USG Polytechnic President Franz Ferguson works at his office several hours before most other students will be on campus. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)Leading by example is how Undergraduate Student Government Polytechnic President Franz Ferguson operates within his cabinet, allowing team members to use their strengths to achieve the goals they have set for the semester.
After not having any interest in student government when he first arrived at ASU, Ferguson has quickly grown into a strong leader with whom members of his cabinet are proud to work.
USGP secretary Starr Worthy said Franz is one of the best presidents the Polytechnic campus has ever had and this stems from the way he leads.
“He definitely communicates with the Senate and has a lot of tasks he take on himself,” she said. “He’s not one to give a task and have someone run with it but he takes on the responsibility at all levels.”
Coming into ASU, student government was never on his mind, Ferguson said.
“Coworkers of mine last year plugged the idea in my ear to be a senator and ended up getting elected and serving last year,” he said.
After his first year in the senate, Ferguson fell in love with student government, he said.
“Seeing what was being done on campus and being involved was great,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson’s leadership style comes from his time as an athlete in high school, he said.
“I played a lot of sports in high school and was never that rah-rah guy,” he said. “My parents always told me people are going to put the work in they see you doing, so that is how I’ve always been.”
This semester has been a busy one for Ferguson and his team as they are creating projects to improve the Polytechnic campus.
“We’ve put up all new scoreboards for the intramural fields, and bike fix-it stations around campus,” he said. “We’re also working hard with Aramark, because many students aren’t pleased with the dining situation, so we are working to improve that relationship.”
USGP Communications Director Alex Morris has worked with Ferguson for more than a year in USG and said Ferguson makes sure everyone is always communicating and no one ever gets overwhelmed with their duties.
“Franz is just a great leader,” she said. “I saw how he was as a leader last year and he was very welcoming and it made me want to join his team.”
USGP Vice President of Policy Jason Scribner began working with Ferguson at Changemaker Central last year. Seeing how charismatic he was, Scribner thought it would be great to work with him.
“He’s got natural talent as a leader,” Scribner said. “He is very charismatic and never has an attitude, which is important.”
Ferguson doesn’t have any future political aspirations at the moment. Instead, he is focusing on graduate school and finishing his undergraduate degree in operations management and technology.
“Right now I’m looking into graduate schools at Stanford, Chicago, and here at ASU,” he said.
Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or on Twitter @Joey_Hancock
