Applications for the Student Board of Trustees have opened for the 2021-2022 academic year.

The Student Trustee is a position hand-selected by Gov. Jay Inslee and is responsible for many important decisions at CWU like selecting the President of the University. The current student trustee, Nate McMillon helped select the incoming President Dr James Wohlpart.

“As the trustee, it’s just [about] making sure that all the best decision making [is happening] for all of these Central students, and really in the larger picture, the students of Washington state as a whole,” McMillon said. “I knew this transition of looking for a new president was something that was going to be crucial to how Central is going to move forward in the future, even past the point of me being here.”

With the position opening every year, McMillon said students who want to see CWU improve and move in a positive direction should consider applying.

“It is a one year opportunity to be in the role, but you still have your chance to have your voice heard and to be a representation for, as I said earlier, all the Central students in decisions that affect Central at an institutional level,” Mcmillon said.

For a convincing application, McMillon said to show how you are already involved with CWU.

“It hasn’t been easy to get involved, but you want to show something that shows how you engage with your community, how you engage with both your peers [and] leaders around you, even staff and faculty,” McMillon said. “That shows that you can be [not only] friendly, but you can [also] communicate easily with any type of people.”

Students from all majors can apply for the position, as long as they want to make a positive change for their fellow students. 

“What I really appreciate is that all the board members there really appreciate having a student trustee on the board, and appreciate getting a student’s perspective,” McMillon said.

Other than the mandatory meetings, McMillon said he dedicates five to ten extra hours to the Board per week.

McMillon said he applied for two reasons: the first being a personal feeling of responsibility.  

“I wanted to make sure that we’re steering the ship in the right direction through this pandemic, because nothing’s going to be the same, nothing is going to be life as usual anymore,” McMillon said.

The second reason was making sure all students got their voices heard. 

“Before coming onto this I wasn’t even aware that this was the year that we were going to be bringing on a new president, so when I found that out, he just gave me an opportunity to be just as vocal as I could be about what students are looking for in this experience, and being able to share that at a board level was just an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” McMillon said.

McMillon said he recommends students use all options available to make their voices heard and to begin having those conversations with those around them.

“It isn’t necessarily about a platform [or] changing facets,” McMillon said. “If you can educate one person, if you can change the perspective of the individual, then that can continue to have a domino effect.”

Applications for the student trustee position are due by April 30. More information, as well as the application itself can be found on the events calendar at https://www.cwu.edu/event-calendar