NKU had a new president on Monday with the kickoff of Presidential Ambassadors’ third annual event, President for a Day. Colin Kremer traded places with President Mearns, attending and partaking in board meetings, interviews and conference calls while Mearns sat in on Kremer’s classes.

“It is really cool to see both the presidential and the student perspective,” Kremer said.

Attending the soft opening of the Student Success Center, Kremer was available to give a few comments as president of the campus. Mearns praised Kremer’s ability to adapt to the position.

“He has actually overtaken me. He was speaking without notes today and has settled in very nicely,” Mearns said.

Although a good speaker, Mearns had his trepidations of attending Kremer’s speech class later in the afternoon.

“Hopefully, they won’t put me on the spot, but I’m glad there aren’t any exams today,” he said.

This year, the Presidential Ambassadors changed the raffle guidelines. Instead of donating the money and goods to local charities, donations were given to the Annual Fund for Excellence.

The Annual Fund for Excellence supports anything from scholarships to instructional materials and equipment for classrooms helping to make a difference in students’ lives.

“As Presidential Ambassadors, we are the face of the university, so we wanted to give back to the university,” said Sara Daugherty, campus outreach chair for Presidential Ambassadors.  “In the past we have accepted clothing, cans and cash, but this year we did strictly just cash so we could donate it to the Annual Fund for Excellence.”

Graduating seniors were offered the opportunity to buy a paver or have a special message in the commencement program in exchange for opportunities to be chosen for President for a Day. Seven different seniors purchased a brick paver, automatically putting their name in the raffle 100 times.

Flynn Ashley, the current president of Presidential Ambassadors, could not be entered into the raffle, but as a senior, he purchased a paver and entered three friends into the raffle. Colin Kremer was one of them.