The gentlemen of Kappa Alpha Order at Ole Miss are making an impact on the student body and leaving behind quite a legacy on campus.
Just last week the fraternity gained another president on campus with Jack Pickering being elected the new Business School president. KA has several other men in power positions around campus; Associated Student Body President, Rod Bridges,; Accounting School President, Joseph Rebentisch; Engineering Student Body President, Hugh Warren; Battalion Commander of ROTC at the University of Mississippi, Michael Resha and Director of the Honors College, Michael Holman.
Naturally, I became curious how KA manages to account for such a large portion of student leadership. How do they find this many natural leaders?
Joseph Rebentish (Accounting School President) explains, “The guys in this house are natural-born leaders, yet don't get competitive with one another. Rather, we work to support the ambitions of our brothers and make sure that we are able to achieve both individual and organizational success. It's an incredibly unique dynamic, and the privilege to watch that dynamic materialize beyond the walls of this house is both thrilling and humbling."
“It's about the legacy for the next group of guys that we recruit. We set a precedent for the next years to come. Hopefully younger members will see the importance of giving back to his community," explained Hugh Warren (Engineering Student Body President).
Newly elected Business School President Jack Pickering is a Jackson, Mississippi native majoring in Marketing with a minor in Entrepreneurship.
Last summer Jack sailed 5,000 nautical miles in 80 days! He traveled from the French Polynesian in the South Pacific to Australia. He may just be the most interesting man in the world!
This summer will be a little different. Jack is interning for U.S. Senator Roger Wicker.
Jack hopes to one day have a job with exponential growth and potential. He hope to either work on the hill in Washington D.C. or a similar position.
Jack was elected on April 30th as president of the business school. He says that he could not have won the campaign without the support and backing of his brothers in the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity on campus. He also would like to thank his friends and everyone else who voted for him and helped him accomplish this goal.
As the President of the Business School, Jack will serve as a liaison and voice of the student body to the faculty of the business school.
“This position will give me leadership roles and responsibilities that will in turn connect me to people to further my growth in the world outside of the business school here at Ole Miss." – Jack Pickering
Jack has high hopes of advocating and improving internship possibilities in the summers for business school students at the university. He wants to make sure students can have needed connections to better their chances of getting jobs after graduation.
“I really want to be open with students and welcome them so they know that each of them can come to me with questions and concerns. I will then be able to help make the most necessary changes within the school of business."
Associated Student Body President, Rod Bridges is a junior Public Policy Leadership major from Madison, MS.
Rod explains ASB by stating, “We're the representative body of all 17,360 students."
Rod's vision is to bring a sense of relevancy to the organization. Most students feel that ASB is closed off, explained Rod.
As president, Rod wants to bring practicality to the organization, by being down to Earth and straightforward about what the message of ASB is. He wants to implement free printing on campus (Who's not on board with that idea?).
ASB is a place where students can find contacts for all different organizations on campus. I want all students to come to ASB with need and questions about all different things, things that they care about or need to know, exclaimed Rod. “Students care about having resources to do everyday things in school."
Accounting School President, Joseph Rebentisch is an Accounting major from Tupelo, MS.
Joseph's dream is to work for one of the “Big Four" who are PwC, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte in Dallas, Texas while specializing in fraud investigation, corruption. and bribery.
Having survived a total of five concussions, Joseph sets himself apart from all the other presidents. The fact that he can still conquer accounting is unreal.
Joseph tells that the Patterson School of Accountancy distinguishes itself through its successful students, involved faculty, and tremendous alumni support.
“As the student President of a nationally recognized program, I want to further enrich that alumni network and provide our student body with a broader spectrum of career opportunities. Ultimately, the technical material learned in the classroom doesn't vary much across different accounting programs. What sets this program apart, however, is that it provides its students with a social education that is second to none."
Engineering Student Body President, Hugh Warren is a Madison, MS native who is an Electrical Engineering major with a Bio-Medical emphasis and a minor in Business.
Hugh could easily be another one of the most interesting men here at Ole Miss; he once wrestled a grizzly bear.
While in office, Hugh hopes to help enhance everyones undergraduate experience. He hopes to increase the visibility of the engineering school and make strides to introduce top faculty and staff with cutting edge technology. He hopes that we can enhance and attract top students from across the globe.
"A more informed student body is the ultimate goal. I want to help the Engineering School attract the worlds top talent and lure them to the University of Mississippi. This uniqueness is something we don't want to stop, we want this to continue for years to come." -- Hugh Warren
Battalion commander of ROTC at the University of Mississippi, Michael Resha is a Birmingham, AL native who is majoring in Political Science with a minor in military science.
Second Lieutenant in the Army is Michael's ultimate goal.
This summer he will be taking a Cadet leadership course in Fort Knox, Kentucky, but he's not stopping there. To end the summer he will be going to Cadet Troop Leader Training in Fort Wainwright.
“I wanted this position, because it's the highest position you can achieve as a cadet."
The Battalion Commander is in charge and responsible for every aspect of what goes on in ROTC, from daily operations to training exercises, explained Resha. When conducting labs, we go through courses of action and I get to choose, along with the actual Colonel, where to take the program, whether its in policy or something as simple as how to conduct PT or formations.
When asked, how will this position help him become Second Lieutenant in the Army? Resha answered, "I hope to gain leadership experience. I get to use leadership techniques that I have been learning about since I first joined ROTC. This experience will help develop leadership abilities and hopefully make me more prepared to become a Second Lieutenant."
Director of the Honors College, Michael Holman is a Kosciusko, MS native who is majoring in English and hopes to attend medical school.
Michael explains, “I'm looking forward to representing and serving my fellow members of the honors college. The SMBHC has made a significant impact on my college experience, and I'm happy to have a chance to give back. I've been humbled by the support I've gotten from the guys in KA, and I hope I can live up to it next year."
