Geoff Seber named Poly Person of the Year

After much deliberation, The Polytechnic has finally come to a decision of the Poly Person of the Year for 2007. During the course of a few weeks, The Poly had advertised for readers to send in nominations via e-mail to features@poly.rpi.edu for the person they think deserves the title. The four nominees consisted of two students, a professor, and a staff member in alumni relations. Those nominated were then placed as choices on the poll for the previous week’s issue, and readers were encouraged to vote. The final call, however, did not come from the polls—the votes online were inconclusive and gave even distribution to each candidate, which made choosing from the nominees difficult.

Each of the candidates were nominated due to the lasting impression they have left on campus and the help they have spearheaded in the campus community. A number of other criteria were considered—including the person’s personality, dedication, and quality of his or her work—in order to make the final decision.

The Editorial Board announces Geoffrey Seber as the winner for this year’s Poly Person of the Year. Among the four nominees, Seber has managed to stand out with the work he has done amongst his fellow colleagues and students. Not only does he care about his fellow alumni, he also emphasizes the importance of communication with current RPI students. His involvement with many campus programs has earned him numerous awards and respect from his peers.

“I am surprised and honored to be PPOY. The students make my job very exciting. All of the students at RPI are great and will go on to do even greater things when they become alumni,” Seber said after being told that he was named Poly Person of the Year. He had also commented that the award was “a great honor.”

Seber is the program administrator at the Rensselaer Office of Alumni Relations and the manager at the Heffner Alumni House. There, he has worked on a number of projects involving alumni-sponsored student events. To help facilitate communications between students and alumni, he is willing to help student groups with various ideas and urges them to use the Alumni House as a resource for a number of scheduled events.

The work that Seber submerges himself in does not end at the Alumni House, however. Class of 2007 President Hannah Kim has worked closely with Seber regarding the ’07 gift and other events for the graduating class. In addition to that, Seber has also served under many campus and division committees, as well as participated in other activities such as “Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond,” Family Weekend, and Communiversity.

The amount of student involvement on campus increased 50 percent after one year of Seber’s work in student programs. He is also the adviser for the Red and White Student Organization, and headed the Legacy Program, which recognizes alumni with relatives that attended or are currently attending RPI.

In 2005, Seber was awarded the Rising Star Award at the CASE District II Awards Gala for his dedication and charismatic leadership in many of the programs he was involved in.

Along with his hard work and campus involvement, Seber is also a friendly face and is willing to lend a helping hand when needed. He is an easy person to talk to, and he truly means to do well in serving the commmunity. Overall, Geoffrey Seber possesses the many qualities that set him apart as the Poly Person of the Year.