Corbin Sedlacek, junior in accounting, is passionate about Kansas State, and as the youngest of five children, family played an operative role when it came time to select a university.
The Manhattan native said he looked at a few other colleges, but ultimately decided that K-State was the perfect match for him because of the close proximity to his family.
“Being born and raised in Manhattan means that I’ve gotten to experience the K-State family my whole life, and I am so grateful to get to continue to experience the K-State family both on campus and off campus,” Sedlacek said.
Now at K-State for his third year, Sedlacek is involved in Student Governing Association as the local relations director in the student body president’s cabinet.
His passion for student advocacy began when he was in high school where he said he fell in love with the concept of shared governance. When he came to K-State, he got involved in SGA.
Sedlacek said he realized he wanted to get even more involved within SGA to continue to better the lives of his peers. As a sophomore, he was the elections commissioner for SGA elections in the 2017 to 2018 academic year. In SGA, Sedlacek said he met several people who share his passion for student government.
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One student was Hayley Spellman, chair of the government relations committee and senior in communication studies and political science.
“I first met Corbin last year when he was the elections commissioner, and he is a very accomplished student, student leader and community member,” Spellman said. “His leadership skills are impeccable, and his drive is so inspirational. He has left such a positive impact on K-State and the community and I am thankful to know him.”
Sedlacek said part of the reason he decided to seek his current position is because of his passion for voting, something he developed over the last two years from working at the Riley County Elections Office. Through both roles, he said he is able to provide students connections to resources for voting in elections both in and out of Riley County.
“Voting is important because of what it does,” Sedlacek said. “It gives a voice to the people and it allows their voice to be heard.”
Sedlacek worked closely with Spellman to start K-State Votes, the student voter registration program that ran leading up to the election.
Aside from voting, Sedlacek has had hands in other big projects. Right now, he is working to organize better transportation options and to help expand the Safe Ride Program by creating more routes that include more areas in Manhattan.
“I would describe Corbin as genuine, comical and dependable,” Spellman said. “He is the type of person to focus on every detail of a project and see it to its end. He loves working with people and has a strong passion for every project that he does and for that, he has left a positive impact on the students of K-State and the community as a whole.”
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Corbin Sedlacek came to Student Governing Association through the intern program. It also incorrectly identified Hayley Spellman as another SGA leader who is working with Sedlacek to bring more transportation options to the area. A quote from Sedlacek has also been corrected.
