Mike Sportiello is a busy guy. The Brookfield native and third-year student in chemistry and philosophy, Sportiello is also content director for TEDxUWMilwaukee and was recently elected Student Association president. He has big ideas about the changes he’d like to see for students, and what it means to be a voice for higher education.
You’ve become a familiar face on campus. Why UWM?
The vibrant research opportunities we have, especially for undergraduates. The second week of school, I just asked a professor if I could work in his lab and he said yes. Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry Alan Schwabacher and I have been friends ever since.
Tell us about the Student Association and your role as president.
As the student government, we’re here to enrich the lives of students through advocacy, representation and the funding of student activities. We’re working on developing a co-curricular transcript to incentivize students to get more involved in campus, so when future employers look at your transcript, they’re not just seeing Bio 101; they’re seeing your true involvement from a university standpoint. We’re doing work with expanding internship and co-cop opportunities. We also have a big part in the sexual assault prevention push that our campus is going to make. We’re hoping to start a pilot within the next year for bystander-intervention training in residence halls.
I ran because we have a lot of student leaders on campus, but they’re really disparate and disconnected. One of the things we could benefit from is enhancing the student experience by realizing that we’re all leaders, not only of our individual organizations and friend groups.
You’re becoming a voice for students through letters and editorials. Why?
This is an interesting time for UWM, one reason being the recent budget. It started a dialogue nationally for a lot of people about the way higher education works, especially how students are often left out of the conversation. I was happy to lend the voice that often is unheard at a time when it is asked for and wanted.
What about your experience with TEDxUWMilwaukee?
The idea is that speakers have an idea worth sharing and we those bring speakers to campus. Last year, we had people from Austin, Texas; Iowa; and four streets away. This is really valuable for students and the community. When we have impactful ideas being spread, everybody benefits – especially when they come to such an interesting city with a host of problems but also a host of hard-working, innovative people.
I got to work with the speakers and coach them throughout the summer both this year and last year.
You’re busy with academics as well. Do you sleep, ever?
Nope!
What got you interested in chemistry research and why did you approach Alan Schwabacher?
I was really interested in chemistry research, and somebody told me Schwabacher was good about working with undergrads. At first the grad students were, ‘He’s never taken organic chemistry. He’s a second-week freshman. He’s probably going to kill himself. Let’s not give him anything too explosive.’
But they realized that I was, just like a number of other undergraduate students, passionate about research. When we put in the hours, we can really participate and add to the value of the research.
What’s next after graduation?
I’m pursuing my medical degree. I’m interested in doing Doctors Without Borders, I think.
For questions about the Student Association and ways to get involved on campus, contact Mike Sportiello at sportie3@uwm.edu.
