It takes Paul Armstrong fifteen minutes to walk to class. No, he’s not a snail— he just happens to know every person that walks by him, which results in many “hi,” “hello,” and “how are you”s. Paul is a strong presence on campus, with connections and affiliations across the board. He’s as close to a celebrity as one could get before dropping out and covering the likes of US Weekly and People. Meet the man, the myth, the legend, Paul Armstrong.
Age: 19
Major: Communications with minors in Political Science, Environmental Studies, and potentially French.
Hometown: Liberty, Missouri (right next to the current World Series champs. Go Royals!)
On his decision to come to SCU: At first, SCU was definitely not my top choice. I was debating between going here or going to Boston College. But I had always wanted to get to California, so once I started looking into Santa Clara more, I saw that there were so many opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom, and that there was a genuine community here that would make transitioning from halfway across the country much easier.
Campus Involvement: I’ve been able to get involved in a lot of cool programs. Currently I’m a Student Ambassador for undergraduate admissions. I work on the Associated Student Government (ASG) as the Senator for Sustainability, which has let me work on SCOOPS (Students Collaborating and Organizing Opportunities and Projects for Sustainability) and sit on the Sustainable Loan Fund, which funds sustainable projects on Santa Clara’s campus. I also am the Specialty Events Manager for the Activities Programming Board (APB). I work with the undergraduate philanthropy committee. I am co-social chair for Sigma Chi and this past summer I was an Orientation Leader.
On his experience as the co-social chair for Sigma Chi: Being co-social chair has been really interesting this year. I think it’s cool to be on the other side of things dealing with the logistical and creative process. Being on the planning side of it makes the payoff of having a great event so much better. It’s fun being able to make sure that your friends are having a good time.
How he balances the stress of school with all of his other commitments: Honestly, I just try to take each day at a time. It makes the big picture a little harder to conceptualize, but taking things week by week is so much easier.
Favorite event that he has planned at SCU: It’s to come. Winter quarter I’m planning on taking a group of students to a Warriors game, so make sure to look out for that.
Favorite SCU memory: Definitely the first day of Orientation. You wake up at 5 am and are so excited to meet the new first years, but you have no idea what the hell you’re doing, so you’re kind of just going with things for the first time. It was one of the best days I’ve had.
Advice to someone who wants to get involved on campus: Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and really just be aware that there are so many opportunities out there— you just have to be good about taking them.
Where he sees himself in 10 years: Potentially running a company that does something that I am passionate about, like the environment. I think there is a lot of work to do to take care of the environment.