Mattie’s first inclination was to tell him not to even ask. No, not on a date, but to run for student body vice president. She didn’t end up sending that text, and instead, low and behold, the next day Koby Wesselink had texted her and asked her to run with him as his VP. Not only did he ask her to run, he asked her at 9 a.m., the day that the applications were due.
Although a well-known face and prominent leader on campus, Mattie Krause never planned to be part of student government.
With only 14 hours to make a decision and get an application in, Krause spent the day asking her friends what she should do. The very people who told her she was already taking on too much encouraged her to go for it, and that’s how she realized it might actually be a good idea. That afternoon, she answered Wesselink by saying, “Okay, let’s do it.”
- Student Body VP
- Captain of Women’s Golf Team
- Former RA
- Secretary/Social Media of Northwestern SAAC
- Leader of Healthcare of Professional of Tomorrow
“It was definitely an impulse decision, but it felt like the right decision. I could really see God’s hand in opening that door.”
Mattie krause
They filled out the application, had a successful campaignand won the election! Because of that impulse decision, Krause found her passion for student government. When elections were coming up for the 2022-2023 school year, she realized that she would really miss not being a part of leadership. Then she realized that out of everyone on campus, because of her experience, she was the most equipped to lead as next student body president.
So, as Krause decided she wanted to run for president, she realized she needed a running mate. Not wanting to relive the stressful last-minute experience from the year before, Mattie quickly started brainstorming.
The first person to come to her mind was Hemann. Having been friends since freshman year, Krause had seen his leadership skills first hand. She trusted him and knew he had a huge heart for UNW and the students. Because of this, Hemann became first choice for Krause.
Shortly after Christmas break, Krause leaked her idea to Hemann through a mutual friend to scope out how he felt about it. Right away Hemann was open to it, so Krause sent him a text asking to meet up and chat. Immediately after asking him, Hemann told Krause that he was in. With everything becoming incredibly real, Krause took a couple days to think and pray about it. When she saw Hemann at a basketball game she decided to take the leap. Echoing her response from the year before, she told him, “okay, let’s do this.”
- CORE Executive Director
- Leader of TriBeta Honor Society
- Captain of Men’s Tennis Team
Unlike Krause’s prior running experience, Krause and Hemann submitted their application the day it opened. The word ‘excited’ could not even begin to express how they were feeling.
As election day unfolded, they both felt extremely nervous. They wanted the win so badly and the waiting process kept them on their toes in stress. Krause had to bring herself to acknowledge that no matter the results, everything would be ok; the team that God wanted in the position would get there.
At the time the results were about to come out, Krause found herself in the student government office, surrounded by her friends, waiting for her fate. She wondered if she would be spending her time in that same office again next year.
Krause recalls finally looking down at her phone and seeing a single message from her running mate, Hemann. It simply said, “Let’s go!!”
Across campus, Hemann spent his time waiting by helping his tennis coach load sheet rock into a van. He got a notification on his watch with the email. All he could read was the first part which said, “Congratulations on running a great race.” Immediately Hemann was stressed, realizing the email could go either way. But after opening his email, he was relieved to read of their victory. He then immediately texted Krause.
Krause and Hemann are overjoyed at the opportunity to lead next year and serve their school. To them, leadership is service, and they plan to serve the students by hearing their concerns and advocating for them in every way they can.
They have a few ideas they hope to work out next year, but Krause is hopeful that they can build on ideas that they started this year. She hopes that her two years in office will allow some things to come to full fruition. They are most excited about looking into off-campus parking for freshmen who want to have a car for the weekends or to go home but are unable because of their freshman status. Krause hopes that next year the idea can charge full steam ahead and they can make progress on addressing the infamous parking issue.
Krause and Hemann encourage UNW students to make the most of their time at UNW and take advantage of their unique college years. Like Krause and Hemann, you have the opportunity to get involved and give back to your school and make it a better place. Like Krause, you can follow God’s leading. Impulse decisions are not always bad, sometimes they lead you to the right place. So take the leap and try something you might never have thought of because you never know where it will lead you.
