Stephen Emery has a goal: to get you involved on campus.

Mt. Hood Community College’s new Associated Student Government vice president, who was sworn in Jan. 7, became involved with leadership when he joined Rho Theta, MHCC’s two- year honor society.

Emery’s experience in government ranges from interning with Virginia’s former Governor James Gilmore, to being president of the Tae Kwon Do Club and vice president of leadership for Rho Theta.

“My goal is to get more students involved in clubs and activities. I don’t think I would have stayed at Mt. Hood if I just went to school here. You have to get involved,” he said.
Emery, a Virginia native, is working toward a transfer degree at MHCC and hopes to study international relations at a university. “I definitely like the international perspective on things,” said Emery. “I grew up in America, so I know how we think. Now I want to know what other people think.”

One issue facing Emery, and the other members of the ASG, is the prices in the Vista Dining Center, a topic that is raising tempers on campus. The ASG is also looking forward to reworking the rules and guidelines the ASG, clubs and other organizations on campus use to guide their operations. The senate wants to make the Basic Policy Declarations (BPDs) and guidelines as simple as possible so that clubs can get more work done with less paperwork.

Another issue Emery has is parking. “I’ve driven around here and there’s a lot of unused parking. People say, ‘Maybe we could build more parking.’ We can’t really, because the parking (spots) people want are right out in front.” Emery keeps his goals for MHCC realistic.

“We’re not revamping the constitution; we’re just going to work with the BPDs and bylaws.” Emery further explains, “[we’re] going to make it as simple as possible because when I was working with clubs, when I was in them, it was kind of difficult to get things done.”

Emery takes his experience and lessons he learned in Tae Kwon Do to his ASG goals. “My goal is to get more students involved in clubs and activities. I don’t think I would have stayed at Mt. Hood if I just went to school here. You have to get involved.”

Any ASG position is temporary and some resign before their term is up. It is good to know that someone like Emery will work to make a difference for the better while he has a chance.