The role of USG president is extremely
broad, encompassing duties ranging from articulating student
interests on issues as diverse as academic program and housing
issues, providing supervision and leadership for other student
representatives on the body, and helping to organize major
events like a biannual concert event.
"That's what keeps me sane,"
Joe commented about the range of challenges encompassed by
his job. "I spend so much time doing this that if it
were the same thing everyday it would be really boring. The
fact that the job requires me to be a cheerleader some days,
a negotiator at other times, and a behind-the-scenes worker
at others, is what makes it interesting enough to be my only
major extracurricular commitment."
This set of responsibilities also
brings with it an enormous time commitment, placing him on
call 24 hours a day and often requiring 30 to 40 hours of
work a week.
Enormous challenge
This, of course, can be challenging
while balancing the substantial course load of being a junior
in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
One recent Monday, for example,
Joe rose from bed extra early to catch an administrator at
8:30 a.m. to discuss a serious campus issue, attended classes,
spent eight hours doing core lab work in the E-Quad, rushed
to Dodds Auditorium to argue for student views in a meeting
of the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC)
that is normally chaired by President Shapiro himself, and
then led another two hours worth of planning meetings that
night.
"The job takes really good
organization," Joe said. "I have such a tight schedule
between student government responsibilities and my engineering
course load that often involves much more class time than
for A.B. candidates, but I squeeze it all in."
Through all of this, Joe brings,
as an engineer, a unique perspective and a set of talents
to student leadership that had not been present before.
Indeed, his predecessor Jin "PJ"
Kim '01 remarked, "I think he brings a different skill
set. He is very rigorous and structured in his thinking. The
best part is he represents a constituency that is not usually
well-represented in student government."
Joe also has some thoughts on how
his academic background impacts his style of leadership.
"I have a very methodical problem-solving
attitude. In my mind I plan out a response to an issue and
then map steps to enact the plan. Because all of my class
work is team-oriented, that orientation lends itself well
to leading a team. In engineering courses as well as in the
team that I run, everyone takes turns contributing ideas to
solve a hard problem. I don't just do it myself."
Term priorities
His priorities for his term include
creating two standing committees on the issues of race and
gender to provide comprehensive reports to the next University
president in the fall, increasing the quantity funding for
recreational sports for non-varsity athletics, pushing forward
renovations of Dillon Gymnasium, and working with administrators
on the creation of a sixth residential college.
For him many of these campus climate
and residential life issues are important because they involve
integrating the entire community across diverse racial, cultural,
economic, geographical, and academic backgrounds so that the
Princeton community can benefit to a greater degree from its
rich depth of membership.
Through all of this, however, Joe
remembers his roots in the E-Quad: "I think it is really
important to provide a perspective in all these projects that
has not necessarily been provided before."
One of their own
For their part, engineers are proud
of their new president and optimistic about his upcoming term.
Fellow chemical engineer and recent alum Gary So '00 commented
via e-mail: "I was so proud to hear that a chem E finally
became USG president. I never thought I would see the day!"
Reactions to Joe's role in the USG
have been very positive. Former USG president and current
Young Alumni Trustee, Spencer Merriweather '00, brought Joe
into the student government when he was a freshman and has
strong praise for the new president.
"Often when people imagine
the prototypical Princeton student it may be someone in the
liberal arts," he said. "Joe proves that if there
is a prototypical student it has to be an engineer. Joe represents
someone with broad vision, the highest level of competence,
and a true leader. More importantly, I can't speak to the
impact that engineers have made on the USG in the past, but
since Joe opened the door I have a feeling that that door
will be open for a long time."
According to Susana Sanchez '04,
the USG Systems Administrator and a prospective operations
research and finance major, "It's good to have a president
with such strong problem solving skills. Joe might not know
how to solve a particular issue in the beginning, but because
he has the problem-solving skills from course work like physics,
he knows how to approach it."
U-Councilor and civil and environmental
engineering major Rolando Amaya '03 added, "Given the
many differences between A.B.s and B.S.E.s it is nice to have
a president that represents our perspective."
Academically, Joe is particularly
interested in science-technology and also in environmental
policy. He thinks the engineering program has benefited him
because "it's allowed me to get a real technical degree
that I wanted and also pursue my interests in liberals arts."
Joe Kochan '02, a chemical engineering
major, is the new USG president.
Photo by Frank Wojciechowski
|
After graduation he hopes to combine
the skills he has learned with his passion for public service,
saying, "Ultimately I'd like to work for the government
or for a lawyer involved in science tech law."
Overall, it looks like there are
two grueling but rewarding semesters ahead of Joe, who of
course is upbeat and optimistic about it.
"This is going to be an interesting
and challenging year combining the two things that I love
the most: science-tech policy and student leadership."
"Joe proves that if there is a prototypical
student it has to be an engineer. Joe represents someone with
broad vision, the highest level of competence, and a true
leader." Former USG President and current Young Alumni
Trustee,
Spencer Merriweather '00
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