From the president
Nicholas Fryer, a third-year student at Winona State University, is a student leader gifted in building relationships and tireless in promoting democratic engagement, civic dialogue, and inclusivity. He has organized numerous activities encouraging students to vote and educating them on issues and processes, including registration drives, candidate forums, and bill-themed meeting nights. Nicholas hosted voter education forums to teach students about caucuses and how to participate in them. Due to his efforts, we had an impressive number of students participate in our city's recent caucus. He has helped to celebrate inclusivity in politics by highlighting political leaders of different identities, such as Hispanic Heritage Night during Hispanic Heritage Month. Nicholas was instrumental in getting Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to come to campus and recruited other student organizations to participate. As a leader of the gender and sexuality alliance, he has worked to create more safe spaces for non-binary students to ensure that the campus is a place where everyone can feel safe in their identity.
Personal Statement
I have been involved on campus in student leadership roles of the WSU College Democrats club and the WSU Prism (Gender and Sexuality Alliance). I currently serve as President of WSU College Democrats. In the College Democrats club, we used the tools available to promote non-partisan efforts to encourage WSU students to vote in every election and to help them understand that they can affect change in their communities. We led voter registration drives and political candidate forums. We promoted the importance of civic dialogue to every student on campus. In Fall 2023, our club invited and welcomed Governor Tim Walz to campus and asked student leaders from student clubs to converse with the Governor about how student leaders at WSU can promote inclusiveness and enact change at WSU. These conversations with student leaders increased efforts for change here at WSU. I was involved in an internship with MN State Rep. Gene Pelowski. My role was helping prepare Pelowski for the 2023 WSU Model Legislature. I mentored middle school and high school students on the legislative process and brought increased awareness of practicing bipartisanship in today's politics. I am always willing to improve my leadership abilities to improve our communities.