Steve McConkie, a long-time member of the Latter-day Saints Student Association, will lead the largest student group next year.
LDS Institute of Religion leadership announced that McConkie will serve as LDSSA president for the 2002-2003 academic year.
McConkie started the year as the education chairman of the LDSSA council, but once the vice president stepped down after getting married, he moved into the No. 2 job.
McConkie, who is a junior studying communication, said he heard some of the rumors flying through the institute halls that he would be tapped as the next president, but was still a little surprised to receive the appointment.
“I think it will be a good experience,” said the aspiring lawyer. “With the new building it should be really good.”
This summer, officials will open the east wing of the new institute building. The new structure is 30 percent larger than the three old institute buildings combined and can handle as many as 10,000 students.
“I just want an atmosphere where everyone is invited to the institute, not just LDS students,” McConkie said. “Hopefully, the new building will have a more inviting atmosphere.”
McConkie is in the process of selecting the members of the LDSSA council and plans to complete the selection by Friday. His staff will take over near the end of April.
Robert Norman, adviser to the LDSSA council, handed McConkie 120 applications to sift through.
“He makes all the decisions about who is on the council,” Norman said.
Norman nominated McConkie for the LDSSA presidency, which needed the approval of the institute director and the priesthood leader of the institute before being finalized.
Norman said McConkie works with people, instead of governing people.
“He has a very mild personality. He is very kind and yet very organized and keeps things moving forward,” Norman said
McConkie plans to keep LDSSA focused on its goals to increase student involvement in the institute and on campus.
He believes LDS students should get involved in LDSSA because “it offers a social life to those who don’t know many people. It gives them the opportunity to meet people with the same ideals and values,” McConkie said.
He mentioned the many LDS fraternities and sororities as a few of the social activities LDSSA sponsors.
McConkie wants LDSSA to maintain the sense of community at the institute but not forget its role on campus.
“We want to continue the spirit between the U and the institute. We do not want to be separated,” he said.
McConkie is the grandson of Elder Bruce R. McConkie, a member of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who died in the mid 1980s.