Colin Roark: Sec Gen at Large

By: Audrey Spillman

Colin Roark, Secretary General for KUNA High School I, begins his press conference, palms admittedly a little sweaty, by recounting why and how he wanted to fulfill this position in the first place. “Sophomore year, I was a resolution sponsor, and my resolution actually got endorsed by the secretary general, and she did such a good job speaking. She was so eloquent, and it was at that time that I knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps.” Obviously, this impact has set him on a path towards change and inspiration.

As a leader, he is experienced but also unique; whereas many leaders are praised for being firm, he takes a more moderate and understanding perspective. “I consider myself to be pretty open minded… I like listening to new ideas, and learning different opinions… I might not always agree with you, but that’s ok, as long as we have a good dialogue, I think that’s what’s important.”

The Y club has done leaps and bounds for Roark’s personality and direction in life. When questioned what he would be like in a life without the Y: “It would have a lot less direction, I think that the Y has provided me with this path to kind of follow and good role models.” One thing that Roark wants to see more of in modern debate and political conversation is the discussion of artificial intelligence and job autonomy.

Not only does he have a passion for AI, but also putting yourself into the world to make your mark and change things for the better whenever possible. “Know that you can make a difference. that difference might not be changing the world, changing the country, or even just the state; you can make a difference at this conference, maybe just one person’s life.” Roark plans to pursue a future in the Naval Academy, saying that the Y taught him leadership skills that will be very important later in his life. As for our lives beyond the conference, Colin says it best himself: “There are many purposes [of KUNA] but I think the biggest one is to prepare ambassador’s here to go out into the world, enact change and their communities. It doesn’t have to be through legislation, it doesn’t have to be through service, there are several ways you can be a change maker.”