Hey Broncos! I hope everyone did well on their finals. I know for me its always a relief to receive my final grades and have done better than I thought I did.

Summer has been great so far. I am training for four 5K races for Kalamazoo nonprofit organizations. I am really excited about them. One is for the SPCA, one is for Girl’s on the Run, one is called a Kalamazoo Mud Run where money is raised to build water wells in Uganda, and the last one is called a color run paint run (paint is thrown on runners every .25 miles!). Running for charity is a great excuse to get into shape.

I am spending WMU’s first summer semester being a Teaching Assistant for a Social Work class where students will community organize with a nonprofit organization called Building Blocks. I loved the class so much last summer that I decided to TA for it this summer, and am also interning with the nonprofit. I am gaining lots of hands on experience and am grateful for that. I am also interning with Hillel at WMU, the Jewish organization on campus during Orientation. Its amazing how when you come to college, lots of organizations want you to intern. In short, college is full of opportunities.

I have been giving tours every day to middle school and high school age students. Its so refreshing to watch perspective students get excited about college. The younger kids ask the funniest questions.

I am off for another run, hope everyone has a great weekend!

It’s a GREAT day to be a Bronco,
Erin

We made it to the last week of the semester! Its been a crazy semester but the end is near. All anyone has left is final exams.

Last week, my nonprofit leadership capstone class finally had the grant celebration we had been preparing for all semester. My class had $2,000 of grant money to allocate to many local nonprofit organizations. At the celebration, we announced the five organizations we decided to fund.

It was so exciting to see how happy people from each nonprofit were to receive the funding. It was amazing being in a class that allowed us to do real-world nonprofit activities.

This weekend, I spent two days in Flint, Michigan at University of Michigan Flint for a statewide student government that WSA from WMU attends bi-monthly called the Student Association of Michigan. The conference has been really awesome because the organization gives all fifteen public schools in Michigan the opportunity to work together. At the conference, we have passed legislation, discussed ways for each student government to work together, and networked with other student leaders.

I ran for the position of University Affairs Chair to help students from all Michigan universities be heard, and was elected. I am so excited to be able to continue my work in student government until graduation!

Well, I am off to study for final exams. Good luck with exams everyone and have a great summer!

It’s a GREAT day to be a Bronco,

Erin

Hey Broncos! Can you believe there is less than a month of school left? So crazy to think the semester has gone by so quickly.

Last week, I gave my farewell address as Student Body President and the new President was sworn it. It was both bittersweet and exciting for my term to end. I announced to the Senate that I donated $300, which is ten percent of my compensation for the position, to local non-profit organizations including the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, the YWCA, WMU’s development office, and more. I am proud of my donation and hope it will become a tradition amongst WSA presidents to donate part of their compensation to charity.

In the past few weeks there have been many on campus events through WSA. We had a Diversity Lock In and higher education rally in Lansing. I attended OUTspoken’s (the LGBTA club on campus) annual Drag Show, and volunteered for Drive Safe Kalamazoo (WMU’s safe ride volunteer organization).

This weekend, two WSA members and myself will be attending an awards ceremony in Lansing to be recognized for volunteer work we do throughout our community. We feel very honored and are excited for the ceremony. The next weekend I have my last state-wide student government conference. There are SO many opportunities for involvement at WMU.

Well Broncos, I am off to give a campus tour. Good luck studying for final exams!

It’s a great day to be a Bronco,

Erin

Hey Broncos!

I Hope everyone is having an exciting and safe spring break. My spring break has been great so far. My birthday was earlier this week, so I had a birthday dinner with my friends at WMU, then one at home for my friends from home, and then one with my family.
I am spending my spring break working on homework and spending time with friends and family.

The week before spring break was really exciting because I received lots of good news. I was rehired to co-facilitate a First Year Seminar class through the First Year Experience office for next fall. This is a really cool opportunity that I took advantage of two years ago, and I was enrolled in the class as a freshman. I recommend that all first-year students take this class. It is a great way to get to know other first year students and become close with a faculty member as well as a student leader. It is two credits and a lot of fun.

My sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, nominated me for Greek Woman of the Year, a really special award through the honors Greek society at WMU called Order of Omega. I am really honored to be nominated and am crossing my fingers that I will receive the award.

Last week, I gave my last speech as WSA President to WMU’s Board of Trustees, which was bittersweet. My parents visited WMU to hear me speak, and also attended a WSA meeting. The Board of Trustees and WSA’s senators sang Happy Birthday to me which was very appreciated.

Have a great rest of your spring break, Broncos. Remember to wear your WMU gear in your hometown or on vacation!

It’s a great day to be a Bronco,
Erin

Every other month, members of the Western Student Association represent all WMU students at Student Association of Michigan conferences, the state-wide student government organization. The organization is really cool because it was started by a WMU student five years ago. This is a picture of me signing SAM legislation with other student-government presidents!

At these conferences we share ideas and past events with other student governments, and interact with other University’s administrators and often are able to hear local government officials speak about issues that effect college students. Its a great opportunity for WMU.

Hey Broncos!

I hope everyone has had a great semester so far. After what seems like a winter without snow, the snow has fallen. Kalamazoo looks so pretty when it snows.

This semester has been so busy but has been really great. Student Government (WSA) is busier then ever as we move into the student government president/vice president elections. Its crazy to think that a year ago I was campaigning for my current position! WSA has had over 70 students in attendance at our meetings this semester. Our members have helped us plan large Western Wednesdays and other promotional activities. Last week, I surprised our Senate by bringing in the WSA President from 1963 to surprise them with a speech.

WSA continues to bring me so many opportunities. On Monday I gave a speech to the Kalamazoo City Commission about WSA and WMU students. It was an awesome experience. Next week, I will be giving one of my last speeches to the WMU Board of Trustees. It is so bittersweet realizing I will only be serving WMU students in this capacity for six more weeks.

My classes are going really well, my favorite one of the capstone for my non-profit leadership minor. My class is actually allocating grant money to local non-profit organizations, and we are so lucky to have that experience. My favorite part about the academics at Western is the real world experience we get in so many of our classes.

Good luck studying for Midterms, Broncos! Stay warm.

It’s a great day to be a Bronco,

Erin

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is having a great fall semester. This semester has been SO busy, but I love my classes and am having a lot of fun. This semester, I am taking my capstone journalism class, capstone non-profit leadership class, math class, and am in two internship classes. Its crazy to think I am graduating in 11 months!

I was recently elected the Vice President of Risk Management of the governing sorority council. Along with the fraternity member who serves in my role, we run a student organization called GAMMA (Greeks Advocating for Mature Management of Alcohol) every other week for members of different sororities and fraternities. We bring in different guest speakers and do fun activities. It’s a lot of work but a lot of fun so far!

Last week, I went to a Greek Life conference over the weekend with many Greek leaders from WMU called IMPACT at Sherman Lake YMCA Camp. It was a great opportunity to meet so many Greeks and I learned a lot about different rules and policies. This week, my sorority is having a leadership retreat over the weekend. There are so many opportunities for learning and leadership within Greek Life.

Other than that, I have just been busy busy busy with WSA student government and giving campus tours (and of course, avoiding the snow as much as possible). Hope everyone is having a great spring semester!

It’s a great day to be a Bronco,
Erin

The Western Student Association hosts Western Wednesdays every other week on campus. Each semester we do a big “shirt swap” where we allow students to bring us shirts from other universities and we exchange them for an “I AM WMU” tee shirt. We donate the old shirts to various non-profit organizations in the community. Here is a picture of some WSA members and me at the last Western Wednesday of the semester!