Carroll announces Class of 2013 speaker

Carroll University is proud to announce the student speaker for its Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 12, 2013. Robert Marks, a philosophy, politics and economics major, is a resident of Mundelein, Ill.

He was nominated by faculty members based on his academic and leadership achievements, and then voted as the representative of the graduating class. In a statement to his peers, Marks wrote, “This speech is not about one person; it is about an entire class of graduates who have one commonality among our differences. I will capture the importance of what it truly means to be a Carroll University graduate. I will show that it is not where we are going that binds us together; it is where we have been.”

During his time at Carroll, Marks was president of the Pre-Law Society and captain of the Mock Trial team for four years, earning All-Region recognition two years. He served two years on Student Senate, completed two internships in the legal field, volunteered with political campaigns in the Chicago area and presented at three Midwest Political Science Association annual meetings. He also participated in a New Cultural Experience Program trip to Germany, took Honors-level courses and was an assistant to Carroll’s Legal and Risk Management Office.

After graduation, Marks will attend the London School of Economics and Political Science, one of the foremost social science universities in the world. He will pursue a master’s degree in regulation, a specialized and interdisciplinary study of law, public policy and institutional economics. His future plans include earning a doctorate, working, running for public office in Chicago and, eventually, working on national policy reformation.

“I’ve always wanted to make an impact,” he said.