Admist the Week 5 chaos, I got the chance to sit down with the 2017-2018 SGA Vice President Courtney Kampert to chat about SGA, the future, and of course, spirit animals. Courtney is such a positive light in my life and I was so excited to get to know more about her throughout this interview.
Name: Courtney Kampert
Year: Junior
Hometown: Huntley, IL
Major(s)/Minor(s): Double major in Communication Sciences Disorders and Communication Studies
Campus involvement: SGA Chief of Staff (currently), served on SGA Senate last year, Augustana Women’s Track and Field, Delta Chi Theta Sorority, Sexual Health Awareness and Prevention Committee
So, you’re the new SGA VP! Can you talk a little bit about the campaigning process?
It entailed a lot more than I originally thought it would. Allan and I prepared a lot beforehand and we asked all the members that we wanted to be part of our team pretty early, so we had meetings months before we could even apply for campaigning. It was a lot of hours dedicated to looking where we could improve the school and then looking into how we could go about it.
We also met with a lot of student groups. I got more out of that than I thought I would. Because we did end up running unopposed (and I think the first time we realized that it was like, “oh that kind of stinks”) we turned that into something more positive. So when we met with a lot of the student groups we were able to ask them more of what they would like to see and what they want SGA to do for them next year. We got a lot of good ideas from them.
How did you feel when you found out you won?
It kind of settled in okay, now it’s real, now I can bank on having this for next year. Allan and I now can work to set these plans and dreams we have for next year into motion. I think I wasn’t as worried because we were running unopposed, but it was still pretty exciting.
Charlie gave us a little scare. He told us someone else was getting a lot of write-ins and so we did have that “oh my gosh what if we lose,” so the night before I did kind of freak out a little bit. It was an exciting moment still.
Going into senior year, you’ll be the student body VP… what else are you looking forward to your senior year?
Senior year is going to be a whirlwind. I’m very excited. In CSD I have my last term of clinic. I’m also going to be studying abroad next year (we have plans for SGA on how we’re going to handle that next year). The main thing I’m really excited for is SGA. Seeing all these newfound connections I have with administration this year makes me look forward to how those will morph into more deeper, stronger connections and even friendships with people that run then school. I’m also excited to meet with more members of the student body and see what we can do to help them.
What is your spirit animal?
I would have to say a wild horse. I’m a very outdoorsy person, and I love seeing them down west when they’re living free. I just think it’d be cool.
Describe yourself in three words.
Ambitious.
Adventurous. I’m interested in taking risks and pushing myself to the next level in everything that I do.
And caring. I really enjoy relationships that I have with different people in my life. I like creating those relationships with as many people as I can and getting to know people and seeing where they’ve come and what makes them who they are.
What is a pet peeve of yours?
I would have to say the people in class that just kind of think that they know everything, so when they answer questions in class, you can tell in the way they hold themselves they’re like, I know exactly what’s going on here and the rest of you are below me. I guess through college the most important thing I’ve learned is to understand that everyone comes from a different background and there’s a reason as to why everyone is shaped into being who they are. So when those people in class have that kind of attitude, they don’t even give anybody else a chance. I really try not to judge people, but that’s really something that just really peeves me right off the bat and (it’s really hard for you to come back from something like that).
What’s the last thing you watched on TV/Netflix?
How to Get Away With Murder.
In one sentence/phrase… what’s your life philosophy/statement you like to live by?
Be as open to new possibilities as you possibly can be.
By that I mean expect more from yourself. I’ve always tried to push myself to be better than I even think I can be. Being SGA Vice President is something that I thought I would never do and I didn’t really think I was capable at the time. Step outside that comfort zone, do more, and meet more people.
If you could only have one of the five senses, what would it be?
It would definitely be sight. By being a CSD major, I’ve learned that you can still enjoy music if you’re deaf. It’s not the same by all means; it does depend on how intense your hearing loss is. But you can still hear some sort of beats and a lot of deaf people still enjoy music. Also, I just love hiking so much and I want to see the outdoors.
Speaking of seeing… where do you see yourself in five years?
Five years from now I’ll hopefully be out of grad school and working in a school-based program or private practice. After five years would have like to have gotten my feet into each and every kind of area (within speech pathology) that you could work. I do want to try work in a hospital, nursing home, school-based program, and clinics in general. I hope by then I’ll have my niche and be able to figure that out. I see myself living somewhere like Wisconsin or Colorado, somewhere outdoorsy, less people, not that big of a city-person.
How do you want to be remembered by?
Like when I die…?
However you want to take the question.
The biggest compliment anyone could ever give me would be me being open and friendly to everyone. If I can achieve that even in some people’s view, if some people saw me that way, I think I’ve achieved a lot. Being able to be there and be an important aspect of people’s lives, no matter how deep the relationship is, I just want to be thought of as someone positive.