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Story written by: Andrew Rasmussen

South ������Ƶ State University is home to over 250 student organizations. Each gives students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and build community across campus. This is the third in a series of profiles about students taking on leadership roles at State.

Serving as the “voice of students,” Trinity Peterson is the president of the SDSU Students’ Association. 

Students’ Association is the student government at SDSU with student senators elected from each of the academic colleges. 

As president, Peterson’s task is to lead the weekly senate meetings and represent student interests on campus, in the community and beyond. 

The senior from Willow Lake is studying political science and agricultural leadership. 

Peterson said students involved in the organization have the opportunity to meet with leaders and advocate for their education. This includes SDSU administration, City of Brookings leadership and legislators in Pierre. 

“Our opportunities for our senators to meet people in state government are really unique,” she said. “They get to meet a lot of really cool people who are really involved in the community and in the state.”

Peterson’s leadership journey began when she ran for a senate seat in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. It was never her goal to pursue a leadership role within the organization, but conversations with her peers lead her down that path. 

Peterson is serving her second term as president. 

Being the leader of the student body comes with some challenges. Peterson said her biggest has been accepting how slow things can sometimes move. 

“Accepting that sometimes is tough for me,” Peterson said. “But I think it's just taking things one step at a time and learning to take the small wins because they add up to big ones in the long run.”

Looking back on her years at SDSU, Peterson said Bum-A-Meal tops the list of favorite events. Bum-A-Meal is a Hobo Day tradition where students are invited to have a home-cooked meal at a community member’s home. 

While it was affordability that initially brought Peterson to State, she said the people are what make SDSU special. 

“Ever since my freshman year, I just knew this was my place for me,” Peterson said.