I am Josh Salinas, a freshman at the Pennsylvania State University majoring in Biology on the Pre-Medicine track. I come from Sharon, PA, but I only tell people I’m an hour northwest of Pittsburgh. While I may be new to the university, I provide a fresh set of eyes on the circumstances within the institution and a new perspective. This is why I am running for the position of At-Large Representative in the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) because I believe that every student deserves a voice, and I would like to be that voice.

As a member of the UPUA First Year Council, I’ve worked to advocate for my peers. As a pre-medicine student, I have already taken steps toward improving the academic experience by advocating for changes to the pre-medicine major curriculum with the removal of MATH 141 as a mandatory requirement and, instead, proposing that the course be listed as an elective, aligning the pre-medicine curriculum with recent updates to the biology major. This resolution was established because of my fellow pre-medicine peers’ concerns and the injustice they voiced.

To further work towards advocacy, I am enthusiastic about introducing several pieces of legislation in the future. Including the exploration of specialized First-Year Seminar “tracks” tailored to pre-health students, because, in my personal experience, these courses are, right now, inefficient in providing the relevant guidance students need, especially those in pre-health. Additionally, addressing scheduling conflicts by advocating for reduced overlap in the final examination dates for science courses is something that should have long been resolved. As someone who had a chemistry and biology final on the same day, issues like these are what I would like to resolve. Moreover, a laboratory teaching assistant of mine once pointed out that research programs are being funded by taxpayers’ money and thus should not be something that they can charge people for, especially students. That is why I would also hope to advocate for Penn State to partner with external or internal organizations to allow the student body free access to research papers, enabling the enhancement of academic resources.

The initiatives before you are only the beginning. There’s still much work to be done, and I am committed to giving each situation the attention it deserves. As a Penn State student, seeing these changes benefitting our own would be fulfilling. I am eager to get to work and ensure voices are heard!