Students have plenty on their minds between going to class, doing research and studying. But, UNMC’s Brock Wentz and Casey Johnston have additional challenges.
The two medical students also hope to tackle such issues as tuition levels, the future of education and student involvement when they take office Thursday as president and vice-president of the UNMC Student Senate.
As senate president, Wentz, a third-year medical student from Kimball, Neb., also will serve as a non-voting member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Involved with student government since his undergraduate years, Wentz’s activity on the senate is a way for him to combine two of his interests: politics and medicine.
Johnston, a second-year medical student from Alliance, Neb., will serve as vice president. His involvement with student senate began last year after he was appointed secretary of the group.
Wentz and Johnston already have a set of goals in mind when their term begins, including addressing issues that will improve education for future UNMC students. As part of UNMC’s focus on improving education, Wentz and Johnston hope to examine educational methods and determine the effectiveness of UNMC’s facilities. The senate will continue to keep an eye on tuition levels, Wentz said, to make sure they stay reasonable in comparison to the national standard.
At the same time they want to maintain the level of student involvement in university decision-making.
“We want to inform students that this is the future of our education,” Wentz said. “That way it’s not just somebody in the education process deciding what’s best for students.”
For both electees, a steady flow of student input is a high priority. Johnston said he tries to meet new students and attends administrative meetings so lines of communication are open on both sides.
“The senate is a good way to voice student opinion and work with administration,” Johnston said. “I want to be accessible to the student body so I can take anything I need to the administration.”
Wentz and Johnston also will be looking for ways to give students more excuses to drop their books and mingle with one another. The annual spring luau is still planned, and they hope more activities, such as movie nights, can be added to the roster of events.
“The activities will try to involve everyone in the UNMC population from the different colleges,” Johnston said.
Photo cutline: Brock Wentz, left, and Casey Johnston.