ELL: Emerging Lobo Leaders. This agency was founded in the past five years, and has grown at an incredible rate!
So, why is this important to you as a student of UNM?
Well, as freshmen, most students are coming from high school backgrounds of sports or involvement that aren’t plausible in a college setting. Students who were never involved now want college to be more than just going to class, but UNM is HUGE, so how can anyone know where to start? There are more than 300 chartered student organizations, Residence Life and Student Housing , 25 sororities and fraternities combined, Athletics and, of course, student government. Where do you begin?
ASUNM wants to help YOU find your place on this campus; we want to help you leave your mark, wherever that might be. ELL is a semester-long program that takes freshmen through a range of opportunities and learning experiences. Not only does each student going through the program get to learn the ins and outs of ASUNM and each branch of the student government, but the experience also allows students to focus on skills that they may not have been taught before – résumé building, leadership skills with peers who are the same age and how to dive into involvement in any and all ways at a university of more than 25,000 students.
The staff at ELL this year are also incredible. Our executive director, Kyle Biederwolf, spent this past year as a senator focused on promoting and enhancing the ELL program. Now, as a director, he is able to implement all of the ideas he had in order to make ELL the most efficient we have seen it.
His two assistant directors, Cristal Terrazas and Emma Talbert, have both been through the ELL program, and as sophomores, provide the perspectives of students who are still new to campus, but have taken leadership roles. Let me tell you, these three have taken their roles and excelled!
This year, the applications to ELL were due on Friday at 5 p.m., and we have 105 applicants. Let me repeat: 105 applicants. For a program that is relatively new, it is incredible to see how many students would like to be involved on this campus.
I believe this number speaks loudly of the success of past ELLers and their abilities to grow as student leaders. So, if you are ever bored on campus, stop by the ELL office and say hey to Kyle, Cristal and Emma! Although applications are closed for the semester, it is never too late to learn how to get involved! #YOUareASUNM
Jenna Hagengruber is the 2015-16 ASUNM president. She can be reached at asunmprez@unm.edu
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