ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Governor Jay Inslee has appointed Nathaniel McMillion to serve as the student trustee on Central Washington University’s board for the 2020-21 academic year.
McMillion, a senior majoring in public relations and minoring in Africana and Black Studies, served as CWU’s Black Student Union (BSU) president last year. He has been involved in the university’s Brother 2 Brother chapter and Cross Cultural Leadership Program. McMillion also serves on the public relations team at the Diversity and Equity Center.
“The opportunity to bring multiple parties to the table and be able to have a good dialogue and discussions with those parties, that’s my favorite thing about PR,” McMillion said about the skills he will put to good use as CWU’s student trustee.
The native of Spanaway, who now lives in Kent, says he realizes the importance of his new role. He replaces Alex Harrington, the 2019-20 student trustee.
“I knew this was a huge opportunity to keep the ball rolling with everything that Alex has done as far as making sure that proper student fees are in place and tuition stays affordable and equitable for students,” said McMillion, a 2011 Bethel High School graduate. “And I want to make sure that Central is in the right place coming through this pandemic.”
Out of high school, McMillion started a career in banking and sales. He says visiting his older brother, Phillip Bennett, a 2015 CWU alumnus, was a big influence on his decision to attend college.
“I’m a person who loves a quiet town,” he explained. “The allure of Ellensburg being a nice, chill town, plus the school being the heart of Ellensburg and the community being built around it—it seemed like a really good fit for me. Within the first month, I got involved with BSU and, ever since, I’ve been loving my time here. ”
All six state public baccalaureate institutions have a student seat on their governing bodies. Student trustees serve one-year terms and are full voting members on all issues except matters relating to hiring or discipline of personnel, tenure of faculty, and collective bargaining agreements.
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