Advice from Former Officers
State Chair
The State Chair is responsible for the governance of Students United. They chair the Board of Directors and are the official voice of the board. The State Chair executes the mission of the organization.
Advice from:
Former State Chair Kaileigh Weber | 2022-2023
Former State Chair Emma Zellmer | 2021-2022
Former State Chair Jonathan McNicholes | 2020-2021
Former State Chair Ola Abimbola | 2019-2020
Former State Chair Faiçal Rayani | 2017-2018
Former State Chair Cara Luebke | 2015-2016
Former State Chair Kari Cooper | 2014-2015
Former State Chair Tony Rust | 1998
What are the top three skills/attributes that helped you be successful?
Weber: Public Speaking, delegation, teamwork
You will do a lot of communication with staff, the board, students. Being confident in this ability will help greatly in any leadership role. As state chair there is a lot of things that will be on your plate on top of being a person and a student. Being able to rely on others to help you with some of these tasks will help greatly. So get things done in this role you are working with hundreds of people. You must be able to collaborate and discuss with these individuals to work towards your collective goal.
Zellmer: Passion, strategic and long-term thinking, flexibility
McNicholes: Organized, timely, willing to accept help.
Abimbola: Inclusive leadership, seeking advice, collaborative disposition.
Rayani:
Goal-Driven Mentality: When I set goals, I find that I either achieve them or achieve something equally valuable along the way. The goal that I kept to myself was to further improve the culture of the organization and serve Students United in the absolute best way possible. Having my own goals didn't mean that I would have a narrow focus. In fact, feeling out for the goals of those around me and achieving those goals inadvertently fueled progress towards my own goal profoundly.
Flexibility: Issues, roadblocks, and unanticipated goals made themselves present in our path. Instead of pushing them aside, we decided to embrace them and work them into the grand plan. On the interpersonal level, flexibility was immensely important in nurturing relationships and navigating conflict.
Love for the subject area: It's cheesy but love helped me make the right decisions. Every person makes thousands of choices a day, mostly unconsciously, and love makes for a great moral compass to make decisions. I find that if I sincerely care for something, it shows in my actions, and those actions often produce well.
Luebke: I put a lot of trust and time into building relationships with the officers, the Board, and Students United staff. I chose 1 priority during my interview and application process instead of many, and I spent as much time as I could with students at delegates to learn from them.
Cooper:
Flexibility/adaptability: when you're in the state chair role, you will be asked to be at a lot of meetings and work with a lot of different people and personalities, so I think it's important to be able to flexible both with your schedule and with your approach to working with different people.
Leadership: probably a given, but I think anyone in the state chair role needs to keep the goals/priorities of the board at top of mind and remember that you're speaking on behalf of all students, not for yourself. It's important to keep a positive attitude at all times and encourage your team to keep the goal in mind.
Sense of humor: Don't take it too seriously! Have fun, it's an incredible opportunity to advocate for students' well-being and college affordability. Don't make it about the position or the politics, do it because you really care and have fun making a difference.
Rust: Presentation Skills, Building Consensus, Understanding Human character and using that to communicate in a way they will receive my message positively.
How time-consuming was this position? How often were you in the cities/traveling to campuses?
Weber: Every week your workload will fluctuate depending on what is happening within the organization. I would plan for the time that is allotted for whatever position you may be applying for. Every semester you will conduct campus visits across the state which is a large portion of time but the trips are so rewarding it makes it worth it. As state chair I drove to the cities at least once a month for testimony in front of the board of trustees. Other events may require travel as well, but you know ahead of time that you are able to work with professors and work to create your schedule.
Zellmer: This position is pretty time-consuming, but it depends on the week. Due to the hybrid workplace, it was easy to join meetings and I did not have to travel to the cities often which assisted with my time management. The staff is great at working around your schedule, but there are times that outside meetings may pop up during classes or when you are scheduled to work another job, so it is up to you what the priority will be. For me, I was able to work with the boss of my other part-time job to ensure that I could join Students United meetings during my shift or find a sub if I had to miss the full shift. We conducted campus visits once per semester and those weeks were very time-consuming and it was difficult to stay on top of classes, but if you manage your time well it will go smoothly!
McNicholes: A little different in the face of the pandemic as I was not able to travel, the most important thing to realize about this position is that the time requirements can vary drastically, some weeks you will struggle to work for 5 hours some weeks you will have opportunities to work over 40. This position will let you get as much as you are willing to put into it, but you should also be prepared that some weeks are going to be way more busier then you expected them to be and you need to balance your time accordingly.
Abimbola: This role is intermittently time-consuming, I speak with board members twice a month in between monthly board meetings. I travel to the cities 3 times a month on average. I travel to each of the 7 campuses at least once a semester but sometimes more. In fall 2019, I traveled to Bemidji twice and Winona three times.
Rayani: The position was as time-consuming as I wished it to be which was great. I budgeted two days a week to spend entirely on Students United as State Chair. I would also join impromptu meetings, calls and reply to emails outside of that.
Luebke: It was very time consuming, but also not! That year I worked 2 part-time jobs and took online classes and served as State Chair. It taught me a LOT about time management. It can be done if you are an organized individual who knows how to delegate responsibly. I spent as much time as I could on campus, which was usually a trip 1x a month, and went into the office weekly (if possible).
Cooper: I lived in Minneapolis, so that made it easier to be available for legislative affairs and working with the MnSCU (now MN State) administration on a number of initiatives. I also did quite a bit of traveling to the campuses. I don't believe there needs to be a strict expectation for time spent traveling around the cities or to the different campuses, because at the end of the day you're a student first. It obviously helps if you have a flexible schedule and are willing to do the most you can, but there's a reason the organization has full-time staff and campus committees, etc. The State Chair doesn't have to assume ALL of the responsibility. If you're elected, I suggest sitting down with the staff and the other officers and set clear expectations for the year.
Rust: The first semester I lived in Marshall and commuted to the Twin Cities three times a month. In the second semester, I interned at the capital and lived in the Twin Cities. The monthly time commitment was at least one full week a month.
Were there any responsibilities you had in your officer role that you didn’t think about when running?
Weber: There will be more meetings than you can even imagine. Not that this is a bad thing, they are all great meetings that you will learn a lot from. You have to be able to delegate some of these meetings to your other officers to ensure they are being attended.
Zellmer: Luckily, I had a pretty good grasp of the state chair position prior to running due to my role as vice chair the year before. Something that still came as a surprise was the amount of behind-the-scenes work with the board to ensure that all of their duties were being fulfilled. Student body presidents are already very busy, so it is up to you to ensure that they are completing the work that the staff needs them to finish (committee appointments, lobby day, etc.).
McNicholes: Researcher, while there are tons of amazing people to help you gain all the experience you need in students united, if you want to excel expect yourself to have to research and learn about what is happening both within higher education, Minnesota State, and Students United and all of our campuses at large.
Abimbola: I had learnt about my responsibilities before running but did not know about the frequency of some of them. E.g. I did not know that I needed to attend board of Trustees meeting almost on a monthly basis to testify. I was also not aware of the additional meeting with the chancellor's cabinet member in between the monthly chancellor meetings.
Rayani: Recruiting other students. It's so important but often overlooked! The majority of the time we needed to find other students to serve on committees, review policies and participate in events.
Luebke: When I was running, I thought most about providing exceptional governance to the board and a lot less about all of the other stuff. If I was interested in running again, I would work with the Executive Director and officers to determine where your skills lie and dive into that responsibility. Then, delegate things like testifying or MinnState work to your team or students. I thought this strategy worked well for me.
Cooper: I had been a board member for two years prior to getting elected to the State Chair position, so I had a pretty good idea of responsibilities, workload, and expectations. The staff really helped prep me for meetings and testifying, so that made it a little less daunting!
Rust: No, I enjoyed all those aspects of the job.
For students considering running, what advice do you have for them?
Weber: Do it!! Talk with your most trusted humans about the position and hear their feedback. It is nerve wracking to go through a selection process (I know i was there a year ago). It is great practice before you start applying for jobs! Engage with Students United right now. Join our committees of the board, join us for Advocacy day, talk to the board member on your campus about their experience with Students United!
Zellmer: One piece of advice for someone considering running for state chair is to really think about how you want to represent students. It is not the job of the state chair to set the priorities or choose what you personally want to work or focus on. When I was running for state chair, I spent a lot of time truly considering how I would want to lead the board and decided that I was going to really focus on being the voice of the board and their thoughts. I never wanted to guide the conversation with my opinion, but rather help all board members share their views and come to the best decision as a team. I would think of the state chair role as an advisor and truly think about how you plan on stepping back to support the board and ensure that are making fulling informed decisions that are the best for all students, even if you do not personally agree with the decision. Also, be yourself!
McNicholes: If this is something that you are interested in and passionate about and you are willing to commit the time and energy into it. DO IT, don’t worry about who else is running, or how you think people are going to react to you running, that isn’t relevant to anyone. Be prepared to keep trying. It took me 3 elections to secure this role and that is a common theme for many other officers within our organization. Keep going, keep advocating, and no matter what you’ll make change.
Abimbola: Be confident in yourself and make sure to study before the candidate forums and election. If you are elected into this position, spend time to listen and learn in your first couple of months in the role. Make good use of the skills of the professional staff. Build a good relationship with the board members. Always be fully prepared before stakeholder meetings and public appearances.
Rayani:
Have goals and a plan for your position, do not run for the sake of running.
Build relationships with current and outgoing board members. Explain your goals and get some ideas for how to achieve them. Learn their story and listen to their ideas too.
Don't take yourself too seriously, this is an opportunity to help other students so treat it as such. It's not the end of the world if you lose an election but it's a great experience if you win
Be flexible and don't bring your own ego to the table. The last thing any board of any kind needs is more egos. Leave your ego at home, please.
Luebke: My advice would be to learn from everyone and everything around you and use this unique space wisely. It’s remarkable to be the Chair of such a fantastic organization with an incredible staff. You do not need to know everything, and it’s better if you don’t. Ask questions before you dive into the process and walk through it with a lens towards learning.
Cooper: Do the most good with the time and opportunities you're given!
Rust: If you're not a consensus builder you will struggle in your role. Getting all 7 universities focused on the same strategies and objectives is key to any real success during your term.
What was your favorite part about being a Students United officer?
Weber: The people! I have been able to meet and connect with so many amazing and inspiring humans. Students United staff have been one of the most supportive teams I have ever worked with. You meet people from so many different backgrounds and experiences from across the state and around the world!
Zellmer: My favorite part about being a student united officer was the chance to get to know and become friends with so many students and staff across our system and beyond. I loved being able to get to know the personalities of the board members, their interests, lives, and leadership styles. I have been able to grow as a person and a professional by having the opportunity to be surrounded and guided by so many amazing people. Make sure to observe others, enjoy your time, and take all of the advice you can!
McNicholes: Getting to work with people who are passionate about making change has been the most rewarding thing by far, from the other officers, to the board, to the staff, and all of our students that work and help this organization be successful through numerous ways. The ability to be around that consistently is by far my favorite part of this role.
Abimbola: I find student engagement the most rewarding aspect of my role, especially our advocacy events and conferences.
Rayani: The people and community were my favorite part of being involved with Students United. The students, Students United staff, fellow organizations, the higher ed community, the public officials, and Minnesota State.
Luebke: Meeting with other students regularly! I loved the times we could learn from other campuses and share our successes. Even though delegates conferences often became long and arduous, the dedication and feeling in the room was infectious. I couldn’t help but think about all of the exciting things the people in that room had to offer the organization and that I had the chance to take them up on it.
Cooper: I've met some of the greatest people and some of my best friends through my time with MSUSA. A number of my favorite memories from college were MSUSA related. Although it was challenging at times, I am a better person personally and professionally because of the experience.
Rust: Leading the lobbying effort of the seven state universities.