An inside look at one of the most involved students on campus, Brody O’Connor
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“We want to keep focusing on student interactions. Last year’s senate and before them have done a great job of putting on events, but not enough people know about them to get involved, so that’s the big thing we want to push,” said O’Connor, who is also a member of the Investment Club, the Entrepreneurs Club, and the Board of Trustees.
As the Student Senate secretary, O’Connor looks after student life and how they can improve the social aspect of the school to get more students involved.
O’Connor works with Josiah Dillon whom he has known since fourth grade. O’Connor gives Dillon credit for being a valuable connection coming into this year. “We feed off each other’s energy and motivate each other to do better,” said O’Connor.
He believes that Dillon and Student Senate Vice President Bryce Kirk are a dynamic duo. “Bryce can be very creative, and Josiah wants to get right to work. You can have the creativity and then put the work to it, and it turns out really well,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor said this year’s senators’ mutual friendship will positively impact the organization’s decisions. “We agree for the most part. We want to set a foundation to allow other clubs to run effectively by themselves. We don’t want to be too involved, but we want to help them so they can run without any problems,” said O’Connor.
Coming to Hudson Valley was not Brody’s first choice, but he said that it’s a pathway to his dream school, Dartmouth College. “I didn’t do all that well in high school. I came here because I wanted a fresh start and [to] think about what I wanted to do with my life before I decided where I want to go to a four-year school,” said O’Connor.
On the side, O’Connor volunteers at AARP as a tax aide, helping low-income families and senior citizens who can’t afford tax prep. Joining the Investment Club is another main reason he has an interest in finance. “Finance has always been my big interest and the field I want to go into, so it was natural to join the Investment Club when I came here,” he said.
As student trustee, O’Connor hopes to make the school more student-centered. “They want to know more about student life and what students want, so being on the senate, I know what’s going on around campus and can relay it to the Board of Trustees,” he said.