The results are in.
On April 17 and 18, students of Las Positas College gathered to choose their new student leaders. And out of 782 ballots counted after the event, 378 votes landed Chistopher Southorn the top spot for the presidential race.
Alongside his new student government responsibilities, Southorn is also the president of the Biology Club and a former medic for the U.S. Army.
On Earth Day, he was seen along with the Bio Club picking up trash around campus. He can be seen around campus, always looking for ways to help.
“He’s a very bright and intelligent individual,” Todd Steffan, LPC Financial Aid/Veterans Benefits Specialist, said.
Steffan has been a part of LPC for about nine years. And according to him, Southorn is the first person with military background to win the race for ASLPC president position.
Prior to this election, Southorn has had no student government experience. His leadership experience comes primarily from being the president of the LPC Biology Club and being a squad leader in the military.
So even though he did enter the race, Southorn was nothing short of surprised when he discovered he actually won the position.
“Everybody kept telling me that they thought I had a good chance. I think I was the last person to be believe I could pull it off,” Southorn said. “I don’t know if anybody is really ready to be president. I’m definitely ready to put in the hours it’s going to take.”
He feels like his military background will help him with leading the student government.
His first leading experience was being a squad leader when he was younger.
He was active duty for four and a half years and a reservist before and after his active duty — a grand total of seven years serving the country. He wasn’t stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq or any of the other places people think about when they hear the word “military.”
He was stationed at the United Arab Emirates about a hundred or so miles from Abu Dhabi. He was also part of an air missile defense unit that was tasked to watch over South Korea’s skies when North Korea was testing missiles.
“I joined the military to take care of the brave, young men and women who are serving their country and to make sure that they get home safely,” Southorn said.
Since he spent a good amount of time in the desert, he mostly helped heal heat injuries, take care of the dehydrated soldiers and tried to ensure their mental health.
He didn’t let the stresses of serving as a medic get to him. He understood that being a medic meant other people were depending on him and needed him in the right state of mind.
“If there’s one thing I’m really big on, it’s public service and taking care of other people,” Southorn said.
To continue helping people when he’s done with school, he wants to stay in the medical field. Currently, however, Southorn is stuck between two career choices before him.
He hopes to either go back to the military and be a military physician or be a doctor without borders and help people in third world counties.
“I like the idea of communicating to the students how the student government benefits them,” Southorn said. “I feel like the average student maybe doesn’t realize all the services and programs that are available to them.”
He is prepared to put himself out on the front lines of the school to meet students, shaking hands and trying to figure out how he can help them and their school experience at LPC. He wants to be as proactive as possible — anything to help the students.
He’s only been a part of the ASLPC student government for a few months, but he described his overall experience with ASLPC as very helpful. They’ve been nice in helping him get in the groove of running things. Everyone was friendly to him. All of the student senators work hard and are strong leaders, and he’s excited to be a part of the student government.
“It’s humbling because now I realize how much work I have ahead of me,” Southorn said. “ I really hope that I can be the president that the school deserves.”