Hello, students of the University of Tennessee at Martin.

I am pleased and honored to be serving this year as your student trustee on the UT Board of Trustees.

As your trustee, my primary responsibilities are to provide a student voice to the Board, and to help make sure the individual needs of each campus in the UT system are being met.

I will be working hard this year to gather feedback about what the UT system is doing well and what we can improve upon.

Like our student government, I want to find ways to make our collegiate experience more fulfilling.

As a UTM student, you hold a very powerful position.

You have the power to change or implement new policies. You are the driving force of the entire system.

Therefore, your opinion matters. Take advantage of this position, and become an active member of your university. Know and contact your SGA members. They want to help you, but they can be much more effective when they are informed.

I encourage you to contact me so that I may relay your input to the Board of Trustees.

I know this will be an exciting year for UT. There are many people working endless hours to ensure that the system is the best in its class.

With your help, we can make this year productive and beneficial to every student and faculty member within the entire system.

Lauren Brannon is a junior Marketing major from Alamo and is a student representative on the UT Board of Trustees. She can be reached via e-mail at lbrannon@utm.edu.