Here is a glimpse of the five finalists for the student trustee position on Ohio University’s Board of Trustees. The student trustee will be announced April 17 at the Leadership Gala.
Adam Boesinger
Adam Boesinger is a sophomore studying business economics and marketing.
Boesinger said a lot of students are unaware of what the Board of Trustees does for the students at the university. Boesinger wants to use his education for his marketing degree to harness the communication between the student body and the student trustee.
Boesinger wants to guarantee students from all campuses are able to help shape the future of OU. He said graduate students and students on branch campuses are an equal part of OU, and they have their own unique experiences and problems.
To improve communication between the board members and branch campuses, Boesinger said he wants to have an open dialogue with the student government entities on each campus as well as reaching out to other student leaders on campus.
Boesinger is currently the vice commissioner of Environment Relations for City and County Affairs for Student Senate. He also serves as the vice president of finance for Delta Upsilon.
Ellen Gill-Franks
Ellen Gill-Franks is a freshman studying English pre-law and sociology and criminology.
Gill-Franks came to OU because her grandmother was an associate dean of the Patton College of Education. Her mother was raised in Athens, and she came to visit when she was younger.
Gill-Franks said she is interested in the position of student trustee to advocate and act as a liaison for students.
She is the only woman in the last five finalists. She said it is an issue that more women aren’t pursuing leadership roles.
“I would like to branch out into STEM fields, the LGBT Center, Women’s Center and some of the religious groups and see how they experience OU differently,” Gill-Franks said
Gill-Franks said being the only woman running for student trustee means representing a population of OU and encouraging women into leadership positions.
Justin Kelley
Justin Kelley is a sophomore studying accounting, marketing, finance and business pre-law. He is involved in the Schey Sales Center and the Student Activities Commission, or SAC, so he has become familiar with many people around campus.
Kelley wants to make a difference to OU students. He said he will represent what is special about Athens.
Kelley said he wants to be a advocate who understands the concerns of the OU students. He also wants to increase transparency between board members and students.
Levi Toback
Levi Toback is a first-year student in the doctoral clinical psychology program, which usually takes five years to complete. He is researching how parents impact their child’s emotion and how they inhibit themselves.
Toback studied psychology for his bachelor's degree at Drexel University and earned his masters at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
If he gets the position, Toback would like to meet with student leaders at the university to give visibility to different organizations.
Toback said he would like to communicate with groups through more personalized messages because they will be more inclined to answer.
Toback said it's important to connect with graduate students because they have a lot on their plates and less freedom to choose how busy they are, unlike undergraduate students.
Daniel Warmke
Daniel Warmke is in the master’s media program, but he will start the doctoral media program in the Fall Semester.
“I am an honest-to-God townie,” Warmke said.
Warmke received a bachelor’s degree in specialized studies in history and classics and world religion. He joined the U.S. Army and was deployed three times. He also has been in the National Guard for 16 years.
Warmke said a graduate student should have a turn at one of the student trustee positions.
“I feel like grad students are so invisible on campus,” Warmke said. “Graduate students generally don’t live on campus and most undergraduates don’t realize that they are not full-time faculty members.”
