“It’s been a long five years,” Associated Students of Central Washington University (ASCWU) President Hondo Acosta-Vega said reflecting on his time as president. “All I can say is just, thank you for putting your trust in me, and for your support, and I hope that moving forward, I can keep making everybody proud.”

Acosta-Vega has been a CWU student for five years, a journey he said he could never have dreamed of. “I didn’t ever think I would ever come to college, and it took some people pushing me to get me to come to college,” Acosta-Vega said. 

“I graduated high school with a very low 1.7 GPA, and I didn’t think I had it cut out to be a college graduate. So knowing that I get to walk into commencement here in just two weeks is just a very surreal experience that I’m just really excited to get a chance to actually experience,” Acosta-Vega continued.

Now, as the latest generation of Wildcats prepares to graduate, so does Acosta-Vega, whose year-long role as ASCWU President will soon be taken over by Jada Aurellia Chaplin. In the closing days of his term, Acosta-Vega sat down with The Observer to talk through the legacy he has worked hard to leave behind.

The Wins

Acosta-Vega, who is an Instructional Foundations major, double-minoring in Creative Writing and Comparative Religions, spoke about the number of projects he has taken pride in during his time at CWU, starting during his time working with the College of Education and Professional Studies and finishing with his time as ASCWU President.

“For me, one of the biggest [wins] that I can think about is when I was the Senator for the College of Education and Professional Studies, when they were starting the reconstruction conversations for Black Hall for the Multi-Cultural Center (MCC),” Acosta-Vega said. “There weren’t a lot of conversations that were being done with my department about what was going to become of the education space that was in that space.”

So Acosta-Vega worked hard, he stated, to make sure that the educational space would be able to be moved, and after a period of back-and-forth, it was. “They were able to ensure that we would get a new education space in Black Hall, which is now right across from the MCC in a really, really nice multi-room space, and so that was definitely one of the biggest successes,” Acosta-Vega continued.

Following his time as Senator for the College of Education and Professional Studies, Acosta-Vega went on to become ASCWU Senate Speaker. According to Acosta-Vega, the biggest success that he landed during his time as Speaker came to fruition during the Services and Activities Committee (S&A) funding situation last Spring, wherein proposed S&A budgets defunded multiple aspects of student life, including Student Media.

“The number one [win] was when we were able to work with The Observer and our students in our campus after the S&A deliberation last year,” Acosta-Vega said. “Working with my team, working with the Senate and advocating to the Trustees that there were mistakes that were made, and the importance of our student media and our other groups on campus.”

“Even though it was a little bit of a struggle, we were able to advocate to give ourselves another chance for this year for the new S&A deliberations, and it looked great,” Acosta-Vega continued. “I call that a really big victory, knowing that Student Media stands strong, and I got to support all of you in that endeavor, alongside the Senators.”

Acosta-Vega moved on from his time as Senate Speaker to win the general election for ASCWU President, a role he’s held throughout the 2025-2026 academic year. “In the Presidency, man, there’s a lot,” Acosta-Vega said. “We focused this year on just rebuilding Student Government, being more active, and then focusing on the recruitment of first years and second years, and so it’s going to be really exciting to see what becomes of Student Government next year, knowing that a lot of the students that we were able to recruit this year are going to keep going, which is what we wanted to do, so it was really exciting to see.”

The Challenges

During the fall quarter, ASCWU faced sexual assault allegations against one of its student leaders. Acosta-Vega led ASCWU through the situation that followed, which involved the removal of the student and the reappointment of the position.

“That was a challenge that none of us could have truthfully foreseen, and my biggest goal in that situation was to just be authentic and make sure that it was very clear where we stood, where our values were,” Acosta-Vega said. “That behavior is not acceptable, and as you know, we were able to overcome that. A lot of the feedback I had received from the statements I had released was very positive and [that it was] very authentic. People didn’t feel like it was written falsely or it was hiding it or not addressing it, so that was definitely a challenge we faced.”

Other hurdles have also arisen during Acosta-Vega’s term as President, many of which have stemmed from budget challenges at the university, he said.

“We see how it’s [budgets are] affecting everybody, and we’re trying to advocate,” Acosta-Vega said. “I know next year the board, they are gonna keep doing the same, just trying to make sure we prioritize our students in our student life and experience here on campus.”

These budget challenges are not exclusive to CWU, Acosta-Vega said, and his communications with student presidents at other universities have brought to light similar challenges. “I’ve worked with students from across Washington State. I’ve seen how the budgets and other institutions have also been affected as well, and so it’s a challenge also working with other institutions to [say] how do we navigate those together as a group,” Acosta-Vega said. 

Outside of monetary challenges, this year is also a transition year for ASCWU, with six of the Board of Directors leaving. “That hasn’t happened since 2022, when that last major transition year occurred,” Acosta-Vega continued. “That’s definitely been a challenge of how do we, as some people would say, separate the information from the person. Just making sure the next board feels, and the student government as a whole, feels confident in their roles?”

Some Advice for The Future

Acosta-Vega shared his advice for his successor, Aurellia Chaplin, and the rest of ASCWU, stating that trusting themselves will be key to success.

“This is not just for Jada, but just for the campus as well: every president is different,” Acosta-Vega said. “I will never be Malik … Malik’s style and approach to things is very different than mine.”

“I want people to remember that Jada is coming into this role with her own way of wanting to be the President–she wants to lead student government and work with the student body,” Acosta-Vega continued. “I want her to remain her authentic self and just remember to be open-minded with everybody and to new ideas.”

But Acosta-Vega’s advice wasn’t limited to Aurellia Chaplin–he also shared his guidance for the university at large. 

“I’ve been on so many sides of this university,” Acosta-Vega said. “I really hope we keep going on this path to focusing on that student retention. And that’s a challenge with the budgets right now.”

“It feels like constantly the campus is under construction and it feels like more and more areas get closed off,” Acosta-Vega continued. “It becomes harder for students, and so I really hope that lessons over the next few years, and I really hope we try to focus more on the student experience, where we don’t have situations where … student groups [are] having to fight it out for funding in S&A, or clubs are running out of funding in winter quarter.”

“I really hope we remember to prioritize our student experiences first, because without the student body, Central just would not exist,” Acosta-Vega said.

What Comes Next

With his time as President coming to an end, Acosta-Vega took a moment to reflect on everyone who’s supported his career so far. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this role without their support,” Acosta-Vega said. “I was a little scared, because during the election last year, I kept thinking, ‘Am I doing enough? Have I done enough?’ And all I kept thinking to myself was, ‘no, I have to trust the student body,’ because I can show them what I’m capable of and what I have done, [and] the decision is ultimately theirs.”

“When the election results dropped, I screamed and I cried, because I felt like I had finally found a place where I felt like I was accepted,” Acosta-Vega continued. “It was a really big boost of confidence, but for everybody who supported me, who’s trusted me, and was there for me when I needed it, I couldn’t have done this role without them.”

Acosta-Vega also thanked a couple of individuals who were important for his success, stating, “My sister Dusty, she got me here, she pushed me, she was the one who kept telling me to go,” Acosta-Vega said. “My sister Renee was also one of the biggest inspirations to get me here, and so for everybody who stood with me through all these times, years later, through thick and thin, I couldn’t have done this without them.”

While Acosta-Vega’s time as a Wildcat is coming to a close, his pursuit of higher education is still ongoing. “I just applied for Western’s master’s program in higher ed, so I want to keep working in higher ed,” Acosta-Vega said. “I’m hoping to get hired here, so I can keep working somewhere here on the campus and give back to the community once again. And if not, we’ll just see where I end up … I’ll still be in Ellensburg, sticking around, and so you’ll always see me pop in when I can, because I know people that will come looking for me if I don’t.”