mcKensey Wise: ASB President

Students found out on Wednesday, Feb. 26, who the ASB Board of Directors for the 2014-2015 school year will be. The Point Weekly talked with next year’s ASB President, mcKensey Wise about her win, her plans for the position and how she’s going to balance her last year as President and being volleyball captain.

Point Weekly: What do you want to do with your major?

mcKensey Wise: I would love to open up a restaurant. I’d also like to graduate seminary and use those two things together because I’ve always loved food and Jesus, because my mom’s a chef and I’ve grown up in the church. And so I love being around people and food brings people together in such cool ways and so does Jesus. So I’d love to open up a restaurant that could combine those two things and connect it with the church and do ministry out of it.

PW: Where were you when you found out that you got the position?

MW: I was at Hailey Fulcher’s house. We were making dinner and it was a while after 5 and I was starting to wonder if I was going to get a call or not and I accidentally saw a Facebook message that popped up on my phone. It was from Robert, the Vice President, who said “Congratulations on becoming the next…” because there wasn’t enough space on the screen. And I was like, “Oh my goodness. I know.” They were like “How do you know?” I said that it was on my phone. We all started screaming and it was fun. There was a list of people that I needed to call. People just kept calling and texting and saying congrats.

PW: What made you decide to run?

MW: I got the email saying that I was nominated to run. I had pushed aside any leadership roles on campus just because I didn’t want to leave my teammates and let them down because I had thought about RA-ing a lot too but I knew the time commitment would be too much. So when I got the email, I pretty much just laughed and said I would never do that. I talked to quite a few people about this, asking advice and there’s not one person who didn’t tell me to run. I talked to AJ Wolf and asked him if this was even possible and he mentioned that there were other athletes of other schools who have done this so that was encouraging. Every time, I would even think about it, I would get so excited about it. I saw that everything about this position just lines up so well with my strengths and just what I love to do and to be able to serve this school in a role that does align with my strengths was so exciting. I felt like I needed to run. I really did. Everyone was so encouraging, even my coaches, which was surprising.

PW: What is your main goal for next year?

MW: I have a few. I would love to see the year covered in prayer. I want to see a schedule where every week, there are people committed to praying for students and the school as a whole. I also would love to see a united student body and what that looks like exactly, I’m not sure but I know I would love to see a campus where everyone feels welcome and where everyone has a place. And I want it to be a fun year for everyone.

PW: So do you think that your goals are more toward the community of PLNU or toward the technicalities that ASB deals with?

MW: Definitely on a more relational basis. I know that comes with a lot of task-oriented things but it would be super fun to see more events that are…I don’t know I just have a lot of ideas floating around. I know I’m not in charge of all of the events and I know there is a position for that as well. I would love to see everyone get involved that wants to. It is such a special community and I want everyone to experience that. I don’t want anyone to leave Point Loma and feel like they missed out on that community. But a campus centered on Christ would be the ultimate goal.

PW: What kind of experience do you have that qualifies you for this job?

MW: The most recent experience that I think will be very applicable in this situation is being captain of the volleyball team. So basically my job is to communicate between the team and the coaches, know what’s going on with the team and if there’s any problems or any feedback, give that to the coaches in meetings with them. To me, that’s how I see this job, to be the communication point between the student body and the administration and take the feedback from the students and take the changes that they want to see and make them happen.

PW: How are you already starting to prepare for this job?

MW: A lot of prayer. I’ve been brainstorming ideas like crazy. I’m meeting with the whole board next week so we’re going to individually talk more and next week we start training with our predecessors. So we have a meeting all together and a meeting individually with the people who are in our positions right now. We’re going to a leadership conference in April. I’ve been reading a lot of leadership books. I’m actually really excited about this because in our major, MOCM, we talk a lot about leadership. I’m actually in a management class right now and leadership is our main theme so that’s been really fun and even in interpersonal and other COM classes, we talk so much about group dynamics and leadership. It’s really exciting to be able to apply that, while I’m still learning it.

PW: What is your favorite place in San Diego?

MW: Am I allowed to say Ocean Beach? I love the farmer’s market at Ocean Beach. I love going there; I love watching the people there. I love the acai bowls there, most importantly.

PW: How do you think you’re going to be able to deal with some of the political issues that go with this job? How are you going to be able to represent the students in those kinds of situations with the power that you have in that position?

MW: I think that the way to do that is to make sure that I take the time to hear the students voice and not change it but tell it plainly to the administration and be a really clear communicator. Just give the honest truth. Take time to hear what the students have to say and honestly just portray that. You don’t need to persuade people and you just need to shoot it straight.