'Follow your passion'
Chase Mizzell doesn't need your vote, but he still wants it.
"On filing day, I came back from class and I walked in to the Student Life Office and someone said 'Congratulations! You're running unopposed,' and it was really bittersweet," Mizzell said.
Many in Mizzell's position might see an unopposed candidacy as an opportunity to tone down the campaigning and take a breather, but the second-year international business student has instead fast-tracked making good on his campaign promises.
"I was prepared to run a full-on campaign. It's been exciting to start working on initiatives and getting people involved. I wanted to prove that I didn't need to be there for votes, but I wanted to be," Mizzell said.
Talk to Mizzell for two minutes and it's evident that this doesn't come from a desire for good PR or to boost his reputation. Aside from his involvement in Student Government, Mizzell serves as a university ambassador and EMPOWER diversity peer educator. His drive to succeed seems to come from an innate drive to see the university and community thrive.
"I have a passion for Student Government and that takes the position of having a passion for people and wanting to train leaders as well as the principle that you should leave a place better than you found it, an ideal I hold steadfast to, and Student Government gives you an opportunity to combine the two," Mizzell said. "If you do it right, the university is better and the community as a whole is better when you leave."
And Mizzell hopes to do just that. Ask him what he's working on and he'll quickly respond with a laundry list of projects that are not only ambitious, but actually making significant progress. Student Legal Services, a program on which he worked closely with Student Body President candidate and current Secretary of Student Services Kenny Tracy, is due start up in the Fall, pending approval of the Attorney General. A community bike-sharing program and the expansion of international students' privileges are also in the works, but Mizzell has been particularly passionate about implementing a food pantry on campus for students in need and has already made significant progress on the project.
"In the past few weeks, it's made great strides. It's had overwhelming support from the community," Mizzell said.
He later recalled needy students expressing their gratitude for the project.
"Seeing that immediate need made it very personal to me and has made me kick it into high gear," he said.
Service is something that Mizzell holds in high importance; this past year, he implemented the Second Servings program, which takes leftover food from USC's various dining options and donates them to area families and veterans in need. At the SG Executive Debate Thursday, Mizzell revealed a variety of options to combat hunger in case the food pantry does not materialize, including an expansion of Second Servings to serve USC students and a shuttle service to Harvest Hope Food Bank.
Of all four initiatives Mizzell is working on — and hoping to bring to fruition during his term as vice president — he expects the food pantry to be the first completed.
When asked what his vision for vice president is, it is apparent that he has big plans for his upcoming year.
"My vision is very two-pronged — well, maybe with a few more parts," Mizzell said with a smile. "For the Senate, my mission is to engage the senators and have them feel responsible for certain projects. I want them to look back and know they accomplished concrete things ... if everyone feels engaged, they stay active."
Leadership development and completing promised projects are big parts of Mizzell's vision as well, but he places high importance on improving the public view of SG and increasing diversity within the organization.
"One of the biggest, biggest things is that we will be working incrementally to change the culture and perception of Student Government," Mizzell said. "It can't be done through promises of being connected; it can only be done by calling meetings of leaders from different groups, meeting with these leaders and proving to them that we're listening, telling them what we're working on. We have to spend this year making that difference. For now, campaigns can promise what they will, but if we don't improve then the distrust will remain."
Increased diversity in SG is also a goal of Mizzell's.
"We want more diversity in Student Government," Mizzell said. "Diversity and acceptance and inclusion are so important to me and increasing diversity in Student Government will allow us to have a greater viewpoint, different perspectives and different ways of thinking."
Mizzell's passion is evident in all he does, so it's fitting that when asked what the one thing he'd want the student body to associate with Vice President Chase Mizzell, he said, after a long pause:
"The one thing that I tell people is to follow your passion," Mizzell said. "That's my personal anthem, to love people and follow your passion."