Havee Makedon: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Havee Makedon

City: Des Plaines

Office sought: Oakton Community College Board of Trustees

Age: 25

Family: Married

Occupation: Substitute Teacher

Education: Associate of Arts from Oakton Community College, Bachelor of Arts from Elmhurst College, Master of Arts from Ludwig Maximilian University

Civic involvement: Community Organizing in Des Plaines

Previous elected offices held:

Incumbent: If yes, when were first elected?

Website:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Havee-Makedon-371084713643508/

Twitter:

Issue questions

Describe your vision for the primary role of a community college.

Community colleges are centers of opportunity for people from disadvantaged backgrounds in our community. They provide students from low-income backgrounds a chance to receive a quality and inexpensive college education. They provide students that didn't perform well in high school a chance to turn things around. They provide workers with a chance to gain valuable skills that will make them more attractive to employers. Clearly, community colleges are one of our society's most valuable public institutions, and, as a public investment, I believe we get a lot more back from such institutions than we spend.

How well is your community college fulfilling that role? What changes, if any, need to be made?

Historically, Oakton has done a phenomenal job providing opportunities for members of our community. I was myself a student at Oakton Community College, and the opportunities it provided to me allowed me to complete my undergraduate education and, by extension, my graduate education completely debt-free. My story is not unique, and there are countless individuals that have gone on to have tremendous success because of the opportunities afforded to them by community colleges. In recent years, however, opportunities are being dried up as the board of trustees has adopted more austerity with regard to budgetary policy. The board has also been dominated by toxic political differences that are threatening the body's ability to manage the college's affairs, and solving this division is perhaps the most pressing issue facing the board today.

Are you currently employed by or retired from a school district, if so, which one? Is any member of your direct family - spouse, child or child-in-law - employed by the school district where you are seeking a school board seat?

I am a substitute teacher in Elementary School District 62 and High School District 214. My wife is a full-time student at Oakton Community College, and she also works as a Chemistry Lab Assistant.

Is a tax rate increase needed and, if so, how do you justify it?

Community colleges provide many services to a diverse population. Is there a service your college should be providing that it is not, or reaching a segment of the population that it is not?

Oakton Community College is by far ahead of any other public educational institution in the Chicagoland area in the way it caters to a diverse population. The institution caters to students with disabilities, veterans, people of color, alumni, ethnic communities, the LGBT community, recent immigrants, people from various socioeconomic backgrounds, and much more. In engaging with members of the local community in providing opportunity and quality education, I cannot think of a better institution. However, while the institution does an incredible job catering to the local community, it doesn't offer adequate salaries to many members of the adjunct faculty, and the board must work on offering better pay to adjunct professors.