Name: Andrew Disanto
Position: President
I was born and raised Macomb, MI. Throughout my childhood I played various sports. When I got to high school, I joined my school’s Science Olympiad team and the SkillsUSA team my freshman year. Since my school had a very good electronics program, I quickly became very skilled in electronics. Because of that program, I competed in the electronics competition in SkillsUSA. When I went to the state competition for SkillsUSA my senior year, I placed 1st in the state of Michigan for electronics. I became captain of my Science Olympiad team during my junior year. That meant that I was in charge of all the members and had to relay information between our instructor and the team. I got accepted to Kettering and was enrolled to start in the fall of 2010. In the spring of 2010, I got a co-op job at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, which I started that July. During my freshman year at Kettering, I pledged Sigma Chi during the spring term. While at Kettering, I joined Operations Council in the spring of 2011. I became the administrator that year and in the spring of 2012, I became the current activities chair. In the fall of 2011, I joined Student Senate as a sophomore representative.
- What activities are/were you involved in at Kettering and in high school? (List academic year, as well as any positions you may have held in any organization)
- · 2006 – 2010=> High School Science Olympiad – Team Captain
- · 2006 – 2010=> High School SkillsUSA
- · Spring 2011 – Present=> Operations Council–Administrator and Activities Chair(currently)
- · Fall 2011 – Present=> Student Senate – Sophomore Representative
2. What is the one trait you want people to know you for?
One trait I want people to know me for is my open-mindedness. I pride myself on having an open mind to anything to be able to see ideas from different perspectives. There are a lot of good ideas and beliefs out there that aren’t heard due to being close-minded.
3. What is your favorite quote/saying?
One of my favorite quotes is “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.” It was said by Henry Ford. To me, this means that the moment that you doubt yourself is the same moment that you fail.
4. What do you think can be improved at Kettering and what steps will you take to accomplish this improvement?
An issue I think that can be improved upon is the relationship between professors and students. Professors don’t interact or communicate much with students outside the classroom. I feel that students will benefit greatly if they interacted with their professors more. One main step I would like to take is to have each department have a study session for a few hours a week with students and professors in those departments. This would increase the interaction between the faculty and students and also help those struggling in their classes.
5. What has been your biggest success and failure? What have you learned from them?
I think one of my best successes was becoming the risk manager for my fraternity. What I learned from that hard work and perseverance not only makes you better but makes people notice your abilities. One of my biggest failures was not getting on IFC when I tried earlier this year. From that, I learned that I need to be prepared for anything when it comes to life. Also, I learned that instead of just giving up after a failure, I have to learn from my mistakes and not let them stop me from trying again.
6. What is your motivation for wanting to represent the student body via Student Senate?
My motivation for running for President is that I want the students and the University to thrive and improve together. We need to work together to make Kettering an enjoyable place. I want Kettering to be a place where students come to enrich their lives with not just book knowledge but to also gain the skills to prosper out of college.
