Nick Madincea

Transcript

Derek Smith:
Hello, and welcome to Baylor Connections, a conversation series with the people shaping our future. Each week we go in depth with Baylor leaders, professors, and more, discussing important topics in higher education, research, and student life. I'm Derek Smith, and today, we are visiting with Baylor's Student Body President, Nick Madincea. Nick Madincea is a senior from The Woodlands. He's been in student government since 2021, with roles including student senator, and external vice president before assuming the role as president this school year. A double major in economics and finance, Madincea is a leading young entrepreneur focused in the drone industry. Of course, in his role here at Baylor, he's able to be a part of a lot of exciting things with a lot of very interesting people, I'm sure. Nick, thanks so much for taking the time to join us today.

Nick Madincea:
Absolutely, it's a joy to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Derek Smith:
We're glad to have you here and dive into the role of student body president, things you and your colleagues are working on, the role of student government. I'm curious as we dive in, I know as student body president, you have a whole lot of things on your plate and some fun things on your plate as well, but to what extent do those pull you out of the normal rhythms of being a college student? How often do you feel like, okay, I am a normal college student with all the normal college things? What does that look like to you?

Nick Madincea:
That's a great question. Part of the fun of this job is that you are constantly vacillating between being one of our 15,213 undergraduate students and then being the voice for and representative of these students as a whole body. It's been quite a joy to be able to do that this year and I compare it to, imagine if there's two lawns and you're constantly jumping between them quite literally within minutes of each other, and that's something I've been experiencing this week. Just yesterday, I had to miss class to participate in a strategic planning group and figure out what Baylor is going to do for the next five years, and it's been a joy to be on that and be able to be a voice for our undergraduate student body. Just for the record, I did not skip class. It was an excused university absence. Just in case the provost is listening, I was excused. It's been a joy to be able to do that and be able to jump between these two parts of campus.

Derek Smith:
Now, do you ever have to find yourself, to put you on the spot, are you ever at an official event you have to be at in the back of your mind you're thinking, oh, I've got this assignment due tomorrow when I get home, I'm going to have to do this, or, oh shoot, did I remember to do this?

Nick Madincea:
It happens at least once a week, especially last week we had the regents on campus. It was a joy to be able to present to them, but was definitely thinking about a really tough economics test I have tomorrow, so wish me luck.

Derek Smith:
All right, good luck to that, yes, as we visit with Nick Madincea, Baylor Student Body President. You mentioned the regents meeting, the strategic planning. Where are some places, if we were to look at your calendar, we might find you in a given week?

Nick Madincea:
Well, it's a joy to be able to be in this job, especially this year. As you know, it's a really unique year to be a student at Baylor University and especially, to be a student leader, between the arrival of Indian Bell and the new facilities that we have opening. You'd probably see me on campus in a couple different ways, both internally and student government, externally to student government. First and foremost, you would see me working with our student government leaders. We have 92 this year that have either been sworn in or been elected to our student government. You'd see me working with them and working through issues on behalf of the student body and then externally, student government, you would see me doing things on campus, like meeting with the Board of Regents, which is a privilege that the student body president has once a quarter.
You would see me working with the strategic planning group, which as I'm sure many of your listeners are aware, is right in the next five-year plan for our university. It's quite a privilege to be the only undergraduate student who is on that group alongside many of the really prominent people on this campus, the provost, chief of staff, to the president, and a lot of really notable professors who are doing some world-class research. You'd also see me out in the Baylor family talking to community members, learning about events and what's going on in their lives and just getting to know them. It's a joy to be able to do that. Even yesterday at Career Fair, we had over 140 employers on campus, and it was great to talk with students and talk with the director of the career center and learning about, hey, how are people feeling about getting jobs? Like many people on this campus, I graduate in three months and I'm thinking about, hey, what comes next? It's a joy to be able to walk through some of those trials and tribulations and challenges with our students.

Derek Smith:
Visiting with Nick Madincea, and Nick, you mentioned you say 92 student leaders in student government. Take us inside student government a little bit. How would you describe the mission of it and its role here at Baylor?

Nick Madincea:
Within our student government, we have three co-equal branches. We're organized just like the United States Federal Government where we have our legislative branch, which is our student senate. We have our executive branch, which is our office, the student body president, and then our external vice president, who's our chief ambassador. Then we also have our student court and our electoral commissioner. Our student court actually has quite a bit of power, and my personal opinion is they're really undervalued on campus. Not only can they hear parking ticket citation appeals, can also hear issues about Greek life and things that students just generally feel like was done in an unfair way. Within that, it's a joy to be able to work through problems for our student body on the weekly basis. If you were to take a look inside student government every week, what you would see is really complex problem solving.
When we look back at the history of Baylor University, we see that student government is typically the ones leading the charge on behalf of our students. For example, in 2015, we made the effort to transform Fountain Mall into the Center of Gravity for Campus Life. Prior to that, the fountain there was just a bunch of rubble and rocks and stuff that wasn't all that pretty to look at. Also, in 1985, we began a Davis service that today is known as Stepping Out. That was actually started by our student body president back then, who maybe people have heard about. His name is Ken Paxton, he's the attorney general of the State of Texas. Most notably in 1964, we voted to desegregate the student body, beginning a conversation about justice and our Christian mission that continues to this day. Whenever we look back at the history of Baylor, we see student government is out front, voicing the opinions of students and acting in a way that is seeking justice for our student body and seeking to improve the quality of student life.

Derek Smith:
Take us inside a little what that looks like, if you will. You think about priorities, you think about identifying priorities and then trying to make things happen. What's it look like getting your hands dirty with your fellow students and all that?

Nick Madincea:
I've been involved in student government for three years now. I started off as a student center in our legislative branch and then moved over to our executive branch as external vice president last school year. This year, I have the joy of serving as student body president. This year, we've really been focusing on doubling down on a project that we started as external vice president last year, and that is the student government airport shuttle. As many people are aware, getting to the airport is not easy. Right now, students are either going to Austin-Bergstrom, or DFW International. They're both approximately 120 miles away from us and about equidistant. What students are doing right now is they're either begging for rides from friends, or they're taking really expensive Ubers. On average, an Uber costs about $150. Last year, we set out to solve this issue, we started the student government airport shuttle with a charter bus that can hold 55 students at any given time. Originally, we charged $20. This year, we had to raise that to 25 just to account for a rise in the cost of the-

Derek Smith:
Still pretty reasonable.

Nick Madincea:
Yeah, exactly. Still much cheaper than 150 bucks. This year, we did three successful trips. We did one for Thanksgiving and then two for Christmas. In total, transported 165 students. Generating a revenue of just over $4,000, but saving the Baylor family over $20,000, 20,625 to be exact.

Derek Smith:
You're talking to your fellow students, you're just listening to what they say and listening for ideas that rise to the top.

Nick Madincea:
Yeah, absolutely, and really listening to the issues of students, and that's part of our leadership philosophy in student government is being close to the people we want to serve and being in community with them. I think that's one of the things that makes student government really unique, is when you look at something like, let's say the United States presidency. We'll swing for the fences here. The President of the United States is not necessarily living in community with the people he or she's serving. They're not necessarily close to them, they're very isolated.
Here at Baylor in our student government, we have the joy of being able to be in community with the people that we're serving and getting to hear their issues in a one-on-one very organic way. Another issue we heard going into this year was the issue of potholes on campus. That's one of the things our cabinet did was to do a campus-wide survey of all the potholes and sidewalk issues and Americans with Disability Act related issues. In total, we found over 770 issues on campus related to that. We've turned that data over to the hardscaping master plan committee and facilities, and also shared it with the regents last week.

Derek Smith:
How does it work when you identify something? I'm sure there's some things you all have the ability to just act on and there's others you have to take to different areas of campus, like the Board of Regents or whatever. What's it look like getting this info to the right places and people on campus and working with them to bring it about?

Nick Madincea:
It's a lot like what I would imagine being an air traffic controller to be like, because sometimes you're looking at the airspace and you're saying, cool, this is clear. We can bring that airplane right into the runway. Other times, you're having to work through different issues with traffic and making sure that no one bumps into each other. It really depends on the nature of the issue. Overall though, one of the really unique abilities of our student government is to have access to leaders on campus, leaders such as Dr. Kevin Jackson and different members of the President's Council. First and foremost, going to them and looking at how do we partner with you to solve these issues that we're experiencing? Once we engage in that conversation, looking at who are the right people for us to talk to about this on campus.

Derek Smith:
You got the access, you work together and make it happen. Visiting with Nick Madincea, Student Body President at Baylor, a senior economics and finance major. Nick, let's talk about the students that you get to serve with in student government. Of course, you've been at all different levels and you've got to see people climbing the ranks over the years. What have you enjoyed? What's unique about serving with this group? What do you love about serving with this group?

Nick Madincea:
Well, I think there is a predilection of people who hear government and they just assume, oh, it's stuffy, boring, kind of nerdy. People in student government are actually really creative and very passionate and very energetic about creating the campus that we want to see. For example, another person right now in our student government and our student senate is working on bringing water fountains to the campus, part of campus that's outdated and a little bit older and really does need some TLC. You get people who are really passionate about wanting to see Baylor be better.
Then you have all that with the backdrop of as students who are only here for so long. Only 3% of our student body chooses to stay in Waco after they graduate. When you discount all of those things and you consider the amount of time that we're actually in student government, it's really not long at all. Usually, less than a year for one single term as student body president, external vice president, student center, or whatever. It's a really intense thing. It's a very energetic thing and it's really a push to get things done, but it's a joyful thing to be able to be a part of.

Derek Smith:
Take us inside some of the meetings. What are your favorite parts of those interactions where you're debating or talking or planning? What's that like?

Nick Madincea:
I think it's so interesting, because in student government, we get to see some of the purest parts of what politics should be, which is talking through issues in a very straightforward way and having that heart of service and that focus on service. I would go so far as to say that I think the federal government could learn a lot from our student government in terms of how we serve and love our students and love those who really elected us and put us in this position.

Derek Smith:
That's great. Visiting with Nick Madincea. Let me ask you, Nick, why was student government the right fit for you? When did you first start thinking that was something you wanted to do?

Nick Madincea:
My background is as an entrepreneur in the drone industry. Really started to get interested in government as a drone entrepreneur because drones had a very Wild West-y feel to them when I was getting started back in 2016, very similar to NIL today where there was a lot of legislation that was kind of up and coming, but people didn't really know the rules. It was very much, hey, we're going to just go and do this and we don't know what regulators are going to say about it, it was really interesting to see that, and that's what started to tip me off towards life of government service and public policy. Then when I got here to Baylor, I actually applied for the position of student regent, and the bad news is I got rejected from that. The good news is that God had a much better plan, and that was me being involved in student government.

Derek Smith:
Well, okay, so you mentioned you've been a drone entrepreneur going back to 2016. I think if people are doing the math in their head, they might think, were you about 13 or 14 years old when you started? Tell us about your path to Baylor.

Nick Madincea:
My path to Baylor is pretty nontraditional. I'm 26 right now. I'm a nontraditional student and a transfer student as well. To my knowledge, the first student body president who's been either one of those things. Graduated from high school in 2016 and actually decided to co-found a drone company right after graduation. Our goal was to teach people how to fly small drones, like what you would see on the shelf of Best Buy inside of a flight museum in Southeast Houston in a big hangar. It was a joy to be able to do that. It really taught me a lot about people and business and politics and project management and things of that nature. A lot of skills that translated directly to student government and this life of politics and public service that I'm pursuing.

Derek Smith:
You started the business right out of high school. Was college a part of that right off the bat, or did you delay that intentionally? What did that look like for you?

Nick Madincea:
Originally, I told my mom, I'm a son of a single mother, I said, "I'm just going to take one year off. I'm going to see how this goes." Then one year turned into four, and along the way, converted from atheism to Christianity. The great irony of this was that when I was a senior in high school and I was an atheist, I actually came to Baylor, I got accepted here, and I said, "Man, I'm never going to go to school with all these crazy Christian people. There's no way. None of this makes sense. Everyone's got so much joy, everyone's so happy I'm never coming here." Here I am, many years later as student body president, as a Christian, as one of those joyful people, and it's been such a pleasure and God is so good and faithful through that.

Derek Smith:
Well, I imagine we could take a whole another minute, probably unpacking that story.

Nick Madincea:
It's pretty unconventional. Make a long story short, just became best friends with a pastor and came to a church and had my catharsis right there and was like, man, I'm home.

Derek Smith:
That's great. Well, we're certainly glad to have you here as we visit with Nick Madincea. You came to Baylor and you've already got this business going. Was economics and finance always what you were thinking when you were looking at college?

Nick Madincea:
Yeah, certainly business. I come from a business family. My uncle is and entrepreneur in England. That was always on my mind and I really wasn't sure what flavor of business, but really fell in love with economics and finance. I tell people all the time, I study money and assets. Saying I'm a double major in economics and finance is just a fancy way of saying that.

Derek Smith:
Drones, I'm assuming they started as maybe a hobby somewhere along the way for you. What is it that fascinates you about them and makes you want to really invest in that area?

Nick Madincea:
I was blessed to be able to start taking flying lessons in a four-seat aircraft, a Cessna 172 Mike model when I was 12 years old and have had a lifelong love of aviation. Then when drones really started to come online in the mid-2010s, 2016 and forward, I was like, "Wow, his is really an incredible technology that is really going to democratize access to airspace." Because at that time, I was looking at it through the lens of a student pilot of man, there's so much I had to do to become a student pilot. I had to go through a department of Homeland Security background check.
I had to go through a medical clearance to make sure I was physically fit to fly. I had to learn things in a 300-page book and become this quasi-airspace lawyer. I had to learn a lot about engineering and how airplanes work and the various systems on the aircraft. Then it was like, boom, drones are here and you can just go to Best Buy with a thousand dollars and walk out and then fly that and access our national airspace system in a matter of hours. That was really what got me interested in it was that ability to democratize the asset of airspace.

Derek Smith:
You started this business, as you mentioned, you're a transfer student, nontraditional student at age 26, a few years older than most of the students you're serving with. How do these different threads inform you in this role as student body president? What do you think is different about how you're able to approach it than maybe if you had been a 21, 22-year-old in a traditional setting?

Nick Madincea:
I think many my peers are deeply talented, and it's been a joy to be able to step into this because I take nothing for granted. As someone who started a company that eventually grew to about five people, I understand what it's like to start from really the baseline with absolutely nothing, no direction, no mentorship, very little money, very little resources and assets, to be able to grow that into something from there. I think stepping into this role, it's been a joy to see all the resources that Baylor pours into our students. I certainly don't take any single one of those for granted. We have such an abundance of blessings on this campus and great people and people who are really strong in their faith and truly want to see our student body grow and grow in their walk with the Lord and also, grow as professionals and as students and as people who are seeking an education.

Derek Smith:
Talking with Nick Madincea. Nick, so you've had leadership experience as an entrepreneur. What are some other areas? Are there other areas that tie in to this idea of politics and student leadership?

Nick Madincea:
Yeah, certainly through economics and finance, I've learned a lot about that and learning a lot about things like if you tax a company, consumers are always going to end up paying that tax no matter how you format it. Companies will always pass forward their expenses to their customer base and thus, to you and I. Learning things like that has been great, and just being involved on campus and seeing the incredible diversity and the beauty that arises from that diversity has been a really informative experience for me as well.

Derek Smith:
Do you have some external political experience as well?

Nick Madincea:
I do. Last summer, I had the pleasure of interning for a presidential campaign out of North Florida, and then prior to that, actually interning the United States Capitol for the man who is currently the second-highest ranking member of the House of Representatives right now.

Derek Smith:
Well, as you look ahead here to the end of this year and then really beyond, what are some things that are most exciting to you as you think about what's on the horizon here at Baylor?

Nick Madincea:
I think we don't realize how unique Baylor is. Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of going up to Yale to go visit a long-time friend of mine. It was really interesting going there because in all honesty, I applied to Yale when I was looking at going to colleges, I got rejected. Thank God I did, I love Baylor. It was so interesting to see what campus was like there. Because when you go to Yale, Yale was founded in the early 1700s, even before our country was founded. You have all these really old buildings, beautiful concrete, wrought iron, just great design.
Then on the sidewalks, you have red graffiti spray-painted on the sidewalk. You can just feel the heaviness of that and the darkness of that place. Then you come back to Baylor and it's light and you can feel it and people love each other, and there's joy here. I think that we don't realize how unique that is to have at Baylor and to have in an educational institution. What really excites me is that I think as the world continues to grow and evolve, that Baylor is going to remain a light in a world and an industry where it's desperately needed. As President Livingstone said in her inaugural address, "The world needs a Baylor."

Derek Smith:
What's going to be next for you once you graduate?

Nick Madincea:
I'm excited to share that I have accepted a position with Lockheed Martin up in Fort Worth. I will be working on sustainment for the F35 program working with the United States of America. Our three end customers, the Navy, Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, and also, our NATO partners to keep the most advanced aircraft flying that has ever been produced, that's the F35 Lightning. I'm really excited to be working for that.

Derek Smith:
Well, congratulations to you on that. That's very exciting. Finally, one little closing question for you. If you are giving advice to someone who wants to be the next student body president, what are just two or three little bullet point things you would tell them, or if there's a student who's thinking about coming to Baylor and wants to be involved in student government, what would you tell them they need to do or be ready for?

Nick Madincea:
I appreciate that question. One of the joys of social media is I've had a couple of people reach out to me with that exact same inquiry. What I would say first and foremost is focus on service. Bad things happen when you combine political positions with purely selfish ambition, and focus on the people around you. Focus on how you can serve them and love them, and really dig into your Christian faith. Dig into what it means to love your neighbor as yourself, and then hear their issues. They may not be cool, they may not be flashy. The pothole survey is probably not going to end up on the cover of a magazine anytime soon. It's not going to make it to the next edition of the Baylor Magazine.

Derek Smith:
Baylor Magazine cover story?

Nick Madincea:
Yeah, exactly. I would love that, don't get me wrong. It's probably not going to end up on the cover of the Baylor Magazine anytime soon. It was such a great work for our student body. Really concentrate on areas of service like that where people may have overlooked it, people may have forgotten about it or just put their attention elsewhere, so I would say that. I would say just really invest in the relationships around you and hear the wisdom of those here at Baylor who have been here for many years and really know how this goes. I'm blessed to have Dr. Jackson as a mentor and friend through this time. If we achieve anything successful this year, it's because of his wisdom and the wisdom of many others.

Derek Smith:
Absolutely. Well, really good stuff. Well, Nick, really appreciate you taking the time to share, taking us inside student government and helping us see all the great work that you and your colleagues are doing. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today.

Nick Madincea:
Thank you. It's been a pleasure to be here.

Derek Smith:
Absolutely. Nick Madincea, Student Body President at Baylor, our guest today on Baylor Connections. I'm Derek Smith. Reminder, you can hear this in other programs online at connections.web.baylor.edu, and you can subscribe to the program on iTunes. Thanks for joining us here on Baylor Connections.

Nick Madincea:
Sic 'em Bears.