One such leader is North American Executive Board Co-Chair John Knetemann, who is a STEM student at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. We sat down with John to talk about his involvement and accomplishments with SFL.

If you are interested in applying to be a Campus Coordinator, click here.

David Clement: How long have you been involved with SFL and what roles have you taken on?

John Knetemann: I have been involved in Students for Liberty my entire college career, so since 2013. I have been a Campus Coordinator, the Great Plains Regional Director, the conference director for the 2014 Colorado Regional Conference, a co-chairman of the North American Executive Board, and the Master of Ceremonies for the 2016 International Students For Liberty Conference. I suppose you could say I have worn quite a few hats in SFL.

David: You are currently in the STEM program at your school. Could you elaborate on what it is like to be in the STEM program and be a student leader with SFL?

John: To be honest, being in a STEM program is always pretty demanding, especially at a school specifically for engineering. Over the past couple years I have definitely learned a very valuable lesson in time management, efficiency, and caffeine by being a STEM student in SFL.

I think it has given me a pretty well rounded education too. I would say most students at engineering universities do not read Bastiat, attend the most amazing classical liberal conferences in the world, or get to discuss ideas with some of the greatest student thinkers in philosophy or economics. Furthermore, I think a lot of people in SFL (but there are a handful of us) don’t get to fully experience the awesome wonder of science and applied mathematics, even though I sometimes don’t find the mathematics so awesomely wonderful when I am cramming late at night.

The perspectives I have on philosophy and economics that students within Students For Liberty teach me, and the perspective I have on the natural world and science that my professors teach me, are completely invaluable. However, I feel like I have begun bragging a bit.

David: You were recently the Master of Ceremonies for SFL’s ISFLC. What was that experience like?

John: Well, David, you certainly know how it feels, as you were the Master of Ceremonies the year before me. I don’t think I have a particularly insightful thing to say about this except that it was by far the most memorable moment in my college career. It will certainly be the one thing that I will look back on and remember pretty vividly.

David: What has been the most rewarding part of being involved with SFL?

John: I don’t think there has been a most rewarding part, at least I don’t think I could pin it down. I have gotten to meet and become friends with the most intelligent and dedicated students through SFL, which sometimes makes me feel pale in comparison, but it would not be something I give up for the world. I have been able to take on projects that would have been otherwise unfeasible for a student of my age. And I have been able to expand my ideas and my mind in ways I never could have imagined before I joined Students For Liberty.

David: What would you say to someone who is interested in SFL’s leadership programs?

John:  I would tell them “JUST DO IT! YES YOU CAN!” and then I would link them to this motivational youtube video by Shia LeBeouf!