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By: Conor Banks
“Treat everyone like they’re wearing a necklace that says, ‘how can you make me feel special’”. This phrase encapsulates Jackson Bukowski’s three-year involvement in IUDM as a member, chair, and advisor on the Public Relations Committee.
Jackson’s IUDM participation began as the organization returned to in-person activities in 2021 following the Covid-19 surge. Despite no previous dance marathon experience in high school, Jackson viewed IUDM as a good opportunity to get involved and expand his network. “I decided on Opraba [public relations] because I was in Kelley and wanted to make friends outside of the accounting area”, Jackson says.
Jackson spent his first year as a committee member, and a positive experience inspired and encouraged him to expand his involvement. The following year Jackson applied to be a chair, and he got the position.
Throughout his second year on the PR committee, Jackson acted as a fundraising chair. While he describes this position as an “incredible experience”, Jackson wanted to make a lasting impact on new committee members to ensure that they shared a similar experience.
During his third and final year on the committee, Jackson embraced more of an advisor role as he left the chair position to help new members get acclimated to IUDM. “My most memorable time was actually after I had left the chair position and saw how the work we put in the previous year paid off as we got a ton of new memberships,” Jackson says. “That year being able to lead by example and each meeting was definitely the most memorable.”
This newfound role combined with his previous two years in IUDM helped Jackson reach a new outlook on how he views others and worked to build relationships that have lasted over four years, “I learned a lot about personal development through IUDM,” Jackson says. “I learned how to put others before myself and how to treat each person that came across my life.”