When an issue arises on campus, it is normally resolved by faculty members. However, there is also a group of students who make it their priority to better Ashland University’s campus and to voice the student body’s opinion. This group is called Student Senate and is led by Daniel Mitchell.

Mitchell is a senior economics and marketing major with a minor in history. He has been involved with Student Senate since his freshman year. He said he became involved with the organization because of his interest in activities.

“I never really did Student Council in high school, but I thought this would be a good activity for me to do,” he said. “I have enjoyed seeing how students can affect how Ashland functions and the improvements we have been able to make across campus.”

Originally from Lakewood, Ohio, Mitchell said he chose Ashland because of its small student population and close proximity to home. He also said he applied to Ashland last, and it was originally because of the good food, however his mind was quickly changed.

“Upon my first visit the people were amazing and I heard about the Ashbrook Program, which immediately peaked my interest,” he said. “After applying for this program and having my interview with Dr. Schramm, I was completely sold on Ashland.”

Like most college students, Mitchell changed his major a few times before finally settling on his particular field of study. He said he came to Ashland with accounting in mind, but then changed it to finance, and finally chose economics and marketing.

“I found that as I took my classes, I realized my strengths and interests and was able to combine these two programs into what I am passionate about, even though it took me several changes of majors to get the perfect combination,” he said.

Mitchell is the Executive President of Student Senate, which means he leads the meetings and discussions of the group. Mitchell also said he gets to meet with many different people on campus, and gives the Student Senate Report to the Trustees.

“In preparing for our meetings, I meet with a variety of people across campus and serve as the main liaison between student concerns and what we can do around campus to change things for the better,” he said. “The [Student Senate] officers do a fantastic job of addressing issues under their position so my job is basically understanding the main goal and working along side them in a team effort.”

On top of being a huge part of Student Senate, Mitchell is also the new resident assistant (R.A.) on the ninth floor of Clayton Hall. He said he wanted to be an R.A. because of his love of serving others.

“I enjoy serving in leadership roles, and I thought that this position would be one well suited to my personality,” he said. “I love being around people and I had older friends tell me that this position would be a good fit for me.”

Mitchell also said that because he had good experiences with his R.A.’s in years past, he wanted to get involved with the Resident Assistant Program.

“I didn’t really know too much about what an R.A. did before coming to college, and I had two good R.A.’s my freshman and sophomore year, so that was a good motivator for me to get involved with Res Life as well,” he said.

Although Mitchell will only be an R.A. for one year, he said he loves being able to work with the Res Life staff every day, and to interact with them, while also fulfilling his duties as an R.A.

“My favorite thing about being an R.A. is building community not only on my floor, but working with such amazing people every day,” he said. “Our Res Life staff from top to bottom are some of the best people to know, so being able to interact with them and soak in their energy and passion is really something that you don’t appreciate until you have it.”

Mitchell spent his summer in Washington, D.C., working for the think tank the Koch Institute.

Because of his background in Washington, D.C., Mitchell plans to move there after graduation to find a job. He said he hopes to work for the same place in a yearlong program.

“Hopefully the experience I gained from the internship program I completed this summer will enable me with the opportunity for working in a yearlong associate program at the same think tank that I interned at this summer, the State Policy Network,” he said. “If not that, then I plan on exploring jobs in either Cleveland of Columbus in the private sector.”

Before graduating, however, Mitchell will still serve as the President of Student Senate, while also being an R.A. and still taking his regular classes. He said the best part of Student Senate is being able to see the work students put into something become even greater.

“My favorite thing about serving on Student Senate is seeing what a group of students can accomplish when they work together and bring about a solution to something on campus that was previously not thought possible for whatever reason,” he said. “There is something so amazing about seeing the results that Student Senate can have on campus, especially when it takes a lot of work and is something the students really want and have to fight for.”