Nine months before he came to North Park University, senior Nico Canete was on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf launching air strikes against ISIS as a member of the U.S. Navy.
So it’s not surprising that when he arrived on campus as a vet, Canete was instrumental in recovering a long-lost plaque honoring North Parkers who served in World War II. Along with Dr. John Laukaitis, assistant professor of education, Canete successfully lobbied to have the plaque prominently displayed on campus.
Veterans, and service to country in general, are important to Canete, who recently branched out into politics, beating out dozens of other applicants to land an internship with Governor Bruce Rauner’s re-election campaign.
“I’m really looking forward to all the experience I’m getting by working on a major political campaign,” said Canete, a politics and government major.
It’s experience he hopes to apply to his own future, potentially as an elected official.
“I do hope to run for office someday, but if I do, I imagine it would be on the local or state level, such as a school board, town council or as a state representative,” said Canete, who is from Northwest Indiana.
“But if I were elected, I would be intentional about only serving a maximum of two terms, as I do not believe in being a career politician or getting rich off of public service.”
After applying for the internship, Canete went through a few interviews before being offered the job. Working since October in Rauner’s downtown headquarters, he performs tasks like analyzing media clips for the communications team and verifies the legitimacy of campaign petitions using an online database.
In addition, Canete is the president of Pi Sigma Alpha, NPU’s chapter of the national political honor society; organizes events for the Student Veteran Association; and is a resident assistant in one of the campus apartment buildings. He spends his free time reading the Wall Street Journal, working out, or hanging out with his fiancée.
Canete, who graduates in May, hopes to end up in public relations, business operations, or law enforcement.
Whatever path he chooses, he said he will be forever influenced by his time at North Park, which he chose in part because of its dedication to service, and by his professors, including history lecturer Dr. Michael Johnson.
“His World War II class opened my eyes to the study of history, and the importance of understanding it so that we may draw closer to truth, learning lessons and developing solutions to challenges in the future,” Canete said.
A future Canete is clearly ready to face.