Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleni Karakostas & Grace Fisher. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The Kent Student Education Association has been a student organization on the Kent State University campus for seven years now. We are affiliated with the Ohio Education Association and the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States. Our organization is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students preparing for the field of education. All education majors are welcome to join KSEA! KSEA shares volunteer opportunities, community projects, job opportunities, and resources that will benefit careers in education. As a pre-professional organization, we also provide professional development opportunities. We have monthly meetings on Monday evenings. At meetings, we discuss a range of topics such as classroom management, microaggressions, and differentiated instruction. At meetings, we bring in speakers within the education field to share their knowledge with aspiring educators. Meetings are a great way to meet new friends that are also education majors! We have created a great community on Kent’s campus through KSEA and we have a great leadership team that plans all that is involved with having an organization with over 150 active members each year!
This year the Kent Student Education Association is led by President, Eleni Karakostas and Vice President, Grace Fisher. This duo has been a part of KSEA since 2019. They have been involved members for the first to two years of their program and have been on the executive board for the last two years. They are now both seniors at Kent State University. Both are majoring in Integrated Social Studies Education and are currently student teaching. Not only have they been best friends since 2019, but they are also leading the KSEA to success.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
KSEA is a student-led campus organization. Navigating the constant change in leadership and membership throughout the past seven years has been challenging, however, our executive board has overcome these challenges and continues to learn from year to year. Our current Executive Board of Directors is listed below. They have been a great team and work well together. We have had a great start to this 2022-2023 school year and are excited to see how the rest of the semester goes!
President: Eleni Karakostas
Vice President: Grace Fisher
Senior Advisor: Maddie Wansack
Treasurer: Mia Karakostas
Secretary: Zara Scaccio
Membership Coordinator: Alexa Long
Public Relations Director: Charley Davis
Co-Fundraising Coordinator: Carolyn McBride
Co-Fundraising Coordinator: Evelyn Dillow
Social Events Coordinator: Audrey Sargus
Under Classman At Large: Emily Maxhimer
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Eleni and Grace have been working all summer to guide KSEA through the 2022-2023 school year. These two have been known for being active members in their community, KSEA, and off-campus work.
Outside of KSEA Eleni is a student teacher at Solon High School and is employed at T.J. Maxx and a family-owned restaurant. Grace is a student teacher at Southeast High School and is employed at Marshalls and Kroger. Grace is also on the Ohio Education Association – Aspiring Educators Board. These two are a great presence to have in KSEA and always bring energy and excitement. Eleni and Grace joined KSEA to become more involved on campus and this was something they were both interested in.
At their second-ever KSEA meeting in 2019, the two said to each other “one day we will run this” and that was the first spark of passion they had for the program. Since then, they have helped build a successful program at Kent State University and are now leading future leaders through the school year.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Eleni and Grace are known for teamwork and pulling things together side by side. These two define success by working together, collaborating, and being proud of what they did. Success is not just the outcome; it is the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/kseaksu/calendar
- Instagram: KSU_KSEA
- Facebook: Kent Student Education Association
- Twitter: KSU_KSEA
Image Credits
Grace Fisher
