Students of the Classes of 2008 to 2010 will have the chance to decide who will be the next member of the Board of Trust by voting online for the Young Alumni Trustee March 16 to 20.

"While there is no set list of qualifications for a YAT, having a poised passionate voice for Vanderbilt and an extensive campus involvement are highly emphasized," said Christina Barnes, the student alumni program coordinator. "The YAT is someone with discernment and sound judgment, who can perceive and articulate the current campus climate."

The YAT is valued for having a different perspective compared to a more experienced member of the board.

"Because the BOT is comprised of so many experienced trustees, they really look to the Young Alumni Trustees to represent the student and young alumni perspective," Barnes said regarding the YAT's potential for influencing major decisions made by the BOT.

After the election next week, one of three seniors - Joseph Williams, Lauren Page Black or Ayo Ositelu - will become the 2009 YAT based on receiving a majority of votes.

Joseph Williams

Williams is an economics and political science double major as well as a Managerial Studies: Leadership and Organization minor. Although he has prominently served as Vanderbilt Student Government president, he has also held other leadership positions in VSG. He has been heavily involved in Beta Upsilon Chi/Brothers Under Christ fraternity, VUcept and Campus Crusade for Christ.

Williams said his work in VSG especially allowed him to make an impact on campus, but each organization has contributed to his experience at Vanderbilt.

"Being a part of 15 to 20 first-year students' lives for three years as their VUceptor was just as rewarding as being a part of a fraternity of men who can walk through the ups and downs of life together," he said.

Williams said that he is interested in the YAT position because it will help him to give back to the Vanderbilt community.

"I view it simply as an opportunity to continue what I've done in various leadership positions on campus communicating and negotiating for the desires of current Vanderbilt students in the most effective way possible to make Vanderbilt better every day," he said.

After graduation, William plans to be a high school history teacher in the Nashville public schools for two years as a corps member in Teach for America and then attend law school.

Lauren Page Black

Black is a neuroscience and chemistry double major who has served as the president of VUcept, an Alternative Spring Break site leader and the service chair and vice president Panhellenic as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Black said she particularly enjoyed helping to shape the first-year experience.
"Through VUcept I have been able to get to know so many people at Vanderbilt, and these interactions have made me so proud of our school," she said.

She said her most rewarding experience through Vanderbilt was visiting Uganda with the Kampala Project during the summer of 2008 and working with a nurse and her family at a maternity ward.

"I am so proud to go to a university that realizes the value of this kind of an education (and) encourages you to form real relationships with those you are serving," Black said.

As a YAT, Black hopes to use her skills as a good listener to "actively address the issues" of the Vanderbilt community and to improve the "information exchange between YATs and current Vanderbilt students so that the needs of the student body are known and addressed by the BOT."

After graduation, Black said she is considering a program director position with Manna Project International in Nicaragua, moving to Africa for the year or attending medical school.

Ayo Ositelu

Ositelu is a biomedical engineering and mathematics double major. Among the many organizations he has been a part of, he has served as president of the African Students Union, vice president of the Biomedical Engineering Society, regional academic excellence chair for the National Society of Black Engineers and has participated in the Multicultural Leadership Council, Vanderbilt Students Volunteering for Science, the Nashville Adult Literacy Council and Alternative Spring Break. Ositelu has also tutored students at Nashville's Kip Academy and served a brief stint as Vanderbilt's mascot, Mr. C.

Ositelu, a Chancellor's Scholar, said he is forever grateful and obliged to live up to this honor. He credits his work with the ASU and MLC as what most allowed him to make an impact on the Vanderbilt community.

"The most rewarding experiencing ... has to be ǃÚHarambee: Celebration of African Cultures,' where the ASU raised $2,000 for the Kasiisi Project, a non-profit organization aiding the development of elementary schools in rural western Uganda," Ositelu said.

"I would love to be a part of the team of highly motivated individuals that places Vanderbilt University as one of the top 10 research and teaching universities in America while meeting and sustaining Vanderbilt's personal goals and further diversifying our campus," he said.

Ositelu said he is working on finding a job for after graduation.