Meet Justin Rosen, a CLEG and business double major from Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania. Although he is new to AU, Justin jumped straight into his freshman year when he ran for and won President of Anderson Hall! When he isn’t busy running successful campaigns or volunteering in the community you can probably find Justin at a basketball game, riding his bike, or hiking a trail.
Her Campus American University: What motivated you to run for president of Anderson Hall?
Justin Rosen: My motivation to run for president can be described in one word: leadership. As someone who has been an active participant of student government, involved in numerous political campaigns, and held numerous leadership positions, I believe I embody the critical aspects to leadership: listening and responding. The president of Anderson Hall must listen, evolve, and embody the residents; therefore, my style of leaderships is to create a transparent atmosphere, in which all are invited to partake. A sense of community is established once everyone is invited to partake—and will partake! This past summer, I was an organizing director for a political campaign, and I discovered is the importance of communication. Without communication, a community unravels and trust is lost. I ran for president to establish a direct-line of communication between Anderson Hall Council, the RA’s and the Anderson Hall community.
HCAU: What was campaigning like?
JR: Campaign was amazing, I had an incredible campaign team, basically my whole floor. As a team, we spread the word of my candidacy and my ideas for Anderson Hall. Our premise was to place a sign on everyone’s door to demonstrate unity and community; everyone on Anderson 4N had my sign on their door to demonstrate a cohesive voting block. In sum, the campaign was realistic, as compared to a high school student government campaign, and an incredible opportunity to meet the class of 2018.
HCAU: What do want to accomplish this year as president?
JR: As president, I want to create a memorable—and fantastic—residence hall community. My first priority is to help facilitate events to create an Anderson Hall family. These events, such as an open-door policy for residents to voice their opinion, floor competitions and team building activities will help ensure our community develops into a family. American University is a diverse community, and fostering a family atmosphere is critical to creating an incredible residence hall experience. As president, I want to help Anderson Hall residents foster a vibrant atmosphere of young professionals eager to become embedded in the American—and D.C.—community. My main goals as president are to improve Anderson lounges, foster a sense of community and plan fun and dynamic events.
HCAU: What did you do when you found out you won?
JR: When I found out I won, my floor had a rally and victory party in our lounge, it was incredible! One of my good friends played Aloe Blacc’s “The Man” and everyone celebrated. It was truly a memory of a lifetime.
HCAU: Anything else you want HCAU readers to know?
JR: I would like everyone to know I have an open-door policy, so if any resident, especially Anderson residents, have any questions, to contact me at jr0502a@student.american.edu. My main priority is to help improve the lounges of Anderson, so be on the lookout for additional information in the coming weeks! Here’s to Anderson winning Hall of the Year!!!!