It’s been pretty hard to miss the “Talk To Me” signs hung around campus lately. Her Campus couldn’t help but ponder the mystery of these signs, so we decided to sit down with Margaret Mulkerrin, one of the advocates for the program. Margaret Mulkerrin, a junior with a double major in Politics and International Affairs and Art History, is an active member on the Wake Forest Campus. She balances her passion for student government with her roles in the theater department and her membership to Delta Zeta. She also participates as the nonvoting member of the academic planning committee, works with the dining commission, and recently joined the diversity and inclusion committee, known as The New Black and Gold. You could even end up with her as your student advisor next year!
Out of all her extracurricular activities, Margaret’s participation in The New Black and Gold, or the Diversity and Inclusion organization, has caught our eye. The posters for the “Talk To Me” campaign advertise The New Black and Gold’s efforts to facilitate conversation about diversity and inclusion at Wake Forest. When we interviewed Margaret, she remarked, “The whole campaign is a way for us to get students to respond and to start conversations with people they wouldn’t normally have conversations with.” Margaret let us in on the organization’s mission for the campaign, which is to “Defy Prejudice and Break Down Barriers.” Margaret, working with the founders of the organization, Jacqueline Sutherland and Reid Nickle, aims to create a dialogue at Wake Forest about diversity, its meaning to our students, and the forms it appears in on our campus. Even while abroad last semester, she has been instrumental in planning and launching the campaign.
After hearing that Margaret served as the freshman legislator during her first year at Wake, co-chair of the academic committee during her sophomore year, and currently as the political public relations co-chair, we couldn’t have imagined she had anything left to tackle! But Margaret is at it again — as she is currently running for Student Body president. She told Her Campus, “I’ve been seeing things that I thought really needed to be changed that other people haven’t touched on in the past, and now I’m really excited that I get to try.” Margaret told us that she is basing her platform on student voices. She values everyone’s voice, and wants to ensure a place where all voices are heard by student government and the administration. She says, “ I think that everyone’s ideas are really important and deserve a platform and a megaphone to get to the administration or to other student.” Check out her platform here.
Margaret reminds us that dedication and hard work can turn visions into realitiy. She was even gracious enough to pass on some tips on how to get involved, and manage it all! Margaret’s favorite thing about Wake is the passion that our students have. She believes that if you want to get involved, look for people who share that passion, regardless of where it is directed! Margaret told us, “If you feel like you can make the time for it, then by all means. I think that there’s a will and a way for that to be an outlet.” She recommends using classmates, upperclassmen, and friends as a way to learn about organizations, club, and passions that exist on campus.