The president-elect of Ohio University's Student Senate took the position by 827 votes last week after a monthlong campaign, but his journey to the top took 21 years.
Jesse Neader, who ran on the SOUND ticket, is a junior in the communication studies program and has been involved with politics since he was 14, when he worked on Terry Anderson's Ohio State Senate campaign.
I think he was just born to do politics; that is his gift
said Cindy Wanzo, Neader's mother.
Neader also served as the student body president and the president of the Young Democrats at Marietta High School, and was a co-coordinator for the Ohio Young Democrats, which serves high school chapters in 33 southeast Ohio counties.
Throughout his political journey, however, he has experienced obstacles. Neader has struggled with a learning disability that was diagnosed when he was in third grade, as well as identifying as a multiracial student.
I feel most of the adversity came from having a learning disability - from both friends and faculty. Being multiracial is always difficult. When I filled out my application to OU and had to put my race I put 'other ' and that tells you that multiracial students are considered to be 'others
' Neader said.
Neader described his learning disability as not being in math reasoning, but in math calculation, which spans multiple areas in the math and science region of the brain. The result is that it takes him twice as long as an average student to compute numbers. Despite these obstacles, Neader said he has continued to face and overcome them.
As far as dealing with being multiracial
I formed my own community. I have a pretty vibrant social network
and I try to diversify it
he said.
Neader's campaign platform emphasized diversity programming, which, as he said in a debate, comes from his personal experiences as a multiracial, gay student with a learning disability. Although he is not the first openly gay senate president - that was Brian Footer, president for the 2005-06 school year - Neader had a diverse upbringing. His mother said her son's background has helped him for the better.
He learned to accept everyone and that people are different - not better
just different
Wanzo said.
An Average Student
Although he's a student politician, Neader said he's like other OU students.
I see myself as an average person
he said.
Neader has a love for cooking that was inspired by two years of work at Rossi Pasta Company in Marietta.
I worked in the retail store there selling the products
but we often cooked in the store and did demonstrations
