What do backpacking across China, fusion energy and the Mallet Assembly all have in common? The University of Alabama math and physics senior Brian Kraus.

As the newly elected president of the Mallet Assembly, Kraus will oversee the affairs of Mallet’s 200 student members until his graduation in May.

“I’ve spent a really long time getting to know Mallet’s place in the University and what our potential is for making change,” Kraus said.

He said as president, he will be dedicated to keeping up the momentum that Mallet has had in the past semester to bring about positive change on campus.

“There are a lot of issues on campus that I think are being addressed now much better than they have been in the past,” Kraus said. “I’m very excited to keep that going, and I’m very excited to broaden that talk to include more groups.”

As a native of Colorado, Kraus came to The University of Alabama to take advantage of the financial opportunities he was offered but found himself finding far more opportunities than he anticipated. One of these opportunities turned out to be the Mallet Assembly.

Kraus joined Mallet during the first semester of his freshman year at the University after he attended a Mallet event and quickly realized he fit right in among the different personalities. He said although he enjoyed living in Ridgecrest South, he felt that his social circle there was small and unilateral. Kraus moved to Palmer Hall, Mallet’s current home, during his second semester.

“It was an opportunity to go from a suite of me and three roommates to a building of 70 roommates where I could hear so many ideas all the time,” Kraus said.

After two semesters at the University, Kraus experienced a culture shock, traveling to Chengdu, China for the entirety of his sophomore year. He toured all parts of the country and became fully immersed in Chinese culture. Kraus said living in China greatly influenced his perspectives on many things in life.

“There’s so much you can learn just from realizing how differently people think when you live in other places,” Kraus said. “It really challenges your foundations of thinking, and I really think it has helped me become a more flexible person.”

In his junior year, Kraus served on the Mallet executive board as both scribe and vice president. He recently underwent nominations and elections to beat out two other qualified candidates for the position of president after a voting process that lasted from 10 p.m.-3 a.m.

Former president Isaac Bell, a junior majoring in management information systems, said he is excited to see where Mallet will go under Kraus’s leadership.

“I think that having a fresh vision when a new leader steps in is important,” Bell said. “So, I have given Brian the resources he needs, and now I’d like to give him time without me influencing him to figure out for himself what direction he wants to go.”

Sophomore computer science major and Mallet’s Spring Admissions Chairman Brandon Izor said he feels Kraus will be a great fit for Mallet president.

“I see Brian being a catalyst for every individual in the assembly to do good work on campus and in the Tuscaloosa community,” Izor said.

Kraus is responsible for managing internal affairs within Mallet in addition to the external work he will do to bring about progressive social change on campus and forge better relationships between Mallet and other organizations on campus.

One of the most pressing issues Kraus will address within Mallet is the assembly’s move from Palmer Hall, its home since 2007, to the Highlands in fall 2014. The major issue in the move is the Highlands’ lack of common space to accommodate the level of sociability and sense of community that has come to define Mallet. Kraus said he is working hard to ensure that the “Mallet experience” will exist even after the move and that its members will be happy in their new home.

In the coming semester, Kraus said he hopes to better organize Mallet’s voice on campus. He also plans to better manage Mallet’s presence in the media as the assembly continues to grow in size and influence.

One issue Kraus said he is passionate about is the lack of representation of certain student groups on campus. As a former study abroad student, Kraus said he empathizes with the international students on campus.

“I think, on average, they’re not given the best chances to get into American life, to meet a lot of American people, to get the English and cultural practice, to get everything they really need to succeed here,” Kraus said.

Kraus said if international students were better interspersed in housing, they would have a better chance of integrating into American and campus culture rather than remaining in cliques based on their home countries. He also said he believes it is important to have strong student support to help welcome foreign students to campus life.

As Kraus prepares to graduate from the University and apply for graduate programs, where he hopes to eventually figure out fusion energy, he said he will undoubtedly use many of the skills he learned in Mallet to succeed in future endeavors. He said because of Mallet, he has learned to work with people, relate ideas to others and form a strong opinion.

“There’s a continuing ongoing process in Mallet of refining ideas that is so valuable,” Kraus said. “I don’t know that there are that many groups on campus that are getting that experience.”