Results for the run-off elections were announced Thursday morning, revealing that Oliver Hall Senator will be Grace Johnson, and our future ASWU president is Rachel Ayres.
Ayres said that when she heard the news, she was very excited. But she was also “disoriented [and] honestly, not expecting it.”
Our new ASWU president has a unique task on her plate, due to Beck Taylor’s decision to step down. To find a new university president, Whitworth is creating a Presidential Search Committee. According to Ayres, the ASWU president will be the only student representative on that committee. She’s excited to apply the skills she’s learned through being a student ambassador in order to “be a student voice within the Presidential Search Committee.”
As ASWU president she hopes to find ways to work together with nearby universities similar to Whitworth. She hopes to find a way for Whitworth’s executive team to meet up with other executive teams from colleges such as Gonzaga and Whitman, to facilitate an exchange of ideas. She believes her personality is uniquely suited to this role, saying, “I tend to be someone who loves to make connections, and I think this is a time where it’s needed to feel connected.”
Ayres didn’t mention any other concrete plans she has for her presidency, saying that “I’ve been wary of promising anything. I’m very fresh in this role, so I don’t have super concrete plans.” She does want to ensure that in her role as president she concentrates on “furthering Whitworth’s mission, continuing to make sure students are equitable represented.”
By this time next year, Ayres hopes “I can say that I’ve accomplished letting every student know that their story is valuable. [I want] people to know that they are wanted, known, and loved here, and not just another person in the crowd.”
Ayres hopes that this experience as ASWU president will start to open some doors for when she graduates.
She’s very excited to continue being a part of the ASWU community. She said “I think I’m looking forward to a lot of fun. That doesn’t sound super presidential, but it’s easy for me to be passionate about this job.”
