Students have voice on education commission

The person who represents students on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education has established herself as a passionate and optimistic education expert among her colleagues.

Hannah Rozow, a junior majoring in political science and economics at IU, is the student representative to the commission.

A full voting member, Rozow said her role is to ensure the commission proceeds with students’ interests in mind.

The commission is the governing body for all public colleges and universities in Indiana.

Rozow maintains a blog about education and other current issues titled “the Roze Report.”

She wrote in a blog post that 70 percent of students not graduating on time is a big problem.

Some people might have stopped there or blamed someone else for the issue, but in each post Rozow writes, she reminds readers she thinks there’s a reason to hope for the best.

“First, K-12 teachers must be strategically equipped to effectively prepare for their post-high school plans; this includes ensuring that college-bound students are college-ready and implementing a clear definition of college readiness for all students, across the nation,” she said in the post. “Second, tuition costs need to be controlled.”

Ask some of the members of the higher education commission, and they’ll say that she’s involved and informed.

The biggest problems Indiana college students face are cost, readiness and support, Rozow said. She said she helps students is by influencing the commission’s focus.
She hones the group’s dialogue in an energetic, optimistic and assertive way, said Carol D’Amico, commission member and vice president of Project Lead the Way.

“I think we’re good to have her,” D’Amico said.

Not only does she represent students well in discussions, she adds insights the other members wouldn’t otherwise have, said Chris Murphy, another member and CEO of 1st Source Co.

“She’s a committed student,” Murphy said. “She represents students well in helpful and focused dialogue.”

Heidi Rozow, Hannah Rozow’s mother, said she’s always been like that.

“She’s a mother hen,” Heidi Rozow said.

Hannah Rozow is the oldest of five children. She said her siblings are her best friends. Her Twitter pictures are almost exclusively of her brother and sisters.

“My biggest fear is that something would happen to my siblings,” Hannah Rozow said. “I can’t even fathom what that would do.”

Heidi Rozow said Hannah Rozow’s love for her siblings extends to people in general.
Hannah Rozow once planned to live in jungles, reporting on the oppression of marginalized people, said Sara Cousins, Hannah Rozow’s best friend since kindergarten.

Hannah Rozow said she would’ve done it, too, were it not for a stipulation.

“I was too young,” Rozow said.