RELEASED: May 15, 2003

DANVILLE, KY—With the Kentucky primaries upon us, one Centre student is staying politically active—on and off campus.

Benjamin Monarch was recently elected speaker of the house of Centre's Student Government Association. Bridging the gap between local government and Centre students and making Centre more technologically advanced through wireless networking are just a couple of the issues he hopes to tackle.

However, this isn't the first brush with politics for the Hardinsburg, Ky., sophomore.

Monarch works in the Lexington office of Republican Congressman Ernie Fletcher's campaign for governor and will be an administrative intern for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in June. Last summer he was named youth chair for McConnell's "Young Leaders for McConnell" organization in Boyle County, Ky.

"Ben's been a great asset to our campaign. We've given him a lot of responsibility and we'll miss him while he's in D.C. this summer," said Louis Kelly, intern coordinator at the Fletcher for Governor headquarters.

Monarch met George W. Bush on both of the President's 2002 stops in Kentucky.

Through his contact with Sen. McConnell and the Kentucky Republican Party, Monarch was able to secure invitations to Bush's September rally in Louisville for himself and several other members of Centre's College Republicans. They met again when Bush returned to Louisville in October.

"I found that in meeting President Bush, I was given a new appreciation for the power and responsibility of the Office of the Chief Executive," Monarch said. "It was a day I'll surely never forget and hope to be able to repeat in the future."

Monarch is a double major in economics and government; secretary of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity; a member of the economics, law, and government societies; and chairman of the College Republicans.

As SGA speaker of the house, Monarch plans to work toward "giving student government a more active role in administrative issues [and] devising, crafting and implementing policy."

Monarch's goals for the future are to practice law and be involved in politics.

"I chose Centre for the great atmosphere and friendly students," he said. "There's lots to do, the teachers are the best in the country, and while it's academically rigorous, it's also fun."

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