Special events director steps down

Richard Kelly

Sometimes you just hit a point where you know it’s time to let go of something.

Such was the case for sophomore Erica Koepsel. Recently, she stepped down from the role of Washburn Student Government Association’s Special Event Director. She doesn’t regret a moment of her time serving, but had to keep her own agenda in mind, thus making the decision to resign.

“WSGA was a good start for me. It was a good way for me to get involved as a freshman,” said Koepsel. “But as I progressed and got involved in other organizations, I realized my heart wasn’t in that as much as other things.”

The role, though, of WSGA Special Events Director was something she spoke strongly of looking back to the resignation. With applications for the role due this past Friday, Koepsel offered wise words to whoever received the position

“The big focus is the lecture series and finals week. If the person who gets the job has enough drive, they can find projects of their own as well,” said Koepsel. “They can work with CAB to bring in people and can get involved in committees to really get things done on campus. It’s a really flexible position.”

Koepsel resigned from WSGA after a long summer with a lot of contemplating and thinking about what were really the biggest motivations to remain involved. Koepsel warned students who get greatly involved to make sure they’re doing it for themselves and they have their hearts in the right place.

Kent McAnally, Director of Career Services at Washburn also agreed with Koepsel’s sentiments. He sees many students come in and want to get deeply involved on campus.

“You may start with one thing and that may lead you to other things. The big key is to figure out where to direct your ambitions,” said McAnally.

McAnally also said many students try to get involved in too many organizations with the hope of using it for resumes, when they may be better off with a few organizations and more involvement within them.

Koepsel understands that there are students who are on the other end of the spectrum and haven’t gotten involved. She highly advocated that those students should see WSGA or any other organization as a great way to start and to stop by the office of what they’re interested in.

“Open senate seats come and go all the time, and from being on senate, I got so involved on campus. If there are open seats, I would definitely go for one,” said Koepsel.

“You meet so many people that are in other organizations. And if WSGA doesn’t end up being your thing, it’ll definitely help you find what is.”

The most important advice that Koepsel could provide was to be self-dependent and not worry about how others will react to resigning from a spot in an organization. She said college only comes once and it is important for everyone to do what suites their own goals.