Annabelle Hopkins ’19, a political science major, discusses her new position as Chair of Campus Council, how it differs from Student Government Association and her plans for the future
What made you realize you wanted to run for Campus Council (CC)?
Honestly, I think [because of] women and people who don’t see people in positions of power who look like them. It wasn’t something I considered, actually, until a couple of people had recommended that I do it. So I never really saw myself in a position with that much power. It was something that I needed a little bit of a push to think about. Once I thought about it, I realized I had a lot of ideas for that position. I thought that there was a lot that I could bring to that role. I’m of the mindset that I would never ever run for a position that I truly thought I was not the best for, so it was something that from the beginning — ever since people encouraged me to do and I really thought about it — was something that I thought I could bring a lot of good to, potentially.
Have you gained any interesting perspective from the position so far?
Some of the things I’ve learned are how much work goes into the tiny, tiny things that students don’t tend to notice or just people in our community in general, because we don’t just represent students on CC, we represent everyone on campus. So there’s a lot of work that go that goes into the tiny tiny projects that people tend to barely notice, if they notice at all. There’s a lot of work that goes into the position, but I also learned that there’s a lot of support at the school. There’s a lot of people who are there to support you when you have questions or when you admit that you don’t know how to handle the situation. There are some really wonderful adults and students on the campus who are there to support you if you need anything, so it’s a good role. It’s made me really happy to be a part of so far. I’ve been lucky.
What else are you involved in?
I’m the captain of the swimming and diving team, which I’ve been on for — this is my fourth year. I went off campus last semester of last year to study abroad in Scotland in Edinburgh.
I was a member of Student Government Association for three years. There’s a lot I had to learn about their processes because it’s very, very different, but in terms of the leadership positions, it’s not completely new. In SGA, I was the chair of the advocacy committee, so you know the golden carabiners? I created those. It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever gotten to work on. So lots of things like that. I’m also a member of a lot of different clubs, but those are the main things that I’m involved in. I was also an RA for a while for first years in Bornhuetter.
What’s one of the biggest things you hope to achieve this year as CC Chair?
Overall, I hope that after my term as Chair of CC I can leave behind new structures for more productive conversations and relationships on campus. I hope that all members of our community — regardless of background, perspective and role — will have more agency in the changes made on campus and feel more connected to those directly in charge of making those changes.
Do you have you know what your plans are for after college yet?
I do have a couple of ideas. I want to work in politics. I want to work on the more advocacy side of policy, but I want to work in policy directly. There are a couple of opportunities in Sacramento, Calif.
I’ve also been offered kind of a tentative job in Washington D.C. working for someone there. I know I want to work in policy I’m very passionate about women’s rights and as well as public health. So those are two areas of policy I’m very passionate about, and I think eventually I’d like to either get my Masters or go to law school. But first I want to kind of start out in politics itself and see what’s exactly needed.
Interview by Patrick Redrick, a Contributing Writer for the Voice (Photo by Matt Olszewski).