Dongchan Kim (senior, religion) serves as the AUSA President for the 2021-2022 school year.
Could you share where you lived before Andrews or where you’re originally from?
I'm originally from Korea. I was born and raised there and moved to the U.S. when I was in high school. I'm also kind of from Berrien Springs since I went to St. Joseph High School, so I would say this is my second home and my home country would be Korea.
What made you decide to come to Andrews for undergrad?
Andrews University is known for a lot of diversity, which I wanted to be exposed to so I could get to know more people from different countries. Fun fact: Andrews (at the time) was ranked number one in diversity in the U.S., so I just wanted to experience that. I also want to say that I have no regrets at all. It's been an awesome and amazing experience so far.
And since I've lived around Andrews University, since I went to St. Joseph High School, I already knew how beautiful the university campus looked and how friendly people are at Andrews University. Before I even began to attend here, I knew that I would love this atmosphere!
At any previous schools, have you had the chance to be a club officer or a member of student government?
Oh, yes! For my second year of college, I had the honor and privilege to serve as Senator at Large, which is also part of the Andrews University Student Association. And I've learned a lot about how to be part of the Student Association, how to lead and how to make changes on campus. Afterward, I decided to move forward and run for executive vice president in my junior year. I become more directly involved in making changes on campus.
What made you decide to eventually run for the AUSA president position?
I had been part of the Student Association for the past two years and this year I wanted to run and be the president of AUSA. I wanted to make more of a direct connection with the school’s student body. For example, this year we made an opinion box where you can scan a document with a QR code, you can fill in any suggestions, list things you are not satisfied with, or any noticeable improvements the campus should make. These can be directly sent to my email and an AUSA email. This is so we can initiate projects that, even if they can’t be completed this year, can be built upon in future years. I just wanted to be the person who initiates these changes, so that's why I wanted to run this year. Also, by the way, if your project idea has been chosen by AUSA, you can win prizes as well!
In your own experience, what exactly does it mean to be the AUSA President? What are some of the more specific responsibilities the AUSA President does as an AUSA member?
I am in charge of all the AUSA cabinet meetings that happen every week. Also, whenever there is an event or proposal involved with AUSA, I need to approve it, make sure everyone's on the same page, and that everyone and everything is organized. It also says under the school’s constitution that I need to protect the rights of AU students, which I believe is very important since we are the ones who decided to come here. And so, I believe AUSA has a right to make the school feel like a home. I believe we can do this by providing events and helping students make new and meaningful memories.
Also, the president is often invited to other meetings, such as monthly alumni meetings where I represent how students are currently doing and what AUSA has prepared for students in the future. Also, if the Alumni Board wants to communicate with students, I'm the one who's in charge of communicating with them through emails, messages, and meetings. They also have food every time I attend these meetings, so the job does have its perks, haha!
Besides the occasional free snack, what is one of or maybe a few of your favorite things about being AUSA president?
I am very passionate about listening and making changes on campus. So obviously, being a person who can initiate these changes is one of my favorite parts. Also, being a part of the meetings and representing what the student body thinks is also a favorite task of mine. But other than that, just interacting with students, whether they're AUSA events or not. Just meeting new people, asking how people are doing, and just talking about Andrews University is my favorite part–I love it!
In your opinion, how has the year been going so far for AUSA?
In my opinion, AUSA is doing fantastic. We have had at least two events every month and it's been going fabulous. Especially because of last year and Covid, we couldn’t do a lot of things in person, but this year, we can thankfully do so much more! So, this year has been going well in terms of events. The biggest thing about AUSA is that we have events prepared for students and the AUSA officers are working very hard.
I also want to mention that I recently attended AIA, the Adventist Intercollegiate Association, where I was able to represent Andrews and attend meetings on how we can improve our university’s conditions and our constitution’s bylaws. It was a very meaningful experience to meet presidents from other Adventist universities such as Loma Linda, Southern, and Union. It was fun and meaningful to make these connections with other schools and learn how they are doing. If there are things we can additionally bring into our university, I would like to initiate those changes as well.
Are there some general or specific goals AUSA is striving or working towards right now?
Absolutely! For general goals, since we are an Adventist university, I believe helping students and making students engaged faithfully or spiritually to Jesus is our main goal. As for a more specific goal, we’d like to have a lot of event collaborations with the Center for Faith Engagement (CFE), so that’s one of our goals for this semester or for the next. One of my personal goals is to inform students and encourage them to attend as many AUSA events as possible because we have a lot prepared for them. Just coming would mean a lot to us!
Do you have any final thoughts or any announcements you'd like to share with the student body?
There's an event called AUSA open gym, but it's really more of a tournament, happening this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Wellness Center. There are going to be basketball and volleyball tournaments, so definitely come out for that!
As for some final thoughts, I’d like to say that I really appreciate this opportunity to serve as the president this year. It's been such a pleasure and honor. I just ask that you keep the whole AUSA team in your prayers as we continue throughout this year.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.