Meet your candidate: Ellie Willard
Ellie Willard is originally from Spokane, Washington but moved to Hurricane, Utah when she was 16.
Willard has been married for about eight months. She and her husband met when they were neighbors at Oakridge apartments and they fell in love playing cornhole.
She is studying economics and minoring in aerospace studies, anticipatory intelligence, arabic and international studies. Willard said she is very passionate about economics and how it alters daily life.
Willard likes to do anything outdoors during the summer. As a native of southern Utah, she loves hiking and being outside in the sun. She said her husband recently introduced her to fishing and, while it isn’t her favorite thing to do, she likes going with her husband. When it’s cold, she enjoys PlayStation2. Willard also loves to read. She is currently reading Upstairs at the Whitehouse.
She is also heavily involved in the Air Force ROTC.
“I don’t know if club is the right word, I think lifestyle might be a more appropriate term to describe what being in the ROTC is like. It really is like a family,” Willard said.
She puts in about 20 hours a week of volunteer service through ROTC. She is also involved with the Huntsman Scholar program and the USU Student Alumni Association. Additionally, she was in the Miss USU pageant last fall.
Willard has been interested in running for student body president for a while. She is inspired by the business school’s motto “daring mighty things.” She decided that she would be more disappointed in herself if she didn’t run than if she ran and lost.
“I truly believe I have the leadership qualities to make a difference for our students on campus and I believe I have the love for the university. I’m ready to make a difference here on campus,” Willard said.
There are multiple issues Willard will address as student body president.
First, she wants to ensure that all the decisions made on campus are made by student voices and not by one person independently. She wants to reinstate the presidential cabinet with a diverse group of people so they can have different backgrounds and ideas to find the best solution for all students.
According to Derek Jensen, an ROTC student at USU, “Ellie would definitely make a good student body president. She is a very driven individual and is very passionate about helping and serving other people.”
Her second priority is to revitalize the student experience. Willard said she wants students to be able to experience what being an Aggie is really like. Willard hopes to specifically reserve a section at all events for freshmen so there is always room for them and they can learn to experience traditions early on.
Willard is also passionate about the fine arts programs on campus.
“I’m a fan of the fine arts program here on campus. I love going to the museum, I love supporting students in their artwork,” she said. “So a personal priority of mine is to ensure that student’s artwork is the only artwork that we display on campus.”
Willard wants to put a showcase center in the international lounge so student art will be in a place more visited and centralized than the museum.
She also wants to use social media to be more approachable for students, as she believes social media is an easy way for students to communicate with the student body president.
Willard believes she is different from the other candidates because she has learned alot from her own leadership experiences. Being involved in ROTC directly links her with over 200 students who are involved in different areas all across campus.
“What sets Ellie apart is her drive and determination to be the best that she can be and that is reflected in how she goes about her business,” Jensen said. “As student body president she truly would care about making USU better for every student on campus.”
According to Willard, “A bad student body president wouldn’t ruin your college experience, but a good student body president could drastically improve it.”
Kellie.christensen@aggiemail.usu.edu