(Photo Courtesy of John Oakes)

Junior John Oakes has been chosen as the 2012 to 2013 Student Trustee.

As the Student Trustee, Oakes will be a full voting member of the Board of Trustees. The Board consists of 41 members, including Oates and serves as the governing body for SMU. Oakes will sit on the Academic Planning, Policy, and Management or Finance Committee in addition to the Executive, Trusteeship and Legal and Governmental Affairs Committees. Oakes will also head up a committee composed of eight Student Representatives and the Student Body President.

“I was extremely humbled by my selection as the Student Trustee by the selection committee and am very blessed and grateful for the opportunity,” Oakes said. “SMU is a premiere university that I have loved ever since setting foot on campus and I really look forward to devoting my time and efforts to serving the SMU community in my role as Student Trustee.”

The other student representatives selected are Margaret Ellen Crawford (athletics), Brian Horan (building and grounds), William Badarak (DEA), Amie Kromis and Elise McDonald (Student Affairs), Eric Sabandal (Investments), Hannah Bliss (Academics) and James Moreton (Finance/Audit).

Oakes is a finance and economics major with a sports management minor. “My goal is to effectively facilitate communication between the Board of Trustees and the University community,” Oakes said.

Applications for Student Representative positions were due on March 21. The initial application required personal information and responses to three essay questions related to the Student Representative positions. Then, about 15 to 20 students were selected to interview. The selection committee then chose the Student Trustee and eight Student Representatives for next year.

“The chance to take my perspective and communication skills into interaction with the decision makers of our university really excited and motivated me to be a part of the Board of Trustees,” Oakes said. “I am really excited to continue ushering SMU in to the second century with the development of issues such as the move to the BIG EAST Conference, the opening of the Bush Library and the construction of the sophomore housing. I look forward to interacting with the other members of the Board over these issues and others that arise during the 2012 to 2013 academic year.”