YSU Student speaker got her taste for politics during YSU career

The graduate has been hired to work in Washington, D.C., as a staff assistant to U.S. Rep. Michael G. Oxley, a Republican in Ohio's 4th District.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kristin Serroka's memories of Youngstown State University go back to when she was an 11-year-old girl from Liberty.
"I remember coming to campus for a week once," she said. "It was a day camp. It was my home away from home."
And it's been that way ever since.
Serroka, now 22, graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science at YSU's fall commencement Sunday at the Beeghly Physical Education Center on the YSU campus.
For Serroka, it was more than a walk across the stage to get her diploma. The 1998 Liberty High School graduate, who traces her love for everything YSU back to her parents, was chosen to be the student speaker at the ceremony.
Serroka has YSU red running in her veins. Her father, David, has bachelor's and master's degrees from YSU. Her mother, Kim, also is a YSU graduate and currently an assistant professor of nursing on campus. And her younger brother, Paul, is a sophomore studying education at YSU.
"[YSU] has really helped me grow as a person and as a leader," Serroka said.
Elected to office
After graduating from high school, Serroka came to YSU to study accounting. But, at the end of her second year on campus, she was elected vice president of Student Government, and she's had the political bug ever since.
She later became a student member of the YSU Board of Trustees, executive secretary of Student Government and president of the Alpha Omega Pi sorority.
Serroka also recently finished a program at the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in Washington, D.C., where she worked answering telephones, running errands and performing general clerical duties in the office of U.S. Rep. Michael G. Oxley, a Republican in Ohio's 4th District.
The internship was so successful that Oxley hired Serroka to stay on as a full-time staff assistant.
"It's been very interesting," Serroka said. "I like learning about policy issues."
She's also helped in the political campaigns of Paul Sracic for Mahoning County commissioner and of Jim Calko for Ohio state representative.
So, does Serroka aspire to run for office herself?
"It's something that's crossed my mind," she says with a chuckle. "But I don't know. I like staying in the background, behind the scenes."