Student Profile - Andrew Greenberg

Andrew Greenberg stamps his name on Lamar

As president of the Student Government Association, Andrew Greenberg’s biggest priority is to unite the students at Lamar University as a powerful force in the community – and in order to do so, he plans to lead by example.

“My goal is to push things as far as I can in the year that I am here,” Greenberg said. “I want to do things that make an impact on the community, where people say ‘Wow, look what Lamar students are able to do.’”

SGA is organizing Homecoming events for the month of October, and in November Greenberg said he plans to host two events that will unite students.

“We have a large veteran population on this campus, and we’ve got to do something for that group of people. These are students who put their lives on the line, who were shot at promoting American values and culture, and I want to pull out all the stops. I’ll go as far as I can,” Greenberg said. He also wants to host a holiday fundraiser for a local charity.

“I think it would be so cool if we could get all the organizations together and raise a bunch of money to give back to the community, like thousands of dollars – I want to make an impact. It’s time we do things that bring this campus together,” said Greenberg. “The higher the student morale, the more revered this university is going to become, the more students will enroll here – and in 20 years, more and more people will have learned about Lamar. That’s what it’s all about – just making something happen that’s good for everybody.”

The Rockwall native, enrolled in 19 hours as a senior dual major in political science and communication, is determined to generate more awareness and involvement among Lamar students.

“I’ve interacted with people on this campus of all different kinds of majors, different countries and backgrounds, and it’s really amazing to see how we really are all one and the same. We all want a degree. That’s why we’re here in college, and your degree will give you the knowledge to perform the tasks associated with your career. But your college experience gives you a chance to be successful for the rest of your life – you learn social skills, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, conflict management, and you’ll really start figuring out exactly what it is you want to do with your life.”

Upon graduating high school in 2006, Greenberg said he hadn’t quite figured out what he wanted to do.

“I just hadn’t really been bitten by the college bug yet after high school,” he said. But having been active in theater throughout high school, Greenberg enrolled at what was then Collin County Community College, taking theater electives with a few core classes.

“After two years I started to wonder, okay, where am I going with this?”

It was at this point that his grandfather, a Beaumont native, suggested Greenberg look into Lamar University. After he secured scholarship and loan money, Greenberg entered Lamar in Fall 2008 as a freshman theater major. With the guidance of his advisors, he began looking into the communication program at Lamar.

“I was open to it, because communication would work well with theater if that was what I wanted to do,” Greenberg said. “I was immediately blown away by the LUTV studio, and particularly the opportunities awarded to even the younger classmen in the department. Here I was, a sophomore, holding a camera and learning how to use it. I would compare communication programs at other colleges, and most of them wouldn’t allow you to handle that kind of equipment until you were at least a junior or a senior.”

After switching his degree plan to communication the following semester, his interest in politics was ignited in his political science class, where Greenberg said the interactive participation in the classroom motivated him to pursue a second degree in political science.

“I’ve always been interested in politics, and I just decided that the two degrees would enable me to pursue what I love. I love encouraging people and keeping everyone informed and involved.”

Greenberg soon became more active on campus in such organizations as the Lamar Ambassador Program, and in Fall 2010 he was accepted as an intern to U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall in Washington, D.C.

“It was such an amazing experience. I was surrounded by politicians every day, wearing my suit and tie and passing the American flag on my way to the Capitol – it was there that I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”

Hearing other college interns discuss the affairs of student governments at their universities prompted Greenberg to take interest in his own.

“We’re also here to serve the students, but I don’t want to just focus on the things happening on campus,” he said. Greenberg is also working on re-establishing Big Red Benefits, a program that allowed Lamar students to present their student I.D. at local businesses to receive a discount.

“That made it cool to go out into the community and say you were from Lamar, and we need to get that back. Those businesses will be more responsive to supporting us if we are busy out in the community making a difference,” he said. “It’s time to stamp your name on Lamar, and let Lamar stamp its name on you.”

Greenberg expects to graduate in May 2012 and plans to attend law school in order to work in public service. Eventually, Greenberg said he hopes to run for President of the United States.

“I get closer to my goals each day through getting involved and letting the here and now flourish. If you do what you love, you’ll love what you do”