Gaines Questionnaire

Get Connected! The Phi Theta Kappa Network

PHI THETA KAPPA MISSOURI REGION

REGIONAL OFFICER CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of Candidate: Robert M. V. Gaines

Office(s) for which you are campaigning: President and Vice President of Communications

Chapter and College Name: Kappa Tau; MCC Longview

1. List your educational background, current major, and educational goals. I was home-schooled from second grade through elementary school, before being enrolled in an online correspondence program through High School. At the age of 21 I acquired my GED and then at the age of 23 I chose to enter college, at MCC Longview, as a political science major. I have now attended college for two years, and have been an honors student since my first year. Beyond formal education, I have had extensive hands-on experience with web development technologies, due to my interest and my family's involvement with the IT industry.

2. What is your career objective? My career objective is to eventually acquire a law degree and practice law, as a defense attorney, while also heavily involving myself with local politics, as a campaign consultant and analyst. I chose this career path because I want to be in a position where I can serve my community, especially those members of my community who are usually overlooked due to their background and life-stations.

3. List and describe your activities in Phi Theta Kappa. As Kappa Tau's VP of Correspondence, I am in charge of communication within the chapter; through this position I am responsible for making sure that our membership are aware of what is occurring within the chapter and, after the president, for making sure that all of our officers are working together and sharing their information effectively. Beyond my role as an officer, I helped to coordinate Kappa Tau's Honors in Action project, am participating in Competitive Edge, am attending Phi Theta Kappa's Leadership Development Study Group, am helping to implement a C4 signing day at my campus, am an active member who regularly assists other officers, have been on Kappa Tau's Induction Committee, walked in The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, participated in a phone-a-thon fundraiser for public television, helped to sort food for Harvesters, and helped to gather books for Better World Books.

4. In what other activities have you been involved? I have owned and operated a web development business for the past four years, worked as the lead IT coordinator on the Chris Benjamin Campaign for State Senate, have been an active volunteer on several political campaigns, was a sighted volunteer for a local chapter of the Missouri Council of the Blind, was; at various points; MCC Longview's student government association secretary; acting vice president; and acting treasurer, and am currently a member of Students in FLYT; a program designed to decreasing the drop-out rate of first year college students.

5. Why do you want to become a regional officer? The reasons why I wish to become a regional officer are three-fold: I wish to expand my leadership skills, by experiencing the unique challenges associated with becoming a regional officer; so that I can lend my experience as a small business owner, web developer, and campaigner to the region; and so that I can do my part for academic excellence in the Missouri Region. I view regional officership as an excellent way for me to give back to both society and Phi Theta Kappa, while also encouraging the academic success and leadership development of individuals who demonstrate strong academic abilities.

6. Define leadership. I believe that a quote I acquired the other day, by Colonel Dandridge M. Malone, defines leadership with a broad yet accurate brushstroke: “The very essence of leadership is its purpose. And the purpose of leadership is to accomplish a task. That is what leadership does–and what it does is more important than what it is or how it works.” To be more specific, I feel that leadership is the process by which individuals are organized, guided, driven, and enhanced for the completion of a goal

7. What kind of a leader are you? I believe that leaders can be sorted along four axes: How structured the leader is, how involved the leader is, how the leader allocates responsibilities, and how the leader balances the needs of a group against what is needed to complete the goals assigned to that group. Within this system, I can describe myself as a leader who believes in structuring goals, the environment surrounding those goals, and the group itself so that objectives and roles are clear and so that information is transparent and easily accessible; is very hands on; believes in distributing responsibilities to committees and individuals who have specific expertise and skills; and believes that it is pointless to complete a goal if the group that the goal is serving derives no benefit from it. I believe that the three most important elements of my leadership style are that: I gather information before making decisions, I believe in enhancing the members of the group that I am leading, and that I place great value on strong two-way communication.

8. What would your friends say is your strongest attribute in dealing with others? My ability to arbitrate within a group, by collecting opinions before offering impartial feedback.

9. If you are elected to office, what obligations do you believe you will have to the region? As a regional officer, I believe that I will be obligated to serve the Missouri Region of Phi Theta Kappa, through not only the actions that I take within Phi Theta Kappa but also through the actions that I take in my personal life; I will not only be a leader, I will also be a representative. I feel that my specific responsibilities are multifaceted: To offer my skills and expertise to all of the chapters within the Missouri Region, to represent the region to individual chapters, to represent the Missouri Region to the rest of Phi Theta Kappa, to represent Phi Theta Kappa to other organizations, to assure that individual chapters are kept informed of what is occurring at the regional and international levels of Phi Theta Kappa, to assure that individual chapters can coordinate with one another, to offer a unified vision across the region, and to assure that the four hallmarks; service, scholarship, leadership, and fellowship; are being honored throughout the region. To this end one of my main goals will be to increase communication and organization within the Missouri Region.

10. If elected to office, you will be required to sign the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Code, which states that you will serve the region in a proper fashion. If one of your fellow officers violates the code, what action would you take? This would depend upon the circumstances under which I discovered the infraction and the circumstances under which the infraction occurred. If I was not a direct witness of the infraction, I would attempt to uncover more details regarding the affair, before taking action. Once I determined that the infraction did in-fact occur, I would determine if the action was committed out of ignorance; if I believed that the infraction occurred due to ignorance, I would contact the offender and counsel him regarding his actions, otherwise, if the offender was aware of the nature of his infraction, I would report it to the Coordinator of the Missouri Region.

11. What can you offer to the Missouri Region and your district? I can offer the skills and expertise that I have acquired as a small business owner, web developer, campaigner, and Phi Theta Kappa Officer along with my sense of devotion and professionalism. Specifically I have extensive experience with organizational principles, leadership roles, technology, communications, and advertising. I hope to drastically increase communication and the availability of information throughout the Missouri Region, establish a region wide vision in keeping with the unified will of the individual chapters, and I hope to represent the Missouri Region both internally and externally with professionalism. Furthermore, due to the nature of my employment, I have extreme flexibility in regards to my time, in turn I should be able to meet all of my obligations promptly.