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HANOVER TWP. — There was a time when Michael Dubinski never would have expected to become a college trustee before finishing college. But then, there was a time when he never expected a “dormant” peanut allergy to derail his life plans.
So, yeah, the 20-year-old Misericordia University sophomore who now sits on the Luzerne County Community College board of trustees is pretty good at adjusting to changes despite his youth. Maybe that’s because he started out with very high aspirations.
“I wanted to be president of the United States since I was 5 years old,” Dubinski said with a laugh Friday, three days after the Luzerne County Council appointed him to finish the term of LCCC trustee Joseph Van Jura, an attorney, who resigned earlier.
As Dubinski matured, that POTUS plan morphed into a burning desire to join the military. “I wanted to be a physical therapist in the army, helping veterans to go back into combat.” He landed a nomination from U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, D-Hazleton, applied to West Point and went through the medical review.
“I was ultimately rejected because of a peanut allergy,” Dubinski said, adding that it is an allergy with little real world consequences so far. “I can be around them, I can eat things that have traces of peanuts, I’ve even been able to eat peanuts and have nothing happen. The department of defense said that they didn’t really care about the details. I was out.”
The back-up plan had always been to find a college and join the ROTC, but it turned out the same medical caveat would apply. Misericordia was something less than a third choice.
“I wasn’t sure I was totally satisfied,” Dubinski said of his decision to enroll. “It almost felt like it was the best I could do. I was slow to appreciate it.”
“Now I could almost kick the kid who was saying that right in the head,” he laughed. “I love it here, I’m thriving here. I wouldn’t be where I am if I weren’t here.”
Where he is includes being president of his class, a swimming coach for youngsters 6 to 14 in a nearby league and now LCCC trustee.
He said he submitted an application for the board because “I felt could have an impact on our policies and community at a young age without having a full-time legislative position, and that this would allow me to continue my academic career.”
County Council appoints trustees from a list of those who applied, met qualifications and successfully completed an interview by a council committee, Council Chair Linda McClosky Houck said. When a vacancy develops, council members can nominate someone from the list. If more than one nominee is put forward, the council votes to narrow it to one, then votes to appoint that person.
Dubinski was nominated at Tuesday’s council meeting by Stephen J. Urban, a move seconded by Kathy Dobash. Marc Murphy was also nominated, and the council voted 5-4 in favor of Dubinski, with two members absent. The vote after that to give him the trustee seat was unanimous.
Urban called Dubinski “impressive” and said via email that he felt the board of trustees “needed someone who has understanding of what it is like to be a college student and the challenges they face in today’s economic and social climate. I also believe the board needed at least one younger individual who has an understanding from a different point of view other than ‘middle aged individuals’ or ‘educators’.”
Does it make sense for a college sophomore to be a college trustee?
“Yes, absolutely,” Dubinski said. “I know what my peers are going through, I know their thoughts: ‘Am I going to get a job,’ ‘How do I pay off my debt?’”
And he looks forward to working with fellow trustees who are, to a person, older than he is — many more than twice his age, a few retired from a lifetime of work in education.
“I study these issues. I’m a government and law major. I’m passionate about politics. I know what I’m getting into,” he said. “I believe I can sit at the table with colleagues who are older than I am and ultimately know what I’m talking about and contribute.”
His biggest goals are bold: A tuition-free community college and a college that offers “a more dynamic response to the 21st century.”
Yes, eliminating tuition would mean higher taxes somewhere, but Dubinski becomes most passionate when describing what he clearly feels would be transformative.
“It’s something we don’t need to be afraid of,” he said, noting the decision decades ago to make high school free reshaped the nation, helping build a strong middle class and the world’s largest economy.
“I think the return on the investment would be the same,” he argued. “It would be beneficial to the county, to the commonwealth and ultimately benefit the country as a whole.”
All of which would help make college graduates, both native to the area and enrolling from elsewhere, more likely to stay after getting their degrees.
“I love this community,” Dubinski said. “I want it to be better for my kids than it was when I started.”