STORY: Q&A with CORe President Kenneth Xiong ‘27

December 6, 2024

Since seeing campaign posters decorate the walls of his middle school, Kenneth Xiong ‘27 developed a passion for student government. In November 2024, Kenneth assumed his role as the President of The Council of Olin Representatives (CORe) with the goal of building an inclusive and welcoming community for Oliners. 

Q: What made you choose Olin? 

A:I think I was just really surprised by the vibe the school gave. It just felt completely different from anywhere else I've been. I saw that they would fly me out for Candidates Weekend, and I was like, “Why not?” So I applied, got to go to Candidates Weekend, and I just really fell in love with the student body and how much freedom they had doing what they wanted to explore.

Q: Are there any academic projects you are working on that you are passionate about?

A: There's a population at Olin that really likes playing poker for fun. For PIE right now, which is Principles of Integrated Engineering, my team is creating a slot machine. We hope to make it Olin-themed and have it as a fixture in one of the dorms so that students can just play with the slot machine in their free time.

Q: Can you share a bit about your role with CORe?

A: I am the President of CORe, and that really means a lot of things. It means that I am in charge of the meetings but also I interface a lot with students and the Olin administration.

The best way to think about it is that the administration talks to me about different things or the input they'd like from students on a certain topic, and then I go to my fellow students and collect that. But I also gather student voices and relay them back to the different campus departments that they need to go to so we can make sure students are heard on campus.

Q: How do students benefit from what CORe offers?

A: I think the most common way students benefit from CORe is that we fund almost every event that happens on campus, as well as all the clubs on campus. All money sent to clubs is actually allocated through CORe, and that, I think, is the most direct benefit that students see.

I think another benefit is that we work really closely with the admin to relay student concerns. If they have concerns about parking, facilities, or classes and courses, we have a direct stream with administration, where not only can we just talk to them, but more importantly, our voices are heard and valued.

So, when we ask for something, change actually does happen. 

Q: Are there any skills you've learned that've helped in your role as president?

A: The biggest skill is just working with a lot of different people. In high school, I was kind of scared of authority and teachers, but then Olin changed that because our professors are very approachable; they don't seem like professors. You can talk to them as if they are one of your colleagues. And that helped lessen some of this fear about talking and working with admin. Instead of always just listening to them and agreeing with their points, being at Olin has made me much more willing to push back and advocate for my own ideas and the ideas of students so we can get all voices across.

Q: What are one or two things that you would like students to know about CORe?

A: The biggest thing is that we're here and we're here for you.

I would really just want Oliners to know that CORe is here and you can come to us for problems, and honestly come to us first because most of us have been in this position for a long time. We understand how some of the inner workings of the College works, and because we interact with a lot of people, we can make sure your voice gets where it needs to go.

If you care strongly about the College, if you have opinions and have voiced them to your friends and professors about how the school should be better, join CORe. if you want to actually make a change with the thoughts that you have, here's the perfect place for you; you should consider it.

Q: Are there any new student clubs or initiatives you are excited about?

A: The biggest initiative right now is I'm trying to give a lot more space to cultural clubs on campus. I myself have started a cultural club, the Chinese Student Association. Besides that, I think we have three new cultural clubs this year that are a mix of just the demographics of students coming and changing. But we also want to encourage these clubs to exist because we think they serve a really important role on this campus.

Q: What are some of your favorite Olin memories?

A: During my first semester of freshman year, I was visiting a friend in Providence, Rhode Island. I'm from Southern California and didn't know anything about this region of the country. But what I did know is one of my professors lives in Providence. After class one day, I went up to them and just said, “Hey, I'm going to Providence for the weekend, do you have any recommendations on what to do? Where to eat?” This professor replied, “Give me 24 hours, and I'll tell you.”

This professor ended up sending me a five-paragraph email about all the restaurants and things to do in Providence! I think that interaction is such a good example of the Olin experience; the people are very approachable here. I don't think I will ever forget that.

Even now, when I see that professor walking around, I always stop to say "hi!" and will have a conversation with them.