FSU Trailblazer: Anthony Gonzalez

I have had the privilege of knowing Anthony for nearly five years now. I have seen him grow over the years, learning to juggle his academic responsibilities with his ambitious pursuit of knowledge. He has campaigned and won his position as Vice President in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy Leadership Council while maintaining an excellent grade point average which is crucial to his goal of going to law school. He helps to act as a liaison between the students of the college and their Dean, working to improve programming for the students. He is by far one of the smartest men I know, and I am honored to call him a friend.

Picture courtesy of Anthony Gonzalez

Q: What is your hometown?

AG: Tampa

 Q: What’s your major?

AG: History and Political Science

 Q: What year of school are you in?

AG: I am a Junior.

 Q: If you could be any mythological being what would you be?

AG: A gargoyle. A stone sentinel, neutral, and ever watching.

 Q: Why did you pick your major?

AG: I picked history because I love it. I’ve been reading nonfiction since I was little: genocides, empires, people from all over the world. I have always been interested in seeing how the flow of time affects us. You can’t look to the future without knowing the past. It’s pointless to spend your life searching for answers if they have already been answered in the tomes of old. I was a sociology student before, I loved the study of the effect of society on family types, religion, and class conflict, but I realized that research at the graduate level wasn’t my life’s path. Since then I have taken on studying political science to get a sense of the flow of power in my world. Life is deceiving. You need to study the actors that control the decisions that you don’t make because without it, how can you hope to make choices that effect the rest of your life?

 Q: If you had to change your major tomorrow, what would you do?

AG: If I were working outside of my current field, I would probably go into something mathematical like statistics or economics. Working with numbers about people is almost as fun as working with people themselves.

 Q: What is your favorite thing about FSU?

AG: I love the people. I love walking, and driving, around Tallahassee and seeing people I know everywhere. I love being able to meet with friends, faculty, and co-workers at my leisure, to be able to plan my life around my classes and my pursuit of knowledge rather than the other way around. Being able to develop professional relationships in way that primary and secondary public school never did for me, to teach me to be a real life working adult. It forces me to make schedules filled with lectures and concerts and comedy showcases while teaching me the skills to be happy in a work environment once I leave. We know that we aren’t here forever, but while we’re here we’re in this beautiful in between where you typically see people in the same stage of life as you and can discuss their still unrealized life pursuits, childhood passions, to new experiences and going through this journey together.

Picture courtesy of Anthony Gonzalez

Q: What advice would you give to students new to the campus?

AG: Especially if you’re living in a dorm or a shared living community, I highly recommend making it a point to go out of your comfort zone and meet new people. Feeling comfortable with your campus and its populace not only helps you to realize those stereotypical lifelong college friendships but really does a lot for exploring what it means to be an adult part of a community where work and play mix all the time. Balancing those two spheres of your life, work and leisure, is one of the biggest lessons college has to teach you.

 Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

AG: One of my biggest positives from coming to FSU was being able to explore music history and music industry in general. I listen to more music now than I ever did before in my life, and that is almost entirely due to experiences and interactions I have had with my peers. I regularly go out to music shows at houses, the warehouse, and at the civic center to see artists who come here from all over the world like Twin Peaks and Chance the rapper, or even local Tallahassee bands like Teen Baby.

Q:Do you have a particular genre of music you feel drawn to?

AG: I know the default answer is to say that I listen to all types of music, which I do, but I feel particularly drawn to rap and hip hop. The one artist that I can say has captured my soul more than others is Kendrick Lamar. Good Kid m.A.A.d City was one of the works that has most affected me during my time in college.

 Q: How would you describe yourself?

AG: Whenever I meet someone, I always tell them three things: My name, where I live, and a self-deprecating joke about the futility of the job market considering robots are going to take over all careers in about ten years.

 Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

AG: I am very passionate about the severity of fraud in the healthcare system which saps the life from so many of Florida’s exploited elderly and the nature of immigration abuse our state regularly perpetuates. I hope to use the information on power, political actors, and historical precedent to pursue an education and career in the law helping to change this system by working to make it better from within. Florida State University is the only place in the state I would study to help me prepare for that future, and I’m proud to be living that ideal.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment during your time at FSU?

AG: I’m extremely proud of the progress and of my involvement in the COSSPPSLC. We started with a defunct council, filled with a capable but out of time executive council. They entrusted those they recruited that year with rebuilding the council from the dying breed of RSO it was to a respected organization with communication and respect from both SGA and the Dean’s office. We’ve tripled our member count, tripled our number of successful programming, and successfully constructed as team that gives back to our students in a very real way.

 Q: If you could go back and change something in your time at FSU, would you? If so, what would you change?

AG: I think the most important thing college has taught me is that inspiration comes to you in different ways, and motivation comes at different times, but discipline needs to be eternal. It’s the only thing that’ll keep your life moving even if you can’t.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add that I might not have thought to ask you?

AG: “How excited am I to devastate the Gators on home turf this year?”

“You know as long as they get out there and show a little bit of Gainesville heart I’ll be the first to welcome them outside of Doak with a Mom and Pops dog in hand.