Welcome Week, Point Loma Nazarene University’s take on new student orientation, introduces first-year and transfer students to the community and culture of the school. Working behind the scenes to plan and execute the packed weekend are the board members of PLNU’s Associated Student Body (ASB).
Elected last spring semester, the board is led by Leah Boles, a fourth-year finance major. One of her first tasks as ASB president was to set the annual ASB vision statement and verse for the year. She selected the verse 1 Peter 4:9-11, and penned the vision statement: “We must be intentional about going out to invite others in as servant-hearted leaders who persevere by leaning on the Lord’s guidance to serve as ASB.”
“I spent a lot of time really reflecting, praying [and] thinking about our vision for ASB and our goals for this year and what we really wanted ASB to be about,” Boles said. “There’s ASB’s purpose, which is written in our constitution, but our vision changes every year, and every board picks a different verse and a different vision for the year.”
Meg Snyder, a third-year psychology major and ASB vice president, said the team hit the ground running their first week. They worked 14 hours most days during training week, which included the task of preparing the annual sand ceremony.
“Every year we go out, we get the sand from the cliffs, and we bottle it up [in Nicholson Commons],” Snyder said. “We prayed over the sand that we captured together — prayed for the school, prayed for the students.”
Boles; Kaleb Lunde, a fourth-year accounting major and director of finance; and Lucy Murillo, a fourth-year child development major and director of activities, stayed on campus during the summer to prepare for the start of the semester. Lunde’s role specifically tasks him with organizing and communicating the budget for each ASB-approved club and event on campus.
”My biggest goal right now is to make some processes more organized,” Lunde said. “I want to be able to hand off the position better than it was when I came into it.”
Each ASB member has a goal tailored to their positions that they want to achieve by the end of this semester. Natalia Cole, a third-year business marketing major and director of communications, wants to increase the amount of student engagement on the @plnu_asb Instagram account.
“I definitely would like to grow the Instagram more,” Cole said. “I would love to see that continue to grow. Obviously, the first month [of school] was big. All the freshmen are starting to follow, so there’s a lot of engagement.”
This semester, Cole and the communication team have started making weekly announcement videos for the student body to watch during Wednesday chapels. They partner with Esteban Trujillo, PLNU chaplain, and the rest of the chapel team to determine what information needs to be in the video and edit it by the Monday before.
Charles (Chuc) Silvey, director of school spirit, said his main goal this semester is to engage with students through the Crew Program. The Crew Program allows members of the Green Sea (PLNU’s student section at sporting events) to be divided into groups between the Hooligan members.
“I think one thing that I’ve accomplished with being on the board is shaping the Hooligans team to really be interactive and warm with the new students and just all the students around campus,” Silvey said. “Just seeing it all happen has been so wholesome. So that’s been something I’m super proud of.”
The ASB board of directors have worked this semester to make sure the vision statement is being carried out in their work everyday.
”There’s a lot of thought and intentionality that went into like the little details that people don’t see, and that’s totally okay,” Snyder said. “And they don’t have to — because that’s just our role is just to fill in behind the scenes.”
Grace Chaves