Upper Darby grad to lead Penn State’s student government
STATE COLLEGE >> Katie Jordan, Upper Darby High School Class of 2014, was recently elected president of the University Park Undergraduate Association at Pennsylvania State University.
Four terms as class president at Upper Darby prepared Jordan for assuming the top executive spot of the governing body that voices the 40,000-plus undergraduate students’ interests to university administration and trustees, the borough of State College and the Pennsylvania legislature.
“It’s essential to mention how much Upper Darby has prepared me,” said Jordan. While it may be the high school that boosts the largest student body in Delaware County, Jordan was quick to point out the closest of the community. “Having elementary through high school teachers reach out to me to say they’re so proud – that doesn’t happen to everyone,” she said.
The size of the school set up a situation that Jordan said was the proudest moment of her presidency. When the school had to move graduation from the Villanova University campus, the chosen site was the high school field. In the event of rain, the option was to divide the graduates among the gym and performing arts center.
The thought of splitting the graduating class did not sit well with many of its members, and Jordan stepped up with her fellow student council officials to be their voice. “My proudest moment was getting graduation moved to the Tower Theatre,” she said, a move that kept the graduates together while bringing the high school together with a township landmark. “I feel I left my impact,” she said, as the venue has continued to be used for commencement exercises.
While the graduation location issue gave Jordan a lesson in problem solving on the fly, the diversity of the student body at UD shaped her views of student advocacy. “What Upper Darby taught me is that you can’t judge book by its cover,” she said of the multitude of cultures in the township and the high school. “I encourage people to take that experience in and not take it for granted. I lot of people in Pennsylvania don’t have that.”
Exercising that view led to a major accomplishment during her recently concluded term as vice president of the UPUA. “My proudest accomplishment was working with international students on their transition,” she said. International students had an inherent disadvantage in scheduling necessary firstyear courses due to being the final group to arrive for orientation and scheduling. “They were spending time in summer courses or taking a fifth year. Working with academic advisors and other administration, we were able to get them the first-year courses that they needed.”
Other highlights of Jordan’s vice presidency was securing two extra seats at the PSU Board of Trustees meetings for student representatives, organizing a Capitol Day to introduce students to lobbying in Harrisburg, and greater transparency in student activity fees through a Student Fee Board.
Part of the Student Fee Board’s work included allocating $9.75 of the $1,000 per semester fee counseling and physiological services for students, and Jordan wants to continue the push for students’ medical interests during her presidency.
“One of our big initiatives this year is to expand the medical amnesty policy,” she said. Current policy protects students calling for help in an underage drinking medical situation from prosecution, but not the student in need of medical assistance. “There’s still this stigma around reporting wrongdoing. We’re planning on working with the borough and PSU administration to create a policy that protects both parties.”
Before her term as vice president, Jordan started with UPUA on the freshmen council and was then elected as an at-large representative. During all of those roles, she applied the lessons she learned in Upper Darby. “If you believe that you should have graduation together, you should push for that. If you believe you need more student representatives on a governing board, you push for that. You can’t rely on other people – you have to do it yourself.”