Student Profile: Harrison George

Many know him as that funny guy in Zoiks!, but Harrison George, junior sociology major, has done some serious stuff around campus.

His involvement in Zoiks!, Environmental Club, Alpha Kappa Lambda, Students for Obama and Amnesty International keeps George active on campus and well known to many students.

“College is about more than just classes – it’s a time to really develop and determine who you are,” George said. “The best way to learn about yourself is to give back and get involved. It doesn’t matter what you do, just find something you are passionate about.”

Named after former Beatle’s guitarist George Harrison, Harrison George was born in Dodge City to a diverse family. His father is part African American and part Japanese American, his mother is from Dutch, German and Irish descent.

Early in George’s life, his family moved from Dodge City to Wichita. George attended Maize High School.

After graduating from Maize, George decided to attend Emporia State and pursue a degree in sociology. George chose sociology because it’s something he has always enjoyed learning about and believes that it’s “like people-watching only on a higher level.”

George had many reasons for deciding to come to ESU.

“I picked ESU originally because it's close to home and offers small class sizes,” George said. “Over the last three years, I've grown to really love and respect this school and this town. I am thrilled to be here every day.”

George immediately became involved in many activities at ESU. His personality and involvement stands out to many people around campus.

“He is just so involved,” said Todd Fitzsimmons, senior economics major. “He has a great personality, which makes him really approachable to other students around campus.”

During his freshman year at ESU, George became involved in Zoiks! Having participated in improv in high school, George felt energized to further pursue this branch of comedy.

George feels that the group has allowed him to meet many talented people who have become his close friends. The audience participation of Zoiks! also means a lot to George.

“The audience feedback has just been tremendous,” George said. “I'm fortunate to be involved in something that allows an audience. Imagine being a dentist and not having anyone around to clap and cheer when you do a great job. I am happy that there are people who enjoy watching improv as much as I love playing it.”

George has become a familiar face to many through his performances with the Zoiks! comedy troupe.

“Harrison’s work in Zoiks! is impressive (and) hilarious at every show,” said Serena Schumacher, junior psychology major. “His performances in Zoiks! were what made me realize how important he is on the ESU campus.”

George is also active in the Environmental Club. He joined the club when it was just beginning. George has always tagged himself an environmentalist and hopes to spread that way of life to other ESU students.

“I like to think most people are pro-earth,” George said. “They just need more information and an efficient way to help. The goal of the club is to make environmentalism easy and fun.”

George surprised himself when he decided to join the fraternity Alpha Kappa Lambda.

“I never thought I'd be a frat dude, but joining AKL is one of the best choices I've ever made,” George said.

George feels that, through AKL, he has been able to make a great group of friends with which he will remain close over the years.

“These men are winners all the way, and when they are running Fortune 500 companies and I'm living in a van down by the river, I hope we are still close friends,” George said.

This year George has become the student coordinator of the group Students for Obama. This group helps to spread the message of Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama.

George has always been interested in politics and, during this election, George has become very passionate about Obama and the message he brings. He hopes to encourage students to become involved in politics now because of the importance and historical significance of the upcoming election.

“This upcoming election will be an incredible turning point for our country,” George said. “I personally believe that Obama has the ability to help us overcome our problems and grow as a nation. But really, the important lesson is to simply get involved. This is everyone's country and we all have to work to improve it.”

After George completes his degree, he hopes to accomplish a number of goals in his post collegiate career. These include moving to a bigger city such as Chicago, where he will participate in more improv comedy and hopes to join a non-profit organization such as PETA.

At some point, he also hopes to live in another country like Italy or Japan, host a talk show and start his own clothing line.

“Maybe I will open clothing line for men who are too skinny,” George said. “It’s impossible to find a good fitting pair of jeans.”

From his experiences, George has learned a great deal about himself and others. George has two pieces of advice he hopes to pass on to all freshmen entering the university. The first of these is to leave the country at some point. He believes that it is an invaluable experience to see how people live in other countries and in turn come to a more global understanding. The second piece of advice George has for students is to always enjoy life.

“Don't spend all your time making other people laugh,” George said. “As a life-long class clown, I'm starting to realize it's much more rewarding to do things that make you laugh.”