Originally published: Nov. 11, 2010
Publication: THE GLOBE
Michael Potoczny refers to both his interest in BMX racing and his involvement in United Student Government (USG) as two of the major interchangeable components in his life.
Now 21-years-old, government involvement and racing began early in life for Potoczny.
Though his interest in government was an accidental find, he uses BMX experiences in everyday situations.
Potoczny's involvement in student government began in the 8th grade.
"My friend and I thought it would be cool to be president and vice president of our class. We ran and we both won – I won president and he won vice president." Potoczny said. "Just because we were … ‘Oh! Wouldn't it be cool to be president and vice president?' I ended up finding something I'll probably end up doing for the rest of my life."
Since that time, Potoczny has held leadership positions in both student governments and in high school organizations. His other interest – BMX racing – has played a part in his government experiences.
"Bike riding is an individual sport. It's very ‘you do what you want to do,'" Potoczny said.
Potoczny started off his USG experience in the position of parliamentarian.
"I was burnt out on extracurriculars when I came to college. My senior year, I was involved in around 10 organizations, high school musical, I made my own club. … I was going to turn in my application for USG but I didn't," Potoczny said. "After the first year, I [said] ‘I want to do something.' I went to run for a senator position and then [Ryan] Deasy actually asked me to be parliamentarian for USG."
During that time as parliamentarian, USG advisor Dean of Students Affairs and Dean of Students Keith Paylo was introduced to Potoczny.
"I still see the same passion, I see the same hungriness in not only learning but again doing everything he can to make the necessary changes that he believes the student body wants." Paylo said.
The position required Potoczny to clarify the rules and make sure everyone followed the constitution, something Potoczny remembers as being difficult.
"I told the president that he had to do something one time. They're the person that hires me, and they can fire me … They could have fired me if I kept on nagging them and I didn't tell anybody else," Potoczny said. "When somebody tells me something's right, or they suggest something for bike riding, if I'm doing a trick or something, I'm like, ‘Uh, I don't really think that's for me. I'm not going to do it.' I do what I think is right in that instance. But I'm not going to do what's wrong for government and what's right for pleasing the president."
At the same time, one of Potoczny's attributes that others notice is his ability to admit when he is in the wrong.
"When he realizes that he might have flubbed up a little bit, he's so quick to try to remedy that in any way," USG vice president Cassidy Adkins said.
Quick reactions are something that Potoczny gained from racing.
"If you run in a contest and you're doing tricks, it's usually only 60 seconds long, so you get up right away and you finish it." Potoczny said. "Or in racing, you might mess up on something, but you have to quickly adjust to get back on the top of the path."
As president this year, Potoczny enjoys the interaction with a variety of people, something that he has experienced since he first began racing.
"People from all over the world stay with me and teach me things. When I was … only sixteen, we had four people from France stay at my house … The French were so polite on personal items. They would ask for everything and they would do certain things, and everything was spic and span when they left … ," Potoczny said. "The French were the most respectful, the second were probably the Czech Republic… They found it rude to eat your food and they bought all their own food. We'd be like, ‘Dude. We're making dinner. Like, you can have some of our pasta.' And they'd be like, ‘No no no, we don't do that.'"
His interaction with people is something that Adkins feels makes him unique as a leader.
"Because he does have a connection to so many people on campus … he does feel personally invested in every single one of the student's concerns," she said.
One of those concerns would be the Point Cafe being open on Sundays.
"Everybody said, ‘Oh, this is impossible.' And the bike [rider] in me said, ‘Why?'" Potoczny said. "A lot of people stopped right there once they got an explanation of why it can't happen."
Potoczny's ability to take questions one step further is something that USG advisor Senior Assistant Dean of Campus Life Michael Gieseke believes makes Potoczny unique.
"Mike doesn't hold back. I think what makes Mike unique is he's honest, he's direct, he's forward, he goes to the source," Gieseke said. "It's not that he doesn't take no for an answer, but he wants to know why. Mike asks the why question … That's not something that all students have the ability to do or even the confidence or comfort ability to do."
Because of racing, Potoczny is aware of what is able to be done.
"I know what I can't do on a bike, and so when somebody asks me in life and in other situations I'll openly admit, I can't do this and I'm not good at that," he said. "I know things I'm not good at and I don't try to cover it up."
When he comes across an instance where something cannot be done, he will say so.
"Some people ask for certain items, and you're like, that's not budgetly possible," Potoczny said. "I'm not afraid to admit that to somebody … I'm going to tell them that currently we don't have the resources to do it."
Everything he is learning now, and all of the experiences, he believes will prove beneficial.
"You go in thinking, ‘Well, I'm going to benefit this way,' and you end up coming out with a benefit that's completely different. I know down the road I'm going to look at it completely different than why I'm doing it now, like why it was good for me doing it then, because it's going to affect me in a different way," he said. "So, I'll say the best is yet to come. We'll see."
Potoczny delves into roots of USG involvement
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