If you’ve never met Lee Goble, ready your jaw because it’ll probably drop when you hear his voice.
He doesn’t get offended or annoyed when people point out his low register or booming call. In fact, he said, the day people’s mouths don’t fall open when they hear him open his will be a sad day.
“I’m a short guy with a tall voice who does everything he can every day for everyone else,” the second-year English student said. “But when people hear me they think, ‘Man, a 7-foot guy is coming up.’”
One morning several years ago, Goble woke up with a voice much deeper than the one he had the day before.
And Thursday morning, he hopes to wake up as the next student body vice president.
Goble’s goals aren’t necessarily for his benefit — at least, not directly. He’s looking to put his longer term plans into effect, so future administrations will have a foundation to build upon.
After two years living in Preston, one year in the student senate, a stint as a senate committee chair and a stretch as treasurer of the Residence Hall Association, Goble is seeking one of Student Government’s top spots. And if elected, he’ll set his sights on reform — effective legislation-writing in senate, survey sampling and SG branch relationships could use some attention, he said.
Goble said he's seeking the student body vice presidency because he gives his time to everyone else — whether he’s working to better USC’s survey system, working as a page at the Statehouse or working a conversation with a friend into his busy schedule.
“I’ve been late to senate before because I’ll be talking to someone about something important to them,” he said. “But I’m not going to leave them. That’s my job."
Student body vice president is by no means a stepping stone for Goble — he doesn't want to use the position to level up. It is, however, part of his plan to help everyone who's ever helped him.
After he graduates from USC, Goble wants to be a high school teacher, a principal and a superintendent to give back to the public education system that shaped him. Then, he'll set his sights on the state legislature. After a few years in state government, including a term or two as governor, he’ll make a run for the U.S. presidency.
Should he win over America, Goble said he has two options. He could move back to his native Gaffney, South Carolina and be the mayor, completing his circle of giving back to his past. Or he could be a janitor.
Either way, he said, he’d be happy — he’d be giving back.