Kerong Kelly
Writer
The word “involved” does not even begin to describe the level of dedication Doug Bogan ’13 has shown to the University and to the community throughout the past four years. From Wilton, Conn., Bogan is a student of both music and electrical engineering with a wide range of extracurricular interests.
On Nov. 29, 2012, Bogan led the first student-only discussion about the Campus Climate Report. The event, titled “The Bucknell ‘Rage Crew:’ is this all we really are?” was created in response to a lack of student participation in the conversation, regarding issues on campus. Bogan and his mother, Lisa Bogan ’78, an active member of the Alumni Board, formulated the idea to host this event in such a community conversation model.
“It’s all action step oriented, working towards progress rather than just talking about the issue,” Bogan said. “I feel like any change should come from the bottom up.”
“Doug is a talented and involved student leader on campus,” Dean of Students Susan Lanz said. “His list of accomplishments is long and varied. What I respect most about Doug is his dedication to making a difference on Bucknell’s campus. The two successful Community Conversations that occurred this academic year (November 2012 and April 2013) were due to his hard work and dedication. He is empowering community members to make the changes necessary to improve our campus climate. Doug has worked across the normal Bucknell boundaries to bring together all community members for the single purpose of improving the Bucknell he loves.”
Bogan was vice president for the Class of 2013 Bucknell Student Government, but has participated in many other ways across campus. Throughout his time at the University, Bogan was also a Concert Committee member, a student member of the University’s Alumni Board, the special events coordinator for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and is currently the pianist in a jazz band. This is only half of the extracurricular activities Bogan has been a part of during his time here.
In addition to his efforts geared towards improving the University community, Bogan has brought people together in various venues and settings through his music. Shortly after the Sandy Hook School tragedy, Bogan and friends from his hometown of Wilton decided to organize a non-profit benefit concert to unite members of Newtown and Fairfield, Conn. The concert, titled “Come Together For Newtown,” was sponsored in part by the Wilton YMCA. Some of the genres of local artists who played at the concert included folk, jazz and metal. Bogan also performs two for-profit concerts a year in New York City.
As a result of the unprecedented turnout at “Come Together For Newtown,” Bogan and his friends, Mike Drogalis, Mario Baggio and Melody Curran, were able to donate to the Newtown Scholarship Association, a fund that provides a scholarship that enables a graduating Newtown senior who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School to go to college. Bogan will attend the graduation and award ceremony in June. Last week, Bogan’s concert was nominated for a grant, winning third place and $1,000 to add to the Newtown Scholarship Fund.
In the future, Bogan hopes to work in engineering consulting and renewable energy. In January 2014, Bogan will be spending three months in France working for a renewable energy company.
“I have a lot of interests,” Bogan said. “I know I want to be working with people and I know I don’t want to do the design side of engineering so I will probably be in engineering consulting in some capacity.”