Contact: Matt Jarrell, current Associated Students Vice President of Activities, (360) 650-3463; ASVP.president@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM - Matt Jarrell has been elected Western Washington University's Associated Students president for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Matt Jerrell

The Associated Students (AS) is both the association of all WWU students and the official student governing body. The AS is responsible for providing a framework for a variety of experiential learning opportunities and serving as a vehicle for student involvement in the governance of the university.

As president, Jarrell, a native of Federal Way, will be chairperson of AS board meetings, oversee AS operations, and represent the Associated Students to the university's Board of Trustees. His goals include keeping higher education affordable while ensuring the quality of WWU is maintained despite its recent budget cuts.  Jarrell said he will hold listening sessions with students across campus to better represent them at meetings with WWU's Board of Trustees or President Bruce Shepard.

Jarrell, who was elected AS president for the 2009-2010 academic year by Western students during spring quarter, spent the past year working as the AS vice president for Activities.  As vice president for Activities, Jarrell created a new weeklong event called "Project Leadership" that was attended by more than 500 students.

Jarrell has been involved with many other activities across campus since his freshman year.  He was a Residence Hall Executive Board vice president, a resident advisor, an Orientation student advisor, a staff writer for the Western Front, a story editor for Klipsun Magazine and a small group facilitator for a Communication 101 class.

"I've always lived by the quote, 'be a labor big or small, do it well or not at all,'" Jarrell said. "You only live once, and I've always worked hard to leave my mark on the world."

Jarrell is a senior working toward completing a double major in Public Relations and Communication, with a minor in Diversity in Higher Education. After graduating from Western next spring, he plans to apply for the Teach for America program.

printer friendly