LETTER: Vote John Whicker for education

John Whicker

To the editor:

My name is John Whicker. I am a candidate running for Education and Human Services senator.

As you know, there are seven departments in the College of Education and Human Services. These include communicative disorders (COMMD); psychology (PSY); family consumer and human development (FCHD); health, physical education and recreation (HPER); elementary education (ELED); special education (SPED); and instructional technology and learning sciences (ITLS). So many people associate Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services with elementary education alone.

The result is that few students who are enrolled in the six other departments know they are also members of the college. In fact, one student expressed to me that it wasn’t until he was accepted into his program in HPER as a junior that he found out about his affiliation with this, one of the largest colleges on campus.

I see this as an exciting chance for the college to reevaluate the way we promote our programs. Why? Because I’m a firm believer that success in college and beyond can be influenced by one’s involvement during college, whether that is in clubs, student government or other collegiate organizations. However, when unaware of which college you’re in, involvement may seem inaccessible.

As next year’s Education and Human Services senator, I will be proud to bring to light each department in CEHS and then unite them in a way the gives students in the college the opportunity to be involved early on, and open doors for their success now at USU and in the future.

Thank you for your consideration.

John Whicker