A second-year nursing and emergency medical technician student became the new student voting member of AACC’s Board of Trustees in July.
Rachel Gwin, 21, replaced former student trustee Conor Curran, who transferred to the University of Baltimore this fall.
“It’s intimidating,” Gwin, who is from Chestertown, said. “Honestly, it’s not something I expected myself to do. But having learned more about the position, I’m very excited and very passionate about it. There’s a lot of good people that I’m going to be working with.”
The student trustee has the same voting power as the board’s six other trustees, who are not students.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore appointed Gwin on July 1. Gwin will join the other trustees in considering and approving financial and policy issues of the college.
Three other Maryland community colleges allow their student trustees to vote.
Gwin attended Edgewood High School and transferred to AACC from the Community College of Baltimore County Essex in 2020.
Director of Student Engagement Amberdawn Cheatham, who chaired the committee that interviewed student trustee candidates, said Gwin has an “interest in really getting to know the policies that surround education and particularly impact our students.”
Gwin said her goal is to have a “student-focused” perspective.
“I want people to know that I’m approachable,” Gwin, a student ambassador, said. “If you see me on campus, you can come up to me and say, ‘Hi.’ You can tell me your ideas, your opinions [and] your thoughts.”