and the fact that we have such a beautiful campus within DC was a bonus!
HCAU: Why did you decide to run for VP of Advocacy and Community Coordination?
AK: Currently, I serve as the VP of Programming for Hughes Hall Council in the Residence Hall Association. Throughout the year, I’ve seen how much the role of VPACC has evolved and I still think there is a lot of potential growth- not only for this position, but for RHA’s role in on-campus advocacy as a whole.
Ultimately, I was inspired by the current residents. There are so many causes our residents are passionate about and I believe RHA should help these student-led organizations reach their goals to improve residential life.
HCAU: What does being the VP of Advocacy entail?
AK: Being VP of Advocacy and Community Coordination not only entails spearheading campus-wide advocacy efforts, but also includes overseeing the VP of Advocacy’s work in each Hall Council and creating leadership development programming for the Residence Hall Association.
HCAU: What do you want to accomplish?
AK: My number one priority is to listen to residents- I plan to go straight to the community for direction in advocacy efforts. As I said before, there are many student groups aimed at changing an aspect of residential life. Those ideas and opinions will be represented when meeting with the administration and working with the other members of the RHA Executive Board. I’ve already been in contact with members of the AU One Less Cup Campaign, which is a great initiative to eliminate the waste produced via the use of disposable cups, particularly at dining locations like Tavern. Overall, I really hope to improve residential life based on student need and increase RHA’s support of student-led advocacy groups.
HCAU: What other groups are you involved with on campus?
AK: I’m a recently initiated sister of Alpha Xi Delta! I also work for the Kogod Center for Business Communications as a peer tutor and I serve as the Honors/Kogod Ambassador.
HCAU: Anything else you want HCAU readers to know?
AK: I highly encourage everyone on campus to get involved with RHA if they’re interested. Additionally, if you ever want to bring up an issue or have a cool idea, members of the Hall Councils and the Executive Board are always happy to meet with residents and listen.