In his junior year, Braxton Dalton serves as Student Representative of Wayne State College for the Board of Trustees for the 2024-25 academic year.
When Dalton was in seventh grade, he became a member of his junior high Student Council. While he did not have interest in politics at the time, his involvement on the council helped him realize his love enacting change. Now as Student Representative, Dalton has been given the opportunity to be a channel between the college and the Board of Trustees. “I’m a senator as well as a trustee,” Dalton said. “I attend all of the senate meetings; I report what’s going on at the state level to them so that they can then go out and report to their constituents.” As the representative, Dalton has shared with the Board of Trustees a wide range of topics from Week of Welcome to the construction of the new dorm building.
“Your student trustee serves as a conduit, providing information from the Board to your Student Senate, keeping your student government informed about policy changes and board activity that may impact your campus,”
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs for the Nebraska State Colleges, Angela DuVall Melton, said. “Braxton takes this responsibility to heart, actively engaging with his fellow student trustees and Board members. He comes prepared and is dedicated to making a meaningful contribution.”
Dalton has enjoyed getting to know the other state college representatives including Christopher Jennings, representative of Chadron State College and Cayla Schuster, representative of Peru State College. The three representatives work together to improve their colleges and address concerns.
“One of my ultimate favorite parts has been being able to go over to some of the sister institutions, seeing what they do and being able to bring that back here,” Dalton said. “I enjoy getting to see these Board of Trustees members are real people, and they are here to help us.”
While working with other representatives, Dalton has been able to receive new perspectives and learn from other state colleges.
“Each student trustee provides a unique student perspective from their respective campus to the Board, offering valuable insights during discussions and decisions on key issues,” Melton said. “Through individual reports at each Board meeting, they ensure the student voice is heard on matters that affect their college campus.”
“If anyone has questions about what’s going on at the state level, let me know,” Dalton said. “Feel free to shoot me an email, stop me on campus I tend to wander around a lot.” If you or your club has anything cool that’s going on, let me know about it, I’ll present on it if I can.”
While Dalton is still working hard in this role, his term is quickly reaching its end. “Applications for Student Trustees for the 2025-26 academic year will open in October and we would encourage students to consider applying for this unique opportunity,” Melton said.
