Robynne McMaster, a junior at Wayne State College has recently been selected to represent Wayne State College as a new Nebraska State College System student trustee.
A NSCS student trustee is an important role to a college, and it helps Nebraska’s board know more about the students that go to the college and for the student trustee to share some concerns and feedback with the board, so they have a better understanding and outlook of the college. McMaster explains more in detail about what a student trustee does and how the role benefits WSC.
“As a student trustee, we take those important factors that, without the college, would not be a thing if it wasn’t for the most important factors which would be the students, and we gauge their opinions on pretty much anything from academic offers to, you know, the new Crave Wings and Thingz, and we engage their opinion on these things and report it back to the and we engage their opinion on these things and report it back to the board of trustees, because the board of trustees is really looking to have a student facing the state college system that focuses on pushing everyone to be their best self while also giving everyone the sufficient resources to do so,” McMaster said.
McMaster also explains the other major factor that goes along with being a student trustee.
“The other factor is just having major involvement on campus. I mean, you get opinions and assistance from students in it and a lot of the time collaboration with residents’ life, and so if I could describe it all in a couple of words, it’s a pathway between the students and the state college system so that the opinions of the Wayne State College community can be vocalized,” McMaster said.
An amusing story that McMasters also shares is how she found out that she was going to be the new NSCS student trustee to represent WSC.
“I got an email from C.D. Douglas, and he was like, did you check the mail room? Have you received any mail? And I was like why is the VP emailing me about the mail room? I was like what have I done, and is this the end of my schooling career? But funny enough I am still here,” McMaster said. “I jumped into it because somebody asked me the question, why not? And I really didn’t have a good answer except I was pretty nervous about it, and being able to serve this incredible collaborative environment is an honor and something I’m extremely grateful for.”
One thing for sure is that McMaster cares about WSC with a passion and she loves the opportunity to represent WSC and have the responsibility to help and provide students with an outlet for someone to talk to if they ever have any problems or questions.
“I think Wildcat pride is one of the best ways I can describe it, and I am very proud to be a Wildcat, and I hope that anybody who thinks about Wayne State College also feels the same pride, and so I feel immensely honored that this is what I’m able to do,” McMaster said. “My sense of inspiration comes from the community that I represent.”
McMaster believes that the administrative staff and professors don’t get enough recognition that they deserve and that they are a huge part of the college community and system.
“As chaos ensues, the administrative staff kind of dulls it down, fixes it and sees what needs to be done. Another thing is the professors, and they are highly skilled, and they are passionate about what they do while being excited to get into the classroom every day and teach us to become professionals,” McMaster said.
McMaster wants people to know that if they chose to never try something, then how do they know that they won’t be great at it, and she wants to encourage students to be active in clubs and to meet new people.
“If you are thinking about applying for something or jumping into an opportunity then why not, take that leap of faith and never know what will happen because the worst they can say is no, and so I just hope to inspire people to take that leap of faith even if you don’t see the whole staircase, and you know, one step at a time because not everything is going to be easy,” McMaster said. “You might stumble here and there but that does not mean that you’re failing, it just means that you’re trying and that is better than most circumstances.”
