Student Senate President, Oliver Gonzales (Photo by: Elizabeth Taylor)

When you think of the typical President of Student Senate, I bet your first thought isn’t a 16 year old student still in high school at Blue Valley Northwest. But, Oliver Gonzales is nothing but “typical.”

“I am a dual degree student at Blue Valley Northwest,” Gonzales said. “This year and next year, I’m taking all my credits here at JCCC. I’m a junior currently and I’ll be a senior next year.”

Some might find it a bit intimidating to be on a college campus, let alone being in charge of the student senate as a junior in high school, but Oliver faces it with an open mind. 

“It’s a little weird to get advanced in schooling, but I get to get an associate’s earlier and get ahead a little bit,” Gonzales said. 

JCCC makes the transition from high school to college smooth, even for dual credit degree students.

“It’s a little bit intimidating [being here], but JCCC is so welcoming  and encouraging,” Gonzales said. “Everyone here is very helpful, the counselors, the student senate, and all the other students are welcoming.”

So, what got Oliver interested in leadership on campus?

“I [ran for President because] I was involved in the student senate this semester and no one was running for it,” Gonzales said. “All of the other roles had competition, but for some reason no one wanted to be president.”

This year, Oliver was the Vice Chair of Public Relations and was encouraged by the Vice president of student senate, Olivia Mukanjiri, to run for presidency next year.  

“I also ran for presidency because I wanted to improve my leadership skills and get even more involved and see how the executive board of JCCC works,” Gonzales added. 

Gonzales moved up the ladder pretty fast and started growing his leadership positions very early in his time on student senate.

“I was a senator for about two weeks last semester and then became Vice Chair,” Gonzales said.

Oliver is looking forward to getting to have a hand in so many things around campus as his Presidency begins. 

“[I’m most excited about] seeing how everything works, how I can get more involved, run events around campus, and do the planning,” Gonzales said. “[I’m looking forward to] making sure the student senate runs more smoothly, and also making the student senate bigger because this year it’s not very known; there’s not many people in the senate currently.”

Gonzales is also eagerly awaiting JCCC Gives, one of the events student senate hosts.

“It’s where the senate helps people who can’t afford gifts or anything during the Christmas time,” Gonzales said. “We run the student senate market and do it in the cafeteria where we do fundraising and wrap the gifts.” 

Oliver starts transitioning into his role as President over the summer.

“Right now I am shadowing the current President and then over the summer I will begin my duties, and then it will go into full effect at the beginning of next semester,” Gonzales said. 

After JCCC, Gonzales hopes to pursue engineering at the University of Kansas and eventually become an mechanical or electrical engineer.