Introducing new Executive Board members

Hello, RPI!

Tonight, appointees for the 2018-19 Rensselaer Union Executive Board will come before the Student Senate for confirmation voting! We saw over 40 student applications to the Executive Board this year, and I am blown away by the experience, passion, and determination each of the applicants had. As these exceptional students will hopefully be serving as your representatives for the coming year, I wanted to take a moment to introduce each of them to you and give you some insight into their contributions to campus so far!

Benjamin Volk has served as a volunteer firefighter for 5 years, has 4 years in the workforce, and played a budgeting role in his community college before transferring to RPI. Having served on the Executive Board for two years, Anissa Choiniere has focused on creating and revising policies for E-Board operations and club procedures. Prior to attending RPI and serving a year on the E-Board, Andrew Walter spent a gap year in Europe, where he founded a non-profit organization named International Acts of Kindness, and he has a strong passion for risk management. John Jacangelo, a PhD student in the mathematics department, is serving as first lieutenant for RPI Ambulance and was heavily involved in student life and activities at his undergraduate alma mater, SUNY Buffalo.

Brian Mansaku has served on the E-Board over the past year, where he has worked to leave a positive impact on campus and the Union through serving on the Board, and serves as risk manager for his fraternity, Sigma Chi. Justina Thompson has played a number of roles across campus, including serving as vice president for RPI Ambulance, working closely with student life, and will soon be a resident assistant in the upcoming school year. Christine Magunga serves as the treasurer for the recently-established African Students Association, and she is working to establish strong relationships with members of the Union administrative staff.

Cody Kazakoff is a management student with planned coterminal study in business analytics, who serves as the president of the Lally Management Students Association and has held internship roles working with financial planning. Rachel Antmann has recently been elected president of Habitat for Humanity at RPI, and she previously served as vice president of finance for the group. Charles Omoregbee was recently elected to an officer position in the Black Students Alliance and has a passion for creating, recording, and performing his own music locally.

Gabrielle Gentile has gotten involved with the Resident Students Association by serving as chairwoman of the Barton Hall Council this year, and she also serves as director of continuous open bidding for Alpha Phi. Ryan Delaney joined the Board at the start of this year, and he has worked to build strong and productive relationships with the clubs he has worked with. Vish Gopalakrishnan was recently elected executive vice president of the Interfraternity Council, and has served as vice president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity over the past two years.

Having been involved in UPAC throughout his time at RPI, Andrew Kiselik has served as chairman of the GM Week Committee, resident assistant for this school year, and will be serving as a resident director next year. Rida Rahman has gotten involved her freshman year through the Women in Nuclear, American Nuclear Society, and the Women Mentoring Program.

The Undergraduate Council’s pick, David Raab, is no stranger to student government, having served on the Executive Board over the past year and leading the Elections Commission through the GM Week 2017 elections cycle. Finally, the Student Senate’s pick, Mary Clare Crochiere, has served as a Senator over the past year and has been involved in the Student Life Committee since her sophomore year.

Tonight, these appointees—excluding the Senate, UC, and GC appointed members—will come before the Student Senate for confirmation, and I am excited to see the questions they answer. I am very impressed with their extensive experiences, and I’m very excited for the year ahead with this Board!

Like always, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out at pu@rpi.edu!