Amy Parsons [00:00:04] Hi, I’m Amy Parsons, President of Colorado State University and host of The Next 150 podcast. We have so many remarkable people in our community and this is where we’re going to hear their stories. We’re going to get their perspectives on CSU’s next 150 years and gather their very best advice for today’s CSU students. Let’s get started, Rams.

 

Amy Parsons [00:00:24] Hi Rams, it’s Amy Parsons. I’m so excited for this next episode of The Next 150 because I’m here with two of my very favorite students, student leaders at CSU, Nick DeSalvo and Braxton Dietz. They’re the president and vice president of ASCSU. I’ve had the privilege of being able to work with them for the last couple of years and they’re absolutely two of the best student leaders I think I have ever seen in all my time at CSU. So, welcome.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:00:49] Thank you for having us.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:00:50] Thank you.

 

Amy Parsons [00:00:50] Thank you for being here and you know I have watched you both grow as students and as leaders in the last couple years and taking on a lot of challenges and a lot of really big goals that you’ve set for yourselves and for ASCSU and just want to say how much I admire the work that you’ve done and I’m excited to talk with you today about your experiences and your leadership.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:01:13] Thank you. Excited to talk to you as well.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:01:14] Let’s get into it.

 

Amy Parsons [00:01:15] Let’s get into it all right. Let’s get started. I’ve got a couple random questions for you so let’s get started with you choosing one of these little chips out of the bowl, and that’ll tell me what to ask you next.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:01:25] Got number one.

 

Amy Parsons [00:01:26] All right, Nick, why don’t you take one too? Okay, easy. I’ll ask you this, I’ll ask both of you this. What is one CSU or Fort Collins experience you haven’t done yet but is on your bucket list? I’ll start with you, because you’ve got a little more time at CSU.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:01:41] I do have a little bit, one more year. So I’m not 21 yet, so Ramband is on my list, and I’m a month out from being 21. So all of my friends are 21. But in that same vein, Tour de Fat is also on my list for things to do. But other than that, I’ve checked off a lot of Fort Collins’ bucket list. I love this city, so.

 

Amy Parsons [00:02:01] Yeah. So that’s great. Have fun with that and make good decisions.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:02:06] Yes, ma ‘am Yes, ma ‘am. Always. Always.

 

Amy Parsons [00:02:06] How about you, Nick?

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:02:08] I’ve been to Ramband plenty of times, but one of the things I haven’t done is the New Belgium tour.

 

Amy Parsons [00:02:15] Oh yeah.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:02:14] I think that would be really, really cool.

 

Amy Parsons [00:02:16] It is really cool. Yeah, very on brand for Fort Collins and for CSU. It’s awesome. Okay, next question. What’s the most underrated thing at CSU?

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:02:24] I think the amount of pianos that are on campus. I wasn’t able my freshman year to take even a keyboard with me in the dorms and so being able to just go outside the LSC and play and just get that out on the keys. It was a very great stress reliever.

 

Amy Parsons [00:02:43] Love that, that’s a great answer. And there’s pianos all over Fort Collins too. And they’ve been there for a while and I heard recently, as long as the pianos have been around, nobody has ever, maybe I shouldn’t say this, now they will, stolen like one of the benches. Like it’s always, people respect the pianos and what they’re there for and it’s amazing. How about you, Braxton?

 

Braxton Dietz [00:03:01] I would say I love the huge trees all around campus. I grew up a lot in the South and you see these huge trees. And then I came to Colorado, and you don’t see a lot of that in Colorado, but it feels amazing, especially during fall and you have these, you know, these beautiful orange leaves all over the place and, you know, game days and all of that amongst all the orange. I love it.

 

Amy Parsons [00:03:21] Great answer.

 

Amy Parsons [00:03:22] I love that. Yeah, I am. You both might know that I am also an alum of CSU and an alum of ASCSU. And the trees were something that I appreciated when I arrived on campus as a student, especially the oval, just the history around the oval and how beautiful it is. Yeah.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:03:39] Yeah, so ASCSU, you were part of the Supreme Court, right?

 

Amy Parsons [00:03:42] I was. I was a senator from College of Liberal Arts.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:03:45] There you go, that’s the best place to start.

 

Amy Parsons [00:03:45] and on the ASCSU Supreme Court, because I was making my way to law school. So let’s start there, because my next question is talking about both of your journeys as students and your academic journeys. So, Braxton, I think you might be on a similar path to what I was on at CSU. Talk a little bit about what you’re studying at CSU and why you came to CSU in the first place.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:04:07] Yeah, so I’m a political science major, and then philosophy and pre -law minors. It was between CSU and Texas A &M for me, but I love the mountains and I love the culture here at CSU. I think a lot of people are driven here because of the inclusive and welcoming culture. But I fell in love with CSU honestly through student government. This job has taught me that this university is incredible and has an incredible past and has so much potential to grow into a university that balances this amazing student experience and this amazing academic national reputation. So I’ve fallen in love with this since then.

 

Amy Parsons [00:04:44] Yeah, you definitely made the right choice.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:04:46] Yes, yes.

 

Amy Parsons [00:04:47] So law school is in your future.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:04:48] Law school is in the future, yes. My goal is a top 50 law school, and I’m such a nerd about the law. You could get me on a soapbox for hours and hours about the law, but part of what drew me into this role as well, so, yeah.

 

Amy Parsons [00:05:04] It’s great training ground. Yeah, I was on that the same path and it really does prepare you for what’s next. We’ll come back to the role of ASCSU because I do think that our student government at CSU is unique. So we’ll come back to that. Nick, talk about your journey to CSU, how you got here and your academic studies.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:05:25] Mine’s a little bit different. I originally was planning on going to the Navy after high school. I scored fairly high on the ASVAB. But when I told the recruiter that I was colorblind, my options were relegated to being a cook or a construction worker. And so I decided to explore other options. And there were really only two universities I applied to, CSU and CU Boulder. And I think I made the right choice.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:05:52] By 100 percent.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:05:52] My first day on campus was actually during move -in. I had never toured CSU before. Just virtual tours on YouTube and it’s a really beautiful place and I think really my journey here was organic and, at the expense of being sappy, maybe just meant to be. It’s always felt like home.

 

Amy Parsons [00:06:17] What was that experience like for you as a first -year student arriving here, never having set foot on campus before?

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:06:24] Terrifying. Yeah, it was definitely a step out of my comfort zone, for sure, but it was the right choice. I found my community here and my people, and I wouldn’t change anything about it. Maybe I would’ve toured first, and maybe I would’ve changed that, but it’s great to be here, really.

 

Amy Parsons [00:06:46] And talk about your academic journey, your major, and what you’re thinking about doing next, maybe, after graduation.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:06:52] I’ve always been a fairly political person ever since middle school and so my original plan was actually go to law school after four years but the closer I got to graduation the less I wanted to do more schooling and political science really tuned in to that world joining student government and getting the experience of what it’s like to work on policy that’s really I think where my passion is and effecting change for people that actually matters. And so hopefully post -graduation I could do more of that.

 

Amy Parsons [00:07:33] Never too late, you know, to go to law school.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:07:35] You know, lifelong learning is definitely something I’m interested in. So maybe it’s in the cards sometime.

 

Amy Parsons [00:07:43] Well, like with all of us who’ve been students at CSU, so much of your learning happens outside the classroom and the activities that you take on outside your major. And you both had that in a big dose, becoming the leaders of the entire student body as president and vice president for ASCSU. So talk about how you first got into ASCSU. I personally think it’s very brave for anyone to run for office, to put yourself out there and to campaign. And answer to people and put yourself in that spotlight to make those tough decisions. So for both of you talk about what went into your decision -making to say, I’m going to actually put myself out there and run for office.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:08:21] Well, I had initially got my start in ASCSU through BSOF, the Board for Student Org Funding that provides money through ASCSU to student orgs to host a lot of the really great events we have on campus. I didn’t know anything about the Senate or the executive branch, I was just in BSOF because it was an arm of student government where I could be involved. And the director of finance at the time had told me that I should run for speaker of the Senate. nothing I had necessarily considered before, but I think it’s a real testament to what it means for someone else to believe in you. And from then on, I just really had the heart for public service and wanting to make fundamental difference in the lives and experiences of students on campus in a positive way to give folks the tools that I didn’t necessarily have or wish that I had, and so became speaker really try to connect ASCSU with the broader community and elected officials in that realm and the rest followed through the last two terms as student body president.

 

Amy Parsons [00:09:27] Did you like campaigning?

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:09:29] I hate campaigning.

 

[00:09:30]

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:09:31] And and I think largely because I’ve been the candidate each time I think I’d like campaigning a little bit more if I was working for someone else, but I think just the pressure and stress it puts on you when you’re the person, it’s a little bit different

 

Amy Parsons [00:09:47] Yeah, how about you, Braxton?

 

Braxton Dietz [00:09:48] Yeah, I mean, on the campaign note, I’ll always say that a candidate who likes campaigning might be in it for the wrong reasons, I think. I mean, talking to folks, talking to students is great, but it’s a lot of spotlight on you and a lot of work as well. But what drew me to student government, my freshman year, actually, my senior year of high school. So I said I was a government and law nerd and I wasn’t lying. I started looking at ways to get involved in CSU, kind of what the culture was like. After I decided I was going to go in my spring of my senior year in high school and I came across the presidential campaign for Christian Dixon who was two presidents before Nick. And so I followed his campaign and I thought, wow, this student government thing is super robust and amazing at CSU. I think I want to join that when I get there. And so I got on the campus, I got settled in and in September I walked into student government and I said, where do I sign up? and so became a senator for the College of Liberal Arts, and in that role, while I was serving in that role, one of my friends broke her leg in the rec, actually, and had to crutch from her dorm in Corbett all across campus at classes in Clark. And I thought, why do we not have a program that provides transportation for folks who are temporarily disabled? And so I started on creating that. And this sense morphed into a multi -million dollar program that serves physically permanently disabled and temporarily disabled students and those traveling to the UCA. And so that kind of elevated my, I guess, status in student government and helped me talk Nick into hiring me as his chief of staff. And so in that role, I really dealt into, you know, Nick and Alex, who was his vice president at the time, gave this vision and said this is what we want to do with our term in student government. And I helped make that happen on the operational side and then convinced him again to run for his vice president.

 

Amy Parsons [00:11:57] Well, thanks for doing that. And that’s important work that you did. Thank you for doing that. You know, Nick, it is unusual for us to have the same person be ASCSU president two years in a row. Talk to us about what was the difference between last year and this year in your role as president.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:12:15] I think last year was really the opportunity to put the nose to the grindstone and really affect the change that I had talked about as speaker and had seen folks for the last few decades talk about wanting to do on campus. I had felt as though we weren’t as attuned to the broader campus community in terms of elected officials are positioned at the state legislature. And so I really spent the first term building those up and fortifying those relationships. We restructured student government to the point where we had a contract lobbyist again so that there was a team representing ASCSU -specific interests at the Capitol every single day, letting us know what legislation would affect students that we’d want to sign off on. And so. That first year was really proving that I was serious about this work and that I was going to do this work. This second year has been really a continuation of that, ensuring that those relationships stay there with ASCSU, and really my focus now is making sure that folks to come after me are set up for success and they can continue. to strengthen those relationships where I think we’ve been really successful in securing our agenda.

 

Amy Parsons [00:13:47] Yeah, I think you’ve really been successful in part because you’ve had these two years to build up and let’s talk about some of those successes because I think it really is unusual on the landscape of student governments at colleges and universities to have the kind of success that you have had working directly with the mayor with local legislators, state legislators, federal legislators, you know, on issues that are important to you. It’s remarkable what you’ve done and hiring the lobbyists and being that voice of CSU. Under the dome they listen to the voice of the CSU students because of what you all have achieved. So talk about a couple of those successes a couple of those initiatives that That you’re really proud of in your administration.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:14:30] The biggest thing is getting rid of U plus two. Yeah, it was.

 

Amy Parsons [00:14:35] Not everyone knows what that is. He might be listening. So explain U plus two.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:14:38] So U plus   two is a rule that’s existed in the city of Fort Collins for, well really since the early 2000s that limited the amount of unrelated people that you could live with to no more than three. So regardless of whether you have a six bedroom house that you own or rent, legally you could only fill three of those bedrooms. to me, it didn’t make sense, and to a lot of students. it really limited their options for affordability, and that’s really what it was about for me. The approach previously by my predecessors had been to really push city council to do something. I believe that the best decisions made about local government should be made at the local government level. And so we approached it kind of, we had a two -lane approach for it. still build those relationships with city council and those members, try to get them to do something about it, but also tune into the other aspects of student government, other aspects of government rather. In political science, we call that expanding the scope of conflict. And so a way to kind of dumb that down is when your dad says no, you go to your mom. And so, we went to the state legislature. The governor had been interested in really making some changes in land use at the state level. Those bills that were kind of an amalgam of things had failed in the previous session and they were piecemealed in the next session. And so through our lobbying team, we established a relationship with Representative Ritenal. Worked on that legislation to ban occupancy across the state and it was signed into law by the governor

 

Amy Parsons [00:16:32] It’s amazing.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:16:33] last year.

 

Amy Parsons [00:16:35] That’s a great success story. Congratulations on that. Thank you. Yeah, it was huge. And that’ll be meaningful to the community of Fort Collins and students for a very, very long time. So other things that you all would point to that you’re particularly proud of.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:16:49] Well, I would say you mentioned the relations that we built with elected officials. I think that that’s key to a successful student government. We go on conferences oftentimes with other student governments and those leaders, and they’re often amazed that we have such close ties with the mayor or the attorney general. And really, you can’t approach it from a transactional lens. you have to approach it from a relational lens. Just last week, we met up with Mayor Arndt twice down in the skellar, so just to kind of catch up and see what’s going on in her life, and she can see what’s going on in ours, and it’s always great to counsel with those who have more experience than you and advise you through your career as well. So building those relationships, and then when you do need something, when the students need something rather, you’re able to call those folks up and say, From a student perspective, this is a huge need right now, and we’d really appreciate if you could take this on for us. And nine times out of 10, it’s a yes.

 

Amy Parsons [00:17:55] That’s wise advice, right? They say these, these games are one in the off season. And you really have learned that in your time of building those relationships all throughout the year. So there’s that level of trust and, and your success, I think is really because you’ve put in that work on those relationships, which is remarkable. Also, I mean, as you mentioned a term Nick, a minute ago of scope of conflict, you all have had your share of conflict in the last couple of years, that have really tested you as leaders and as elected officials here on our campus. Student protests of various kinds, I’ve seen just tremendous pressure come at you from many directions to take positions on things, to do certain things. I mean, you’ve really been in the line of fire in a lot of different issues over the last couple of years. So I just want to ask you, what was that like for you in those really intense times and maybe what you learned about yourselves as leaders going through that? Let’s start with you, Braxton.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:18:50] I would say the biggest thing I learned is, as a leader in any capacity, you cannot define yourself by either your fiercest opponents, what they say about you, or your biggest advocates, what they say about you. You have to develop a definition of yourself that’s based on what I base it on, at least in this role, is why I originally came and joined the student government and that passion that I first started with that program that I mentioned earlier, that transportation program. And that kind of keeps you going, whether people are singing your praises or they’re really not singing your praises. You know, that grounding yourself in that is truly important.

 

Amy Parsons [00:19:33] Great. Nick?

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:19:34] For me, it goes back to the concept of student leadership. Not only do you have the everyday responsibilities of a regular student of showing up to class and really focusing on schoolwork, but you were looked to as leadership, as the student body president, the one person who was supposed to represent the voices of all the students on campus. And so when folks come to you with conflicts that, in my view, are inherently political, I have to balance all of the interests of all of the students I represent. We are not a monolith on this campus. And in my approach, I’ve just tried to be really mindful of ensuring that in every decision I make, I’m not only appeasing the majority that I hear from, I’m representing all of the folks on campus, the loudest voices and the quietest voices.

 

Amy Parsons [00:20:30] Easier said than done. I know you’ve both been placed in some, um, really tense situations. This is true. I just wanna say that I really admire how you’ve gotten through those times and being really strong leaders and really exercising those muscles of representational government, representing everybody in those moments. So, you know, and I look back at your time, Nick, in the last couple of years because we’re so focused on democracy at CSU and we believe that land -grant universities like CSU play a big role in democracy. We bring in a lot of leaders from the outside. . You’ve had front row seats, literally and figuratively, to governors, senators. You sit on the Board of Governors at CSU. We’ve had entertainers. We’ve had all these people on campus, and you’ve talked to them, spent time with them. I’m just curious any takeaways that you’ve had of just so much exposure to these national figures on campus and interesting leaders.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:21:27] Well, I continue to get whiplash by it. Honestly, I would have never imagined walking onto campus in my first time here that any of this would happen. Perhaps the wildest moment for me was seeing Jane Fonda walk through the ASCSU office.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:21:49] Yeah, that was great.

 

Amy Parsons [00:21:50] That was awesome.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:21:51] I’d always been a big Grace and Frankie fan and to just see the woman in person and talk to her It was Incredibly special on the political and being able to get to know governors of different states getting to meet folks like Donna Brazil getting to really have Polly Baca serve as a mentor for me when sitting on the board of governors it It’s an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:22:25] And that Jane Fonda experience, that was incredible. We didn’t even know she was gonna walk through our office. No idea. We were just sitting there chatting with each other and here she comes, but. No idea. I would say the craziest thing that I’ve seen across various people, whether that be governors or the attorney general or the board of governors, is that they’re always willing to sit down with you and give you a little bit of advice and talk through. I think maybe it’s a combination of they’re really great and kind -hearted people and civil servants and they see some of the work and dedication that we’re doing and maybe want to help us out a little bit, but they’re always willing to sit down and give you some career advice and I really appreciate that.

 

Amy Parsons [00:23:07] Well, we’re getting to the point in the semester when we’re going to have elections for new officers for ASCSU. So just interested in what your advice is to the next leadership, to the next ASCSU president and vice president.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:23:21] Well, as you alluded to earlier, there have been some fairly difficult moments that I’ve had to encounter as a student leader that can frankly be really demoralizing. And what has filled up my cup is being able to go home every week and think to myself, did the work I do make a positive difference in the experiences of students on campus? And I have stayed in this organization because that answer has always been yes, that’s been my North Star. And so my advice to the next leadership is keep the Rams in mind, that should be your top priority and when it isn’t, you’re in it for the wrong reason.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:24:09] I would say it goes back to what I mentioned earlier about grounding yourself in who you are. I have this poem that I really like by Rudyard Kipling, it’s called If, and there’s a line that he writes that’s, you know, if you can walk with crowds and not lose your touch and meet with kings and not lose the common touch, I think that’s how it goes. And I think it’s really important to, you know, in this position, you’ll be placed atop the highest mountains and dragged to the lowest valleys. and so you need to be able to balance those two and at the end of the day right like you’re serving the students you’re not you’re not serving yourself you’re not putting yourself on a pedestal and and I think it’s really cool that our offices look out to the plaza because I can we can look out and see all these students walking by and sometimes when I get discouraged I can say look there’s got to be one student out there who’s who’s collegiate experience even if they don’t know it has been impacted by the work that we’re doing.

 

Amy Parsons [00:25:07] That’s really wise advice, not just for student leaders, but leaders of the university and leaders in general. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Last question, advice that you all have for incoming students, brand new students who are gonna arrive on campus at CSU in the fall, whether or not they go into ASCSU, what advice would you have to the next generation of Rams? Start with you.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:25:31] I would say dive in head first and go for it. Make new friends. The first three weeks, everybody will talk to everybody on campus. And it doesn’t matter. And so go to those clubs that you’re interested in. If there’s a game day, get some of your friends or even folks that you’re not friends with together and form those connections. Because I know I’ve made friends here through just kind of jumping in that I that will last me a lifetime.

 

Amy Parsons [00:26:02] Last word Nick.

 

Nick DeSalvo [00:26:03] Ditto to everything Braxton just said. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time! Coming into a new place can be really scary and intimidating, but everyone is feeling that way. Nobody knows each other. And so branch out as much as you possibly can. Get involved in whatever your interest is on campus because we’re so big that whatever you like to do, whatever your hobbies are, there’s something here for you. Sure. And experience everything. Everything from different cultures meet everyone from different backgrounds because I think that the continued value of a higher education is becoming a more well -rounded citizen of the world. And if you’re just coming to class and going home every day, you’re not doing that.

 

Amy Parsons [00:26:52] You’re not doing it right. That’s right. Well, thank you both. That’s really wise advice. I’m so impressed with you both. I’m proud of you and what you’ve achieved in your time here. And you really, I think set a new bar for leadership at ASCSU and on campus. And you’ve, you’ve made a real difference, a real positive impact on this university. So thank you for that. Thank you for your leadership. And I personally can’t wait to see your journey and what you do after you leave CSU.

 

Braxton Dietz [00:27:20] Thank you, Amy. Thanks for having us.

 

Amy Parsons [00:27:21] Go Rams, go Rams. Thank you for listening. I’m Amy Parsons, President of Colorado State University, and you’re listening to CSU’s The Next 150, where we explore what comes next for CSU by chatting with change makers who are already leading the charge and shaping our next 150 years. I’m gathering their very best advice for today’s CSU students. Stay tuned to Wherever You Get podcast for our next outstanding conversation. Go Rams.