When she’s not studying political science, hanging around her peers at the Office of Violence Prevention or attending campus club meetings, Sarah Glisson is preparing to be our new Student Trustee at Ramapo for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Glisson is currently acting as the Alternate Student Trustee, which is no easy task. It is a year-long position that leads to becoming the Student Trustee the following year. During the selection process, our Student Trustees prepare an interview and presentation to introduce their ideas to the community, which later get voted on.
“I’ve had my eye on this opportunity since I arrived at Ramapo, but it wasn’t until this past fall that I felt prepared enough to apply,” said Glisson. “It was honestly just a gradual process of being so engaged in civics and my college community.”
Working with the Board of Trustees has given Glisson perspective on how the college runs on a deeper level, and she’s ready to make the commitment to helping better the student experience on campus.
“As the Alternate Student Trustee, I get to sit in on many very important and inspiring conversations,” said Glisson. “It is my honor to represent the student body in these discussions; and my mission to guarantee that the future of Ramapo is one that is in-tune with the needs of my peers.”
Looking at Glisson’s time spent at Ramapo before her time as an Alternate Student Trustee, Glisson spent time working with different non-partisan places on campus. One of those spaces is the Civic and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) located within the Center for Student Involvement (CSI).
“That office has helped me grow as both a leader and person and definitely broadened my horizons to what is possible when you have a passion for something,” said Glisson about CCEC.
At CSI, Glisson is the manager of CCEC, helping the office provide different resources, like their We Care Program, Alternative Spring Breaks and Leaders in Service initiatives.
“I am also very passionate about civic engagement,” she said. “I would love to use this role to encourage my peers to engage with our Board, engage with local politics, engage with elections and policy.”
Outside of Glisson’s work for the center, her current role as the Alternate Student Trustee, shadowing under Kyree Robinson-Banks helps her prepare for this role.
“Kyree is a great mentor,” said Glisson. “He is very nonchalant and conversational, which has made the transition process very smooth, as there are a lot of intricacies that an Alternate Student Trustee has to learn, and so being able to ask a million questions to someone so patient and positive has made my experience so far, wonderful.”
Glisson is working on different initiatives to help support our community and plans on spending her time working towards getting to know students on campus in different spaces. One of Glisson’s goals is to help enhance collaborations across campus.
“Ramapo College is overflowing with incredible students with unique perspectives and backgrounds,” she said. “The more cross-collaborations we see at Ramapo, then the more students we reach, then the more perspectives we hear.”
One initiative Glisson looks to address during her time as Alternate Student Trustee is the academic advisement process. Glisson also plans to spend this semester learning new perspectives and fields of studies so she can make accurate and holistic decisions for the students.
“I said going into this role that I would like to address academic advisement and maybe work on a way to clean-up the process for students whose academic studies are split across different schools,” said Glisson.
In addition to her position with CCEC and as Alternate Student Trustee, Glisson is the Vice President of Project ARCH — “arch” standing for the Alliance of Roadrunners for Civic Honor. Project ARCH is a club making civic engagement and volunteering more accessible to students on campus by providing resources.
Glisson is also the Lead Student Ambassador for the Andrew Goodman Foundation, which empowers students who are young voters to get involved in politics and their communities through non-partisan promotion.
If you’re considering working as an Alternate Student Trustee in the future, Glisson has some kind words for you.
“Be confident and reflect on [your] motivations…” Glisson said. “If you’ve done the work to immerse yourself in the community and are going into this with a positive mindset, I truly think that you are in an excellent position.”
Stay on the lookout for our new Student Trustee Glisson when you’re walking around campus.
“Your voice matters,” said Glisson. “While I work to represent you, it is my goal to elevate your perspective in any way that I can.”
dwalton@ramapo.edu
additional reporting by The Ramapo News staff
Featured photo by Ramapo College
