Student trustee application

“[The student trustee] is a college governance position … at the highest level” said Brandon Lueken, program coordinator. The college is required to put forth three to five qualified applicants for nomination by the governor and confirmation by the senate. Students can apply for the position until 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25. There were no applicants at the time of print.
As the student trustee, “you are not meant to represent all of the students. You’re meant to represent a student perspective,” said Lueken. The position oversees the college and has voting rights on the board with few exceptions such as tenure. “It’s a whole different experience than student government. Here you are a part of the decisions that affect the entire school,” said Takhmina Dzhuraeva, student trustee. “The A[ssociated] S[tudent] G[overnment] president reports to the board of trustees,” said Paul Bell, legislative director of the office of student legislative affairs. “They get to sit there and make a presentation, and that’s pretty much it. The student trustee actually gets to vote.” For Dzhuraeva, the most fulfilling aspect of the position has been “to realize that there are so many people who do the work because they believe in you and they believe in your success.”
Despite being a position of power, there is a relatively low time commitment with a requirement to attend all trustee meetings which are held monthly, if that, according to Lueken. “[The most challenging] part was learning about the different departments we have at school … researching different departments and their functions,” said Dzhuraeva. “You go through training where you meet the head of every department and they give you a tour of every department… [but] you need to do the research and have a good understanding of the school.”
Dzhuraeva sees the ideal candidate as someone “who has been active in the campus student life, understands the current student issues … and the system, understands the mission and vision of the college. A student who is able to speak eloquently and represent the other 30,000 [plus] students in a professional manner.” “This is not a position to be taken lightly,” said Bell. “If you want to make a difference for the students of Bellevue College, this could be that position.”
On a technical level, at the time of application students “must have 24 college level credits with Bellevue College … be registered for at least 12 credits at the time of application … have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 … [and] be planning to be enrolled at the BC for the 2014-2015 academic year as a full-time student” which is defined as 12 or more credits. Additional documentation including a resume, cover letter and references are also required at the time of application. All trustee positions are unpaid and the selected student will serve a one year term. The position was created in 2012 following extended efforts by the officeofstudentlegislative affairs. While the piece of legislation opens up the opportunity for all community and technical colleges, Bellevue College and Edmonds Community College are the colleges to utilize the positions to date. “We pioneered this one … I tend to think of it as a Bellevue College bill,” said Lueken. “This is a part of our heritage … After two years, we are having trouble filling a position that our students and our student leaders fought so hard for.” To apply, students can contact Lueken at brandon. lueken@bellevuecollege. edu. Applications are due to C212 by 5 p.m. on April 25.