A.A.S.A. student organization thrives under new leadership
Student spotlight: Hosie Thurmond III

-- Dara Trooien

Since Hosie Thurmond III has been president of the African American Student Association (A.A.S.A.) for the past two years, it has become more involved in the neighborhood. It has changed from a social group into a social-political organization that deals with issues pertaining to African-American students, such as antiracism.

Thurmond was first a member of the A.A.S.A. He was then voted in as vice president at the beginning of last year and was automatically inducted in as president after the preceding president left.

Thurmond had to learn things on his own because the previous president was not able to mentor him regarding his duties. He reminisces it was kind of hard his first year, but it helped him realize the importance of bringing leadership in early to make sure new officers are learning what to do from the previous officers before they graduate.

The organization has grown from five members to as many as 15 to 20 active members in the last two years, says Thurmond, who has learned a lot, including how important it is to stay connected with other student organizations and to form relationships with faculty and staff and to get out and meet with students.

As president, Thurmond is in charge of the overall management of the organization. He schedules and leads the monthly meetings which are usually the last Saturday of the month, makes sure the other officers are aware of their tasks, schedules different events at Metropolitan State University and in the community and also enlists new members.

Thurmond and members of the A.A.S.A. have many plans in the works. They have been working with the testing and math center trying to encourage more African American tutors to become involved. They also plan to continue to stay actively involved with things happening at Metropolitan State University, as well as issues occurring in the community.

One thing that Thurmond would like to change as soon as possible is when the elections for new officers are held. He explains that when the elections are held in May, the school year ends soon after and once fall semester starts back up, the association has new officers that are not properly trained for their positions.

"I’d like to have the elections sometime in March and that way once the new officers are elected, the old officers can tutor them into their positions by introducing them to faculty, on how to do the paperwork for events and things like that. That way, when fall semester starts the new officers aren’t running around lost, not knowing what to do,” he states.

There has always seemed to be a misconception that the A.A.S.A. was only for African-American students, and for a long time that was indeed the case, Thurmond says. However, this year they’re more focused on trying to find the best people to move the association forward, and are not concerned with the color of one’s skin. "We just want to open it up for the most talented students that we can get.”

Thurmond will be graduating next December with a degree in social science and a teaching license from the Urban Teaching Program. This will allow him to teach social studies in the public school system. He was born and raised in Chicago, IL, and has been residing in Minnesota for the past 10 years. He is also married, has two children and works for Ramsey County.

"My leadership role as president has been a tremendous opportunity to work on my leadership skills and has taught me about myself and others. I hope the organization is able to stay strong and continue to move forward. Before I leave I will make sure that new officers are in place, and that they are trained, and able to keep the organization strong,” he says with a smile.