Undergraduate BE Board:Elections

Elections for the 2009 BE Undergraduate Board will be held during the start of semester study break on Tuesday, February 10th.

Candidate platforms are due on Reg Day, Monday, February 2nd. Platforms should be submitted to Dawn Spelke at dspelke@mit.edu. After submission, platforms will be posted on the page.

Positions

The time commitment for all of the positions is about three hours a week. Responsibilities mainly include attending board meetings, sending emails to students and faculty, and attending events.

President: Faculty go-to person, runs the board and bi-weekly BE meetings

Vice President: A little of everything, an outside contact person for non-board members

Secretary: Sends out emails, takes minutes, reserves rooms for meetings

Treasurer: Orders food, budgets events, handles t-shirts, all other money situations

Platforms

President

Maryelise Cieslewicz

I have really enjoyed being the secretary for the BE Undergraduate Board. I’m excited by the all the work that BEUB has accomplished over the last year—instituting curriculum reps and associate advisors, setting up the undergrad lounge, making some awesome t-shirts, holding grad school information sessions and throwing great study breaks. I’m running for President of the BE Undergraduate Board because I want to make sure that these great programs run by the BE undergrads for BE undergrads remain a permanent fixture at MIT. I think BEUB is an outstanding way for the BE Undergrads to help the faculty make BE the best it can be.

I think I’m a great candidate for President because of my experience in BEUB and other organizations on campus. By working on BEUB for the last year, I am already knowledgeable about the programs we run and the time commitment that being BEUB President will entail. Also, my experiences working on SWE Board as the Publicity Chair, Outreach Chair, and now Vice President of Outreach Programming have taught me how to collaborate with others for a common purpose, and get work done.

Over the last year, I have appreciated all the emails sent to BEUB and the conversations with students who had great suggestions for both our events and BE curriculum development. I promise your suggestions haven’t been lost, and as President I will continue to help make both BEUB and course 20 even better!

I’d really appreciate your vote for BEUB President. Thanks!

Vice President

Bernice Huang

It has been really wonderful serving on the BE board this past year as your treasurer and I would love to have the opportunity to continue my work this coming term. As vice-president, I will be committed to seeing that your needs and concerns are heard by the department and taken into serious consideration. I think I make the ideal candidate for the position because I want to help make the course 20 undergraduate experience both fun and rewarding and enjoy putting in the effort to make it happen.

If elected, I will bring to the job experience from planning events and programs as well as working together with fellow board members and faculty. For the coming year, I would like to see the board work towards the following goals: 1.) plan more events to inform you about internships and further education/careers in BE, 2.) continue informing faculty with feedback on curriculum and other issues from undergraduates, 3.) develop an undergraduate insider guide for restricted electives, 4.) organize more convenient study breaks after exams or class. Additionally, I'm always open to suggestions on what more we can do to help out, as I always look forward to getting to know everyone in the major and hearing your thoughts on BE!

To conclude, I am really excited to continue serving on the board, building off the work we've accomplished this past year, and I hope to have your vote for BE vice president. Thank you!

Secretary

Paul Baranay

Although the secretary's duties may seem simple, I believe they are nonetheless of crucial importance to the smooth running of the entire Board. I believe that my past experience as secretary for my fraternity makes me well-qualified for this position. Additionally, I have a great deal of experience working with the ASA and the Schedules Office, so I feel that I would be able to act as a strong liaison between the Board and these administrative groups. All in all, I would be committed to improving upon the great things that past members of the Board have already accomplished.

Emily Jean Onufer

Despite the fact that I have not been involved directly on the board, I feel that I am qualified for this position because of my continued dedication to BE. Not only have I attended many events to help the sophomores decided on majoring in BE, but I also have participated in many events. I also have talked to many high school seniors about the program. I feel that I am more than qualified to help the board promote new events that will benefit the students. As a junior in BE, I have a great foundation in the course-load and I understand the system extremely well. I would work well with the industries and help our majoring students make the tough decisions about their future by bridging the gap between students, academia, and industrial workers. As I have met many of the BE faculty at various events, I feel that I would also serve well as the faculty relations chair by facilitating open communication between students and professors. It would be my utmost priority to fight for the student voice and represent the BE student body to the best of my ability. My coursework, lab experience, and leadership abilities make me a strong candidate and I would appreciate your vote. Thanks!

Treasurer

Alexander Lue

I believe that I would be a good fit for the position of Treasurer on the BE board. As steward, community service chair, and social chair of my fraternity, I have had experience planning events and performing their respective duties on a budget, as well as managing separate budgets for the committees on each of those positions. In addition, as a member of MIT's athletic teams, I believe I have experienced and understand the teamwork and unity required for success in any goal I set for myself. I truly enjoy all the services that the BEUB and Course 20 itself provides, and it would be an amazing opportunity to give some of my own time back to the major. To conclude, I would work my hardest and try my best to improve on what the current and past members of the Undergraduate Board have done. Thank you.

Kevin Hu

Because typical MIT students are always on the prowl for free food events, the treasurer of the BEUB has one of the most important duties (among his/her many others): keeping everyone fed. I feel that I make a qualified treasurer for this group because I am (electronically, not physically) organized and extremely dedicated to everything I do. I have experience organizing big events (with or without food) as a resident associate advisor and as a member of the BIOS committee of Biomatrix. I also have experience balancing a budget and ordering T-shirts, having done so for one of my high school clubs. Ultimately, I would be committed to smoothing out money matters and keeping out events fun and flavorful.