COD names new student trustee

Olivia Martin of Naperville will represent the student perspective as the new Student Trustee at College of DuPage.

Sworn in at the April 19 Board of Trustees meeting, Martin is a Presidential Scholar who is majoring in biology. She was elected by her peers this spring and will serve through April 2013.

Martin's involvement stems from her years in high school, when she participated in a variety of clubs and volunteered outside of school. While at COD, she has participated in the Model UN, Students for Animal Defense, the French Club and the Living Leadership Program, and she currently volunteers with the Naperville Area Humane Society and Saturday Stars, a tutoring program for elementary school-age children.

“Through these clubs and programs, I have attended conferences and workshops on developing many applicable skills,” she said. “Participating in clubs helps me learn valuable skills outside of the classroom.”

As the student trustee, Martin would like to create a forum to strengthen communication between students and the administration.

“By organizing students' opinion in different ways, we can gain broader participation,” she said. “I plan to follow through with more traditional outreach approaches like visiting student clubs, hosting tables to speak with students, and participating actively in Student Leadership Council. I am very eager to begin my work and to continue building on the previous trustee's work.”