Wichita State senior Darren Beckham wears many hats and works to the point that some might say he’s a work-a-holic.

He is the legislative director for the Student Government Association; a student studying for political science and international studies majors and a minor in economics; is working on a political campaign; is a member of a fraternity; and belongs to the WSU Model United Nations team.

Last year, Beckham was an at-large senator and the Campus Issues Committee Chair and this year, apart from being the LD, he represents the Liberal Arts and Sciences College as a senator.

“As the senator—every senator sits on the Senate—we vote on every piece of legislation that is proposed by any of the three committees,” Beckham said. SGA also has Legislative, Judicial and Executive branches.

Each college at WSU is represented by at least one senator in the SGA and some colleges have more than one senator.

As the LD, Beckham works with state education officials.

“I work with the president; we go over to Topeka, pretty much monthly, and meet with the Kansas Board of Regents who oversee all the regent schools, WSU, K-State, etc.,” Beckham said.

He also meets with the Student Advisory Council and the student government presidents from the other regent schools to develop new legislative initiatives.

Beckham, as LD, is responsible for the SGA Legislative Journal. The journal contains the SGA constitution, bylaws, statutes and the Student Bill of Rights.

“There’s a lot of outdated stuff in there, so I’m having lots of meetings with different people on campus and with everyone in this office to make sure that this gets revised,” Beckham said.

Beckham gives the Senate updates about statewide issues that affect WSU.

“He is very responsible,” SGA President Luis Carbajal, a former legislative director, said. “It is going to be easier to guide him, but at the same time, it is going to be good on a review basis because I know what can be done from that position. I’m confident he is going to do a good job.”

Beckham has made a name for himself in political campaigns, too.

“In 2010, I was campaign manager for a guy named Joseph Scapa; he was new to politics,” Beckham said. Scapa won a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives.

“This year I am working for a guy named Gary Mason. He is running for State Senate against an incumbent Republican in District 31,” Beckham said. He said the Senate race has made him think harder because it is different from a House race. The primary election is Aug. 7.

Beckham also worked for U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran for a semester.

Beckham is pursuing a career in Intelligence collection. 

“I want to work in Intelligence and then eventually politics, but politics is the eventual goal.”

When Beckham finds himself in the office working late, he goes to “his” coffee shop to work on school and other responsibilities.

Beckham is also part of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, Student Ambassador Society, College Republicans, the Political Science Club and hopes to be part of the WSU National Model United Nations team that will compete internationally in the Galapagos Islands this fall.