John Runningen

"I was a first-generation college student who sometimes had to choose between buying textbooks or paying my bills. I wanted to make sure other students didn’t have to face that same struggle or worse, so I got active with the M State Student Government Association in Fergus Falls, and then with LeadMN, a statewide political advocacy organization that represents two-year college students. 

As President of LeadMN, I sought to uplift student voices. It was my job to find the right voices, the right stories, to share, and then make sure those voices were heard at the legislative level. Every student should have the ability to go to college, so I worked to make sure college is affordable and equitable for everyone. 

I plan to get a bachelor’s degree in teaching so I can become a high school social studies teacher – or maybe even an instructor at M State. M State was a home for me. If I could stay at M State forever, I would."