2024 – 2026 Candidates

Since 2015, The Cooper Union has two Student Trustee positions on the Board of Trustees. Each year, the Board seeks students who are interested in non-profit governance to serve as a Trustee for a two-year term.

Voting opens on Friday, April 26, 2024 at 1PM and closes on Friday, May 3, 2024 at 5pm. Students must log into Outlook to cast a vote and may only vote once. Please remember that you are voting for your top three candidates. 

Vote here!

Tre Brown

Hi there,
My name is Tre Brown. I'm currently a sophomore mechanical engineering student. I'm from Baltimore city, raised in a complex environment. I'm mixed Black and white, and the oldest of three. Although I'm an engineer, I consider myself more interdisciplinary than most. In high school, I took art and music lessons despite being overloaded with engineering work, while my spare time went to running my school's VEX team and helping run my city's FRC team. I live with and love my two roommates, an architect and an artist. I believe the unity of the three schools here at Cooper provides such a unique (and necessary) environment that brings everyone up in such productive ways. I've seen and experienced artists and engineers working together to create marvelous things. I've seen artists, architects, and engineers working together towards a common goal, and I believe that Cooper has so much opportunity for wonderful interactions between people who do different things. I myself have some very very good friends and a number of projects that span all three schools.      

I run the cycling club full of artists and architects in a group that used to be solely engineers. I have been a summer STEM and Saturday STEM TA. I co-host a radio show, and work with the AV department. I also am in the works on a wonderful kinetic sculpture with artists and engineers. Working with the AV department, I run into the history of the school on a daily basis. Recordings of lectures from 100 years ago, VHS, DVI, and Beta videos made by artists of the '80s, and so much more. I have so much passion for the history of our school and I would be honored to be a part of making it a wonderful place to be in the years to come. This passion for the school's history overflows into my daily life as the radio show I co-host on Wednesday evenings is all about Cooper's history and how it continues to impact us today. This recognition of our past and looking towards the future, I believe, will make me a suitable candidate for trustee.      

I really care for this school and the people in it. It would be nothing less than an honor to help make it a good place in the years to come.
 

Jenna Sapers

Hello, my name is Jenna Sapers, and I am currently a sophomore in the School of Engineering studying chemical engineering. My professional passions include sustainability, marine life conservation, and solutions to climate change, while my personal passions include skiing, archery, fine metalwork, woodworking, writing, and reading. 

I want to be one of the student trustee members for a variety of reasons, although most importantly because I am intricately involved with life here at Cooper, as well as feel I can accurately convey both my own experience and the experience of others as Cooper students. I am no stranger to struggle and academic hardship, and will bring my experiences as a student to the table. Additionally, I am very comfortable with and have plenty of experience in positions of leadership, serving on my high school’s Student Faculty Administration, acting as an executive member on my school’s FRC robotics team, and serving as club president for both the Debate Team and Gender Sexuality Alliance. Most recently, I am the current chief investigative journalist and one of the head writers for the Pioneer, and will be become technical editor in the fall. 

I am, as a product of my time in positions of leadership and as a representative of student bodies, no stranger to positions of leadership and decorum, capable of representing the thoughts and feelings of the student body at large in clear and measured ways. I thank you for your consideration for me as your representative on the Board of Trustees, and I look forward to serving you in the future.

Angelis Heredia

Hello, my name is Angelis Heredia. I am currently a second-year student in the School of Architecture.
My earliest memories of student council involvement go back to 3rd grade while attending school in the Dominican Republic. These experiences include serving as class or club president and running fundraisers for student events. There, I was challenged at a young age to use my voice and represent students in a place where it was more difficult to be heard. Some of these tasks involved finding ways to break down barriers that prevented students from expressing themselves comfortably.

This drive carried over to high school in New Jersey. There, I also served as class president, and while doing so I revived old traditions and activities that had been lost due to COVID, among other things. I also served as a peer leader, club founder, Spirit Week coordinator, and fundraiser organizer.

I am proud to say that I brought this same ambition to The Cooper Union Architecture Student Council.

I believe there is great value in considering the student’s voice and involvement when making decisions in schools. I feel fortunate to be able to attend a school with a rich history of student activism and engagement. This institution has been a tremendous inspiration and influence, making me more aware of how my voice can be used to actively engage in causes that I’m passionate about, and not a bystander.

Therefore, I trust that my active experience allows me to provide the ambition and focus needed to achieve excellence in this role. I want to be able to represent the student body by creating a strong connection between us and the administration. It would be an honor to use my experiences to benefit the Cooper community.

Sinclair Kenndey-Nolle
 

Hi all!

I’m Sinclair, and as a sophomore civil engineering student, I’m looking to pursue the opportunity to be a Student Trustee for the Cooper community.

Though I grew up in a small hamlet of Westchester called Bedford and appreciate the beauty of its woodlands, I can’t deny my passion for engineering within NYC at Cooper. Ever since I was eight or nine, my parents have increasingly relied on me, our family’s “Mr. Fixit” to find solutions to household issues, like an off-hung door, a broken bird feeder, or cheaply designed kitchen machinery. Through high school, I learned to enjoy the math and physics behind construction, carpentry, and repair. Now finishing my second year at Cooper, I value our community’s niche yet highly focused appreciation of knowledge, both technical and creative.

I’ll also be the first to admit, however, that there are issues within how Cooper operates—as can be expected at any college. But rather than simply complain, I’ve actively worked as a member of the Engineering Student Council (ESC) (and many of its subcommittees) to immerse myself in conversation towards change, ensuring student concerns are addressed to the right listeners. For instance, I’ve stressed to the Admissions and Curriculum Committees the importance of Calculus I, among other academic timelines. More recently, I spearheaded and successfully passed the re-emergence of the FUN Committee, a panel built especially for promoting inter-school engagement and overall growth of social life at Cooper. (Look out for more this Fall!)

My participation within the Cooper community is far from limited to ESC—I also serve as president of NYWEA, contribute to the Pioneer, work on the Infrastructure Team for Hyperloop, assist fabrication of the annual steel bridge for competition, worked as a teaching assistant for Summer STEM, MA-110, and MA-111, and of course, constantly can be seen playing table tennis in the Foundation building lobby.

In my free time (mainly during summers), I foster change within my community through invasive species removal at my local park, cat rescue with the local animal shelter, and weekend chess lessons at the public library. While I certainly understand I can’t save the world alone, I recognize that change starts small—and a close-knit, compassionate community like Cooper is ripe for such progress.

I believe the best colleges must be led by strong student engagement and two-sided conversation, and Cooper should not be exempt. As a Student Trustee, I would continue to provide student perspective and ensure the school is consistently progressing forward.

Ultimately, I know I have the determination, maturity, and experience to serve Cooper’s students.

Daniel Luo

Hi there, I’m Daniel, and I’m a 3rd year student at the School of Architecture. I was born and raised in Miami, FL with my first introduction to New York being my education at Cooper. Suffice to say, the city was quite the shift from my quiet neighborhood, but this experience has helped me learn and grow in ways that I couldn’t have otherwise provided for myself. With gratitude and excitement from this chapter of my life, it would be my pleasure to serve as a trustee for the Cooper Union

As an architecture student, I’m in the studio all the time working on our various studio projects. If you visit, you can tell my desk apart by the drafting table I made in the woodshop here at Cooper. As for my work, I’ve been a student tech at the AACE lab for the past three years and just started working this semester as student archivist for the Architecture Archive. I’ve also been a part of multiple grants, taking advantage of the opportunities available here. At my core, I believe I am a maker, and so my passion, the school’s facilities, and my major in architecture are a perfect storm to help me flourish here at Cooper.

Back home, I was delegated the role of "everything guy" by my family. If there was ever a problem with building Ikea furniture, fixing a toilet, or troubleshooting technology, I was up for the task. Being raised like this has led me to try and be a good influence wherever I go; if I see a leak, I rush to patch it. Last year, I saw a need in the Architecture Student Council when there wasn’t enough help. So for the past two years, I’ve served on the council, helping to keep things running smoothly for my peers.

I’m truly grateful for the time I’ve spent at Cooper and for the people that have helped make this experience so worthwhile. It is with full dedication and care for this school that has led me to run as Student Trustee, and I hope I can continue to contribute to Cooper’s community in this position.

Kristof Jabłonowski

Hi!

My name is Kristof Jablonowski and I am running to be your next Student Trustee. I am a sophomore electrical engineering student, and have lived in NYC my whole life.

When I applied to Cooper, the one thing I stressed to the committee was my passion for tinkering. I have always loved tearing things apart, fixing them, and putting them together again. There is no greater satisfaction than to be able to start with an idea, implement it, and see it come to life, functioning just as planned. This hands-on approach is not only a personal passion but also something I believe can bring tremendous value to the student body and the administration alike. I want to use this mindset to innovate and improve our campus, making it a better place for all students.

As for my work at Cooper, I have taken up a job with the Brooks Lab, where I assist the entire school with any issues related to computers breaking down, projectors not working, and any other issue that might need resolving. I have also been a TA for EID101, where I have taught freshmen the basics of circuit analysis/design.

My commitment extends beyond just technical expertise. I aim to be a voice for all students, ensuring that everyone's ideas and concerns are heard and addressed. The role of a Student Trustee is not just about solving problems—it's about creating a proactive, inclusive community that thrives on collaboration across all disciplines. Although I am an engineer, I see the value that the union between the three schools brings. No one person is able to do everything alone, and it is when we work together that amazing things can be done.

As the semester draws to a close, I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity I’ve had so far, being part of the community we have here at Cooper Union. I believe that through incremental steps and continuous improvements, we can promote and expand our school's environment and offerings. I sincerely appreciate your consideration, and it would be an honor to serve as your next student trustee.