Governor appoints CWU student trustee for 2024-25 academic year

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has appointed sophomore music education major Eliasib Alvarado as the student member of the Central Washington University Board of Trustees for the upcoming academic year.

The Board of Trustees serves as the governing and advising body to the university, and it includes one student trustee every year to ensure transparency and dialogue with the student body. 

“I’ve never done anything like this before, which is exciting,” Alvarado said. “I think the Board of Trustees is an amazing intersection between student voices and university administration, so having the chance to be a part of that is going to be a really fun experience.” 

Alvarado has been involved in student leadership since his time at Chiawana High School in Pasco. He was inspired to pursue a leadership role at CWU after seeing the opportunities that were available to create more inclusive practices and a student government that better reflected the demographics of the student body. 

“In my junior year of high school, I started getting involved with more clubs and sports, and that’s when I realized that I was interested in being an advocate for my fellow students,” Alvarado said. “I was the president of a few clubs and interacted with our school leadership often, in an effort to make our school the most inclusive place possible.” 

After beginning his college career at Seattle Central College, Alvarado quickly switched tracks to CWU because of the reputation of both the school and its world-renowned music program. Once he was on campus, he wasted no time getting involved in every way that was presented to him. 

“On my first day at Central, I went to one of the Student Senate meetings and was amazed by the discussion happening. So, I started looking for ways to get as involved as possible along the way,” Alvarado said. “My goal is to eventually be on the Washington State Board of Education, and I think this will be an important step in that direction.” 

In his year and a half at CWU, Alvarado has been elected to serve as president of the First Generation Student Organization and ESC representative, was a lead volunteer at the Wildcat Pantry and joined the CWU Mariachi Del Centro as a vocalist/violinist. He plans on doing even more as he progresses through his college career. 

“One of my goals with my time in college is to get to know and understand as many different kinds of people as I can,” Alvarado said. “If I’m going to have a future in leadership, that starts with knowing where people’s priorities and needs lie, and how to communicate with them.” 

CWU President Jim Wohlpart sees Alvarado's seat at the table as an opportunity to further connect the Board of Trustees with Central's student body.

"It is incredible to see hardworking, engaged students like [Alvarado] step up and seize the opportunity to represent their peers through leadership,” Wohlpart said. “I know he'll bring a critical student voice to the conversation, and we look forward to working with him to make CWU the model learning community we know it can be."

As a member of the Board of Trustees, Alvarado hopes to leverage his growing knowledge of CWU students so he can represent them most effectively. 

“Being a representative means putting myself aside and being a direct link between the student body and the Board of Trustees,” he said. “If I can do that — if I can accurately convey the issues facing today’s students to this governing body — then I will feel successful in this role.” 

As the student trustee, Alvarado will be a full voting member of the board, tasked with helping make decisions that will determine the future of the CWU experience. It’s not a calling he takes lightly.