By Matt DeBlass
Before she came to RVCC in the fall of 2004, Casey Maliszewski had been a ballet dancer and a choreographer. She performed in front of thousands of people and was on international television. She’d traveled to several different countries
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But there was one place that she’d never been: a classroom.
“The first time I even set foot in a classroom was my English class here,” said Maliszewski. Casey was home-schooled and had never even visited a classroom until she was almost 20 years old. While many people think that the only parents who choose to home-school their children are religious fundamentalists, Maliszewski’s mother simply felt that she could do a better job of educating her daughters than the public school system.
In spite of her lack of classroom experience, Maliszewski quickly became involved in campus clubs. She joined Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges, in the spring of 2005, and became vice president. She was elected president in January 2006, and New Jersey president last month. Now, she’s going to the society’s convention in April to campaign for the position of international president.
Maliszewski resists the idea that she’s advanced academically and socially “in spite” of being home-schooled. “There’s still this stigma,” she said, “that home-schooled kids have poor social skills. But if you look at a typical high school, you’ll still see kids who have social problems.”
She believes that whether or not people do well socially has more to do with their personality and upbringing than the details of their education. Still, she thinks that RVCC was a better choice for her first experience with institutional learning than a large, four-year college would have been. “I’m glad I came here. It gave me time to think about what I wanted for my life.”
As for her ambitions towards club leadership, she says, “I’ve always been kind of hyper.” After years of dancing, it’s hard to sit still. As a choreographer, she learned not just how to work with a group, but to work for a group as well. “I like talking to people; I like listening to people; I like hearing what people have to say,” she said. She sums up her philosophy as a group leader very simply, “listen first.”
When Maliszewski goes to Nashville for the international convention, she’ll be in an unfamiliar environment. Once again in order to keep the race for president on even terms, none of the 15 candidates are allowed to campaign ahead of the week long convention. Strict limits are placed on their campaigns and materials to make sure that the winner is not just the one with the most money.
“One of the most stressful parts of the campaign is the caucus,” she said. The caucus is a question and answer session held with the director of the society. The candidate is given no notes or advance preparation for the questions, and the whole thing is recorded and broadcasted continuously in the hotel rooms and public area.
Even though Maliszewski has performed in front of thousands of people at a time during her dancing career, she finds running for office pretty stressful.
“When I was dancing, I knew that I was in complete control the entire time. The end result was a direct correlation between me being focused and completing the task at hand,” she said. “Now with campaigning, the process is in my control but I can’t know or control how people are going to vote. That part is more nerve wracking.”
Maliszewski credits her progress so far to the help of her friends and family. “I’ve been really fortunate, I’ve always had people that believe in me more than I believe in myself.”
She’s been preparing by sharpening her skills in Tom Valasek’s speech class and by working on her attitude “I’m thinking positive,” she says. “I visualize it every night. I know it sounds corny, but I do it.”
Whether or not she becomes international president, it’s very unlikely that Maliszewski will stop there. She’s thinking of international law and maybe sociology studies, and wants to make a difference in the world. Already, she says, her friends are asking her if she plans to run for president of the United States. At 22 years old, she’s got a few years to decide, but she doesn’t rule out the possibility.
“I’m still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up.”
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