Three Students Selected to Help Represent Saint Leo to State Legislators
January 29, 2010
Three Saint Leo University undergraduates have
been selected as 2009-10 Presidential Fellows by Independent
Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF), a prominent
legislative affairs organization. Daniel Izquierdo ’10,
Nicholas Bliesner ’10, and Andrew Van Guilder ’11 are among 47
fellows representing 20 ICUF member schools. The Presidential
Fellowship was established in 2004 to train student leaders to push
for public policy that supports Florida’s independent colleges and
universities.
The fellowship attracts students from a variety of disciplines.
Izquierdo, in his third year as a fellow, is pursuing a double
major in international business and marketing. Bliesner is
working on a degree in history and Van Guilder is studying criminal
justice.
“The program is a great opportunity for interested students to get
a handle on the legislative process through the interactions with
members of the ICUF leadership team in Tallahassee, the ICUF
presidents and members of the legislature,” said David Persky,
assistant to the president, who oversees the Presidential Fellows
at Saint Leo.
The fellows will accompany Persky to Tallahassee this spring to
visit with members of the legislature and encourage their continued
support of proposed legislation that is important to Saint Leo and
to private higher education in Florida.
In particular, Izquierdo, Bliesner and Van Guilder will focus on
the state’s continued support of the Florida Resident Access Grant
(FRAG) program. The grants provide financial assistance to Florida
residents attending private colleges or universities in the state.
The assistance is important to many students enrolled at Saint
Leo’s Continuing Education Centers in Florida, as well as to
Florida residents studying at the main campus.
“We have been fortunate the
past few years that we have had very good ICUF Fellows who have
participated at the highest levels to represent Saint Leo in the
program and in the Fellows Program activities, both on campus and
in Tallahassee,” Persky said. They have also led
letter-writing campaigns to members of the Florida legislature in
support of FRAG.
Photo: From left to
right, Daniel Izquierdo ’10, Nicholas Bliesner
’10, and Andrew Van Guilder ’11.
