Buccino Leadership Institute

Joseph Kajon

Mathematics major

Rutherford, New Jersey

"Negative events are inevitable, but it is up to you to determine if they will become an obstacle or a catalyst for change and innovation."

Image Joseph KajonNo matter what is happening in the world, you can almost always expect to see Joseph Kajon with a smile on his face. A kind and hard-working student, Joseph strives to expand his horizons and learn as much as possible. When he is not completing work, participating in his extracurricular activities, or socializing with friends, he spends his time learning new topics and skills, ranging from teaching himself JavaScript to figuring out just how old Pooh Bear really is. He has become familiar with adapting to change and welcomes new ideas and opportunities with open arms.

When looking at colleges, Joseph took time to understand their student environments. Joseph values personal connections and collaboration and wanted to attend a school that exemplifies that atmosphere. One of the reasons he chose Seton Hall University was the Math and Computer Science Department's size and individual appreciation for each student. Joseph likes to say, "Seton Hall is large enough where students have all the resources necessary for their success, but small in the sense that there is personal attention and support from faculty and administration for student development." In group settings, Joseph enjoys spending time to get to know each of the group members since he believes people work better in interactive and collaborative environments.

At Seton Hall, Joseph continues to expand his horizons and learn new skills. Since being competitively selected into the Buccino Leadership Institute, Joseph has continued to work on perfecting his strengths and improving his weaknesses as a leader, specifically by leading an interdisciplinary team of ten students from different backgrounds and colleges within the university on a semester-long research project. As co-chair of the Live Events committee in the Student Activities Board (SAB), Joseph manages to make a positive impact on the University and its students by bringing performers to campus while simultaneously learning new skills, such as the logistics behind planning large scale events and learning graphic design skills to create marketing plans for performers. Joseph also works as a Peer Advisor at school and guides 25 freshmen throughout their transition from high school to the end of their freshman year. Through all these experiences, Joseph can improve himself to make a bigger impact on his peers and school community.

As Joseph prepares to begin his career, he is excited to continue developing as a leader at Seton Hall University. He looks to learn even more skills for an internship over the summer in the Data Science field, hoping to analyze data and communicate the results clearly and concisely to determine the most effective approach to a situation. He also aims to continue getting more involved at school to make a greater impact on his school community. Of course, he plans to do all of this while having a smile on his face.

Seton Hall Career Highlights:

  • Competitively selected to be in the Buccino Leadership Institute 
  • Peer Advisor 
  • Co-Chair of the Live Events Committee of the Student Activities Board (SAB) 
  • Underclassmen Representative for the College of Arts and Science Leadership cohort in the Leadership Student Council 
  • Peer Tutor for the Academic Resource Center (ARC) 
  • Member of the Student Alumni Association (SAA)