Student Member Council of Trustee Search

        Greetings potential student trustee, 

        As the current student trustee, I want to share with you the roles, responsibilities, benefits, challenges, and time commitment involved with this position. 

        I unfortunately only had one academic year where I fulfilled the duties of the student trustee; however, I will share with you my experience during this short time.  Your role is to represent the student body at Shippensburg University as you participate in the quarterly meetings, commencement ceremonies, evaluation processes, and events.  I do not have any background in politics; however, I approached these meetings with an open mind, excited to learn from the trustees who are experienced with the functioning of PASSHE and Ship’s role, needs, and challenges.   

        If you are interested and enthusiastic in learning about PASSHE, how Ship makes important decisions regarding finances, expansion, building development, implementing new programs, etc. then this is the perfect position for you.  There is no background required for any of the aforementioned topics, but you will learn from and be guided by the senior board members who are thrilled to share their knowledge and value your voice.  You will also be asked to take part in the student senate meetings, which will be a weekly commitment of a few hours.  On average, you will have one event per month with the trustees.  Every three months the trustees hold a full meeting and that will take a good portion of the day. 

        I was unable to attend the first meeting of the fall semester due to an athletic event (the NCAA championships). The trustees were very understanding, and took the extra time to fill me in. I also made an effort to attend every function I could and presented the dates I was unavailable well in advance. By participating in the sessions, a whole new world has been made known to me. I really appreciate efforts to include me, as I believe this position was a valuable experience that prepared me well for future interaction with important and knowledgeable people in “the real world”. My one regret is that I wish I had an extra year to learn more because I believe I would benefit from greater understanding of the system as a whole.  

        I wish you the best as you pursue this prestigious position, and I encourage you to contact me with any questions. 

Sincerely, 

Student Trustee