Amy Parsons: 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.

Hi, Rams, and welcome to another episode of The Next 150. I’m thrilled to be here today with two amazing students. My favorite type of interview when I get to actually ask current students all about their journey, their leadership journey, and what’s next for them, and advice for next students. So thank you both for being here. I’ll give a little bit of introduction of these two students. First, we have Jakye Nunley, who’s a third-year business administration student here at CSU. Concentrating in management and finance. Currently serves as the student body president, representing over 30,000 students, leading campus-wide initiatives through ASCSU, which I think is one of the best student governments in the country.

Previously, he was ASCSU chief of staff, managing the budget and overseeing the departments, served as judicial liaison for student organization funding. Jakye began his leadership journey as Deputy Director of Health, launching wellness initiatives, working with the CSU Health Network. He also served as a lead peer coordinator in the Black African-American Cultural Center. Beyond ASCSU, Jakye is Vice President of Organizational Affairs for United Men of Color, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a district two representative for the American Cancer Society, and an advocate with the Young Invincibles. Pretty amazing, Jakye. That’s quite the CV. So also we have another president in the house, Shay Wilson, who is the president of the Associated Students at CSU Pueblo. Thanks for joining us here. Shay is a first-year master of social work student at CSU Pueblo. Also earned her bachelor’s in psychology with Minors in Media Entertainment and cannabis studies this last August.

Congratulations.

Shay Wilson: Thank you.

Amy Parsons: A first-generation student from Gary and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shay has been a passionate advocate for equity, community empowerment, and social justice. She currently serves as the president of the ASG and has been deeply involved with organizations like the NAACP, CSU Pueblo Black Student Union, and Pueblo African-American Concern Organization, focusing on leadership, advocacy and community engagement. Shay’s been honored with many awards, including the ASG Award of Excellence, the Champion for Diversity Award, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Emerging Leader Award and Academic Excellence Award. Her other specific recognitions include the Fraternity Sorority Leader of the Year, Award, Diversity at Work Award, and the ASG Spirit Award. Furthermore, she’s the namesake of the Shay Wilson CSU Pueblo Foundation Trustee Scholarship. So congratulations. That’s amazing. We’re going to get into it and all the things that both of you are doing. But first, just thank you for making time for this conversation.

You’re such busy students. Everything that you have going on, I feel really grateful that I was able to capture you both in the same place at the same time. And of course, we’re here because we have a Board of Governors meeting, which we all attend. So one of your many duties as the presidents of your student body. So congratulations on all your success, and thanks for taking the time. So let’s learn a little bit more about you and your journeys. Talk to us about, I’ll start with you, Jakye, your journey to CSU, and then we’ll talk about your leadership journey once you get here.

Jakye Nunley: Oh, God. Okay. Well, let’s do it. One, thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here. I’m super excited. My journey to CSU, I don’t think was the most traditional. I think that I keep telling myself what I’m not going to do, right? And so I attended this program called the Black Issues Forum through the Black African-American Cultural Center here at CSU. And I had a great experience. I mean, it was a week full of fun. We learned, we went to my first actual collegiate class with Professor Ray Black, and he is a professor that does not play. And so that was my first experience. It was all the things. Nonetheless, though, at the end of the program, I looked, one of the program leads in the face, his name is Bobby Browning. He still serves-

Amy Parsons: I know Bobby.

Jakye Nunley: I know he’s good people. But I looked Bobby in the face and I said, “Bobby, this has been a great week. I’m not going here.”

Amy Parsons: What?

Jakye Nunley: I know. I don’t know why I said that. I told Bobby this as if I had already signed. I already paid the money to go to a different university. And Bobby stopped me and he had said, “You don’t tell universities no. You let them tell you no.” And this advice quite literally changed the trajectory of how I thought about applying for schools, but broader,i It showed me that there was going to be somebody on campus and probably likely a pool of people on campus who cared about my well-being and how good I was going to do. To know somebody for a week and not even a full week, right? But to have that love to provide them insights like that, that was invaluable to me. And so I just knew that there was going to be a place for me here. Because even if there wasn’t, I knew there was going to be professors and faculty here who would make a place for me here. Just that love and that insight was unparalleled. Still is till this day. So shout out to Bobby Browning.

Amy Parsons: Point Bobby … Yeah. That’s amazing.

Shay Wilson: That’s funny, that’s his name.

Amy Parsons: It is. I know. So what was it like then for you after you made that decision to come to CSU, to actually come to CSU and start here as a first-year student?

Jakye Nunley: I mean, it was awesome, and we’ll get into this a little bit more in the leadership journey. But my mentor actually from the Black Issues Forum program, Joshua Duran, he graduated a few years with the political side a few years ago with the political science degree, but he was one of the first people I met outside of folks in my coursework or friends that I came here with who got me involved in an organization, United Men of Color, my first year. So coming here after saying what I wasn’t going to do, it was was electric. To actually be on campus as a student, as a Ram, it really gave me a new hope, I guess a new motivation, like a new life. I don’t know. It’s all the things, but truly, I think I counted myself out on that one. And I think that when I got here, I actually started, I guess finding my energy truly, if you will, the minute I got to campus. So yeah.

Amy Parsons: Did you know what you wanted to study?

Jakye Nunley: Yes. I’m super unoriginal. And so my mom, she actually went to Texas Southern University and got a business degree, and her life is awesome. She has such a good time. She loves where she works, she loves what she does. And so in that sense, I’m super unoriginal because I also am getting my business degree. I guess my minor in legal studies is my own spin on it, and it’s like this is the original part. But aside from that, I was like, business, yeah. I always say it all the time. It’s my idea. It’s not. Shout out to my mom.

Amy Parsons: Yeah. Although I know you, I know how original you are. That’s awesome. So Shay, let’s talk about your journey-

Shay Wilson: You’re following in good footsteps. That’s what you’re doing.

Amy Parsons: Yeah. Exactly. So let’s talk about your journey to CSU Pueblo. How did you find CSU Pueblo and why was that the right choice for you?

Shay Wilson: I had family who was in the military way back when my mom was probably younger, and they ended up getting stationed at Fort Carson and never moved, just never left Colorado. And I really wanted to go to school out of state, and I toured CSU Pueblo, and I was like, this is the place for me. Although it was during COVID, I still knew that that was the school that I felt like I could make something of myself. I loved the community aspect of the school, how when we were walking around for the orientations, everyone knew everyone by first name. I really appreciated that. So I was like, I want to be here.

Amy Parsons: That’s awesome. Did you know what you wanted to study when you first started at Pueblo?

Shay Wilson: Oh, yeah. I wanted to be a WWE wrestler going into-

Jakye Nunley: We talked about that.

Shay Wilson: Yeah, I was an exercise science major. Yeah, I thought that I was going to be a wrestler or a personal trainer. I was super into WWE, working out, I did track. So I was like, oh, yes, this is my career trajectory. And then I quickly realized, I was like, do I want to get hit in the face every day for a living? It’s a bold career move to do because they get injured all the time. And I was like, well, I know I like to be in front of the camera. So that’s that WWE aspect. And I think the personal training was, I knew I wanted to help people, so I ended up switching to psychology and media entertainment, and I really found my place there. Yeah, I was like, I don’t want to fight for a living. I could not do that. Oh, my gosh-

Amy Parsons: How did you get into-

Shay Wilson: Can you imagine that?

Amy Parsons: … in the first place?

Shay Wilson: Oh, my dad. Oh, my gosh. Me and my dad, when I was younger, we used to always watch WWE and go to the events. I had the bedsheets and the posters. Until high school-

Jakye Nunley: I love that, though. I love that.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. Until I came out here for college, I was like, okay, well, I don’t want them to think I’m weird, so let me go ahead and get some regular pink bedsheets. And good thing-

Jakye Nunley: Pink and green.

Shay Wilson: Yeah, look, now it goes together.

Amy Parsons: Oh, my gosh, I love that story. I mean, CSU and CSU Pueblo, there’s a lot of similarities, but there’s a lot of differences. CSU Pueblo is quite small compared to CSU here in Fort Collins.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. I feel like now getting to know about the ASCSU up here and all the components of the school. I see a lot of the similarities. It’s really just different because of the size, and there’s always going to be those changes because of more people. But I really do see being in this position, the familiarity with it and the combined jointness of the CSU System and CSU Global, too.

Amy Parsons: Yeah. And CSU Global too. Yeah. Shout out to CSU.

Jakye Nunley: Shout out Global. Shout out Nick.

Shay Wilson: Yeah, shout out to Nick.

Amy Parsons: Yeah. But it is different representing a residential campus, right? And being here and the students and whatnot. Were you both involved in student government in high school?

Shay Wilson: No. I was an athlete. I only did track and cross-country. I did no clubs, no. Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: I love that. So I also did track in high school, but I also did student leadership. And I tried to quit my sophomore year, and my leadership teacher, actually, who was CSU alum, Melissa Laferrara, would not let me quit because she knew what was best for me.

Amy Parsons: Amazing.

Shay Wilson: And now look at you.

Amy Parsons: You’ve had some really great mentors step in at important times in your life, it seems like, Jakye.

Jakye Nunley: Yeah. They are constantly correcting the path because I’m constantly saying what I’m not going to do, and that’s the problem. Funny enough, when I graduated from Eagle Crest High School, shout out to Eagle Crest. I graduated from Eagle Crest and I graduated as student body vice president. But my student body president, her name is Chelsea Asibbey, she now attends Rice University and is doing amazing things. But I told her when we graduated, I said, “I’m not going to do anything leadership related when I get to college.” I said, “I’m done. I am tapped out. I’ve done DECA, I’ve done all these things, and I’m okay.” She looked at me and she said, “Yeah, give it a few years. We’ll talk and we’ll see what happens.” And a few years later, here we are. But there have definitely been people who have stood in some gaps and have seen and even seen just poured into me in a way that I didn’t know I needed in specific times.

Amy Parsons: Well, what I really admire about both of you and students who step into these roles is you have to make a big decision when you want to be president, right? I mean, it’s super visible. It’s a public position, and you have to campaign. And really put yourselves out there. So I just admire that you’re both willing to do that. But talk about that decision when you said to yourself, yeah, I’m going to put myself out there. I’m going to campaign and I’m going to be president. What was that like?

Shay Wilson: Oh, my gosh, president, I didn’t even really want to join ASG in the first place. I was like you. It was the president at the time when I joined my sophomore year, Mikayla Lerch.

Amy Parsons: Oh, yeah, I knew Mikayla. Yeah.

Shay Wilson: She was the president at the time, and I was the BSU president at the time. And she was like, “Shay, we need you on the team.” And I was like, “No, I don’t have time.” I thought it was maybe too much or I wouldn’t have the capacity to do it. But then as soon as I joined, I was like, this is the space I want to be in. I felt like she was bringing me to that next level of leadership that I didn’t know I could be in, or I felt like I didn’t have the capacity to be in, so-

Amy Parsons: Mikayla, that’s awesome.

Shay Wilson: Yeah, I’m really glad-

Jakye Nunley: Shout out, Mikayla.

Shay Wilson: Yeah, shout out, Mikayla. I’m glad she asked me. I went from senator to chief of staff to vice president to president. And I was like, yeah, I don’t want to join. I was like, no, I don’t have time for that.

Amy Parsons: Yeah. Amazing. How about you, Jakye?

Jakye Nunley: Wow. It was a big decision. I sat on it for months, but when I did decide, I said, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right. And so I think one of the big deciding factors though is that I have a mom who… She’s never raised me to believe that if I have an issue that I should aimlessly complain about it. Even if it is something small, even if it’s like, I don’t like this job that I’m currently at, my mom will be like, you’re not a tree. You can move, right? And so things that I aimlessly complain about, my mom’s always corrected that for me, which is awesome.

Amy Parsons: You’re not a tree.

Jakye Nunley: I am not a tree. I can move. And I say that to myself every day. Nonetheless though, when I decided to run, I said, there’s all these things I want to fix or these things that I think could change or could just be 1% better. And instead of passing that off or saying somebody else should own that, why can’t I? And so then I made the decision to run, and then we started having… I had a very intentional conversation with a lot of folks about who the campaign team would be and then who we would bring in, right? And so our campaign team was about 70 students. We had about 70 students on the campaign team that bridged many different areas through campus, right? But I mean, my Vice President, Joseph Godshall knows a lot of people. I know a lot of people. They care about us and they care about this campus. Why wouldn’t we have them a part of it? So that was the… I did it. That was the big deciding factor and just how we put that together. I wanted to be really intentional with how we did it, doing it, but doing it right is a little bit more important.

Shay Wilson: 70 students.

Jakye Nunley: It was fun though-

Amy Parsons: It’s a big team.

Jakye Nunley: We had a Baha Blast. Truly we did.

Shay Wilson: But there’s 70 members on your team all together, right? Or-

Jakye Nunley: In the ASCSU?

Shay Wilson: Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: Throughout different branches throughout, once you put all three branches together, yes, there’s a little bit over… A lot of bit over 70 people. Yeah.

Shay Wilson: Wow. Yeah.

Amy Parsons: Well, it takes a lot of courage to make that decision and really put yourself out there, being so public. So you’re in it now. You’re both the presidents. We’re kind of at the start of the academic year, although it’s going by fast. So what are you learning about yourself and your leadership style as president?

Shay Wilson: Oh, wow. That’s such a good question. I feel like… I don’t know. I don’t feel like there’s not even anything specific. It’s just learning everything. Learning about the networking, about the CSU System all together, and then learning about more about the CSU Pueblo students. Because what the students wanted when I was a senator is not the same as what they want now as a president. Times change, people change, what they want change, what they need changes over time. So I’m really just finding that navigation of what’s going on all the time, really. But I enjoy it. I have a really great team. I love my team. They’re all really hard workers, so they make the job so much easier. They really do. I mean, you have 70 though. So we have, I think 25 members altogether.

Jakye Nunley: So our executive cabinet is also 24. Our executive cabinet is 25 people. Oh, my God, the chief of staff and chief operations, Andrew and Isabella, they’re going to get me on that one if I’m wrong. But I don’t know. I think similar to you though, I’m learning what being a good steward of this role means. And specifically that I don’t need to do everything, right? I don’t need to do everything. I’m going to talk about this at Board of Governors actually tomorrow, but not being above the task. And I’ve been finding this fine balance of not being above the task no matter what the task is, but also realizing that not everything has to live with me. Not everything has to be completed or done by me, and that it is okay for things to one, not look like how I envisioned them to look, because they might look better. But also, that if it doesn’t happen at all or if somebody drops the ball, that that’s also okay because there’s learning and there’s growth there. So I’m learning a lot, but… I’m learning a lot, but truly, I find value in beauty in all of what I’ve got to do this far.

Amy Parsons: I can’t wait to ask you about that same question at the end of the year.

Jakye Nunley: No.

Shay Wilson: Oh, yeah, ask us-

Amy Parsons: What did you learn about yourselves through this whole-

Shay Wilson: We’re a couple months in. We’re like, yeah, so we’re getting the hang of this-

Amy Parsons: … experience. Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: It’s like I learned that I’m tired. I learned what a break meant. I don’t know.

Shay Wilson: I agree on that too. The delegation. Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: Yeah.

Amy Parsons: That’s an important lesson to learn.

Shay Wilson: That’s how I feel right now. We have events going on this weekend for Homecoming, and I’m not there. So the team is leading pretty much everything without me, so I’m having to put my trust in them. And that was nerve-racking for me, but I was like, wait, they know what they’re doing. They signed up to be in this because they wanted to be in this space.

Jakye Nunley: Yeah, we have Homecoming next week.

Shay Wilson: Yeah, good luck.

Jakye Nunley: That’s the next Friday problem.

Amy Parsons: It is a next Friday problem, not a today problem. But no, it’s going to be great. And, Jakye, I’m a CSU alum and an ASCSU alum. I was in ASCSU as well, and I mean, ASCSU I really feel like is one of the best-run student governments in the country. It’s got a national reputation. So what do you think makes ASCSU so strong and so effective as a student government?

Jakye Nunley: I think the thing… One, that’s a phenomenal question. I think the thing that makes ASCSU that distinct student government is that you meet people, you interview people, right? You have people who sign up for these, not even sign up, but apply for these roles because they say what they mean and they mean what they say, and they act on those things. It’s a lot of action-solution-oriented people in that space. And I mean, if you have those people all in one place thinking of how to do great things and coming up with creative solutions for wicked or minor problems, you have great, great results. It yields great results. And I mean, the people that I get to work with blow my mind every single year. I’ve been in ASCSU my freshman year. And I mean, I have yet to meet somebody who comes through those doors that does not have a point of view or perspective or a way of doing things that seriously makes me sit down and think about how I do it. So I don’t know. It’s a bunch of people who mean what they say. They say what they mean, they do it, and truly, they get it done.

Amy Parsons: Well, I think too, you have such a good reputation at ASCSU that you get amazing people walking through the doors. I mean, even just today, the State Attorney General was on campus interacting with ASCSU. The mayor comes in, candidates come in. And so I just love seeing how you all really interact with leaders, right? Around the state and politicians, and people want to come and hear what you all have to say. So I just applaud to you for carrying that mantle on for CSU and CSU Pueblo. Because I mean, it’s where students engage in democracy and really learn about it. So you’re setting such great examples for everybody. And I know you’ve got your sweater on today too. So I want to talk about, you’re in so many other organizations besides just student government. And I know that you are both part of the sorority and fraternity system and part of The Divine Nine. I’m a big supporter of sorority and fraternity life and think it’s really important to our culture. So talk to me a little bit about The Divine Nine and about why it was important for you both to be involved.

Shay Wilson: Yes. One of the greatest groups ever. I feel so blessed. I give blessed, but I’m stressed, but I’m blessed at the same time.

Jakye Nunley: The work starts now.

Shay Wilson: Yes, Rush and all that.

Jakye Nunley: You’re more tenured, right? In Divine Nine than I am. So if you want to kick us off, you’re more than welcome to.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. I had a cousin who… I have a cousin who’s a Delta, and she’s the first person to introduce me into Greek organizations all together. After hearing about it from her, I was like, “I want to be in that.” And even though I didn’t become a Delta, I was like, I still want to be a part of this. AKA really drew into me. I was like, I love their mission statements, the people who are a part of this. And then also, I was thinking of Kamala Harris. I was like, yes, her. I want to be her soror. So that’s what made me join AKA, and I’m so glad that I’m here too. We have a small chapter on campus, but we’re small but mighty. Okay. Small but mighty, for sure. And I didn’t know that Jakye was an Alpha Phi Alpha probably until after we were both elected and we connected right before the first Board of Governors meeting.

Amy Parsons: Oh, amazing.

Shay Wilson: Yeah.

Amy Parsons: So you’re brother-sister fraternities-

Shay Wilson: Yeah.

Amy Parsons: … and presidents. That’s pretty amazing. Probably the first two that we’ve had that can say-

Shay Wilson: I was like, what are the odds? Yeah.

Amy Parsons: … that actually. Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: I mean, it’s really cool, and it’s actually more like coupled organizations due to George Lyle and his wife. They met at Howard University. And that’s where the AKA Chapter… Their Alpha Chapter was formed. That’s our Beta Chapter. But yeah, I don’t know. I mean, a little love for a whole mankind, a little [inaudible 00:20:44], it really can’t hurt anybody. A lot of people say it’s the greatest fraternity in the world. I know truly, I value being a part of my organization. I stand on the shoulders of so many giants, Martin Luther King being one of them. Thurgood Marshall being another. We can go all day, but truly, I don’t know. I’ve never felt such… I have, but this is also such a great support just to have. These are people who-

Shay Wilson: They’re family.

Jakye Nunley: … yeah. It’s literally family, first fam too.

Shay Wilson: First fam.

Jakye Nunley: But it’s such a beautiful network of people who, I mean, no, ask is too big, right? No task is too small. Literally, that’s how it feels. And I don’t know. I’m grateful every day. I am grateful every day. I’m grateful every day for my line brothers. I’m grateful for my pros, everybody. Truly, it’s been a fun time, and I’ve got to meet a lot of people. I’ve got to meet a lot of people through our national or our general convention, our regional. I currently sit on the board for our regional Alpha’s western region. Meeting some of my brothers adjacent to me at peer institutions and seeing what they’re doing is also inspiring. I don’t know. I love my fraternity. A little manly deed, a little love for all mankind. It can’t hurt nobody. It can’t hurt nobody.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. It’s amazing over here. I’m ready for Boule. It’s in Vegas this year or next year.

Jakye Nunley: So our regional convention was just in Vegas, and I couldn’t make it out because it was last weekend. And I was coming off three exams. So I mean, I really couldn’t do anything last weekend. Yeah.

Shay Wilson: Okay. I’ll have fun for both of us. Don’t worry.

Jakye Nunley: Please do. Please do.

Amy Parsons: Well, let me ask you both for a little bit of advice for me on this topic, because I’m speaking at the National Panhellenic Conference in about two weeks in Salt Lake City.

Jakye Nunley: Oh, that’ll be fun.

Amy Parsons: And so they’re bringing in some university presidents and leaders. Because I also come from the sorority system. I was a Zeta here at CSU, and so they found some of us, right? Who are in these positions, who come out of the system to talk about how universities can better support sorority and fraternity life and grow it on their campuses. So what advice do you all have for me that maybe I can carry forward at the national conference about how we can really help to grow these organizations?

Shay Wilson: Support is the first thing I would say is letting these students know that the availability is also there for them. Because I know that sometimes with dues and fees, even that can just be something that can turn students away from it, but letting them know that, Hey, this small fee will pay off in the end. I think it’s one of those things where it’s like, yeah, you might have to pay a little price of your time and maybe your money too, but it’s worth it in the end. Yeah. Yeah, there’s some of it that goes in there, but it ends up being so worth it in the end, because let me not have joined this organization, me and Jakye maybe would not have had that strong connection of like, oh, we’re in sibling-alike organizations. And me being able to connect with others around the whole country as well too, just by going somewhere and wearing my letters and they see me in the airport, that those people can be supported wherever they are, just joining orgs. Even when you see another sorority or fraternity, you check it, right? And you go, oh, okay. So it really keeps them… Support them because then they can be supported in their futures.

Amy Parsons: That’s great advice.

Shay Wilson: From others.

Amy Parsons: Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: I love that answer. I don’t know how to follow that up. I go back to this word of belonging, right? I think it creates this looming sense of belonging. And I don’t know. I think it’s this component of education and belonging and finding your fit, finding what is best for you. I know I researched all the organizations in The Divine Nine and a little scholarship-

Shay Wilson: You do got to do some research, yeah.

Jakye Nunley: Love for all mankind. I don’t know, it just resonated with me, right? Some of the folks who came before me, like I mentioned, Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, and there’s a plethora of people who fall in this fraternal bond. I just felt that resonated with me. And so the advice that I would give would definitely be to tell people to do their research, right? You want to join something that resonates with you, that is also reflective of your goals, who you want to be in the world, and who you want to be, what you want to be represented as, right? Because it’s like an interlinking. The people adjacent to you in your fraternity or sorority are also reflections of you. But I am my brother’s keeper for our national programs. And nonetheless, though, we do have… You just have things that resonate with you in your personal mission statement of what I would call it that reflect in your organization, right? One of the big things about my organization, one of our national programs, is a voteless people is a hopeless people. I mean, I’ve forever been indebted to civic engagement. I mean, my grandma used to wake us up to go do the Martin Luther King march. She would have me and my little sister out there-

Shay Wilson: 6:00, 7:00 A.M.

Jakye Nunley: … yeah, in a buggy, just rolling. I like it-

Shay Wilson: In the snow.

Jakye Nunley: It could be rain, sleet, snow. Andrea.

Shay Wilson: It’s always cold.

Jakye Nunley: Wow. My grandma, Andrea, the woman you are. But nonetheless, though, they really… It’s an organization that resonated with me. Their mission statement and my personal mission statement coincide beautifully.

Shay Wilson: To all mankind. To all mankind.

Jakye Nunley: [inaudible 00:26:00].

Amy Parsons: That’s such good advice to all students to find their place of belonging as they navigate through the university, because we know that students persist, they do better. They graduate at higher rates, they give back. They stay connected to the university if they’re really tied into organizations where they feel like they belong and with their colleagues who they’re going through it with. So that’s awesome advice. Let’s end with a little bit broader advice to the students, because you both represent all students at your universities, right? And you’ve obviously just gained so much insight and wisdom already on your journeys through to becoming the president. So as students are just starting, just the first-year, students coming in, whether they’re thinking about going into leadership positions or not, what do you want them to know as they start?

Jakye Nunley: Am I starting this off or you?

Shay Wilson: Yeah, you got this.

Jakye Nunley: I don’t know. I’ve been on this tangent all year since convocation, actually. But embrace the ability to change your mind. Truly lean into that. Yesterday’s choice does not have to be today’s choice, and I really do mean that. I mean, it’s really big for me because I tell you guys today of all these stories that I had when I said, oh, I’m not doing this and I’m not doing this. Had I not embraced that ability to change my mind, who knows what I would be doing right now at this very moment? Had one thing not gone right, or had one thing not happen the way that it has already, who knows? Just who knows, right? And living with that, what if, God, it can keep me up at night. However, I’m grateful. Truly, I am. I’m grateful for having moments and having people in my life who challenged me to change my mind and who told me, maybe that’s not the right decision. And having the introspection to think about those things. And so I mean, if I could say anything to a first year, a second year, a third year or fourth year, anybody, I would say embrace the ability to change your mind because truly it’s a gift. It is a gift to say, that was my first thought, but it was my second thought, and I can think better thoughts in an instant. And so, I mean, truly, that advice has helped me. I wish somebody would’ve told me that sooner. And in many ways, people have.

Amy Parsons: That’s great advice.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. It’s so hard to follow up on that. I was listening so well, and I was like, yes. I would say the same thing. On top of that, I would say yours and to be open to exploring as well. Being open to attending an event on campus, or even if you’re by yourself and you maybe don’t have a friend to go with, just go anyway and participate because you never know who you could meet there and what connections you could have. Like I said, Mikayla just asking me, we weren’t even in the same organizations, her just asking me is what got me into ASG, and which also got me into a whole bunch of other opportunities on top of that. Just joining ASG before I was even president. Being open to explore, being open to joining, even if it’s not Greek organizations, join a student org. Join an academic club or an honor society, or whatever it is on campus, an intramural sport, if it is-

Amy Parsons: Yes.

Jakye Nunley: Yes.

Shay Wilson: Be open to it because there’s so many great things on every single campus on the CSU Fort Collins campus, on the CSU Pueblo campus that students can do and just explore themselves and be like, oh, maybe I never thought of doing something like that because I didn’t do academic clubs at all in high school up until this point. And being in, and now I’m like, okay, what would’ve happened if I didn’t? I would’ve just graduated and not had any of these amazing opportunities even to be here on this podcast with you guys. So, yeah, being open to explore and try new things because you never know what you might end up liking. And you’re like, actually, I do kind of like that. And maybe I didn’t like it because I watched other people or something. Sometimes you can watch other people do something and be like, oh, I don’t like basketball. I watch basketball all the time. And then you pick up that basketball and you’re like, yeah, this is my sport, so.

Amy Parsons: That’s great advice.

Jakye Nunley: Yeah.

Shay Wilson: Why, you like intramural sports?

Jakye Nunley: Yes. Oh, my God. So let me think. Okay, I hate to share this, but one of my best involvements on campus, I’ve been involved in a lot, was coaching an intramural football team and then a basketball team. And it was literally me and all my friends. And every Tuesday, they would go out there, they would play football. So one week I said… After the first week I said, “I’m going to come coach, I’m going to come coach.” I said, “Yeah, I don’t got enough time to play, but I’m going to coach.” And so we would go out there. I mean, we were like… One of my friends, he’s heavily in the media, so he would come out there with his phone and he’d be like, the media people. And then I’d have a fake clipboard with not much on it. Maybe people thought there was something on it, but it wasn’t. And we’d run up and down the sidelines, run the play-

Shay Wilson: Yeah, like a Ted Lasso type of, like, vibe.

Jakye Nunley: It was fun. It was just natural, organic, fun. Yeah. You find community in different ways, essentially, is what I’m trying to say. But yeah, intramural sports and coaching those two teams were probably some of my best involvements on campus this far. Love everything I’ve got to do. But that was fun. That was a Baha Blast, as they said.

Amy Parsons: I love that. Just finding those new experiences that you don’t… You can’t even imagine.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. Even just attending a game-

Jakye Nunley: Especially at CSU.

Shay Wilson: … and being a part of the student section.

Amy Parsons: Yeah.

Shay Wilson: Yeah. You have a football game on Friday.

Jakye Nunley: On Friday.

Shay Wilson: I’m thinking about it.

Amy Parsons: You have volleyball tomorrow night, too. Yeah.

Shay Wilson: If I can attend. Yeah.

Amy Parsons: Yeah.

Jakye Nunley: We’ll be here. It’ll be a good time. It’s going to be late, but it’s going to be fun. We’re passing out pizza.

Shay Wilson: Oh, okay.

Amy Parsons: Jakye and I are passing out pizza at the student section at halftime. So I’m just-

Shay Wilson: Pizza guys.

Amy Parsons: You can join us. It can be like three presidents passing out pizza at halftime.

Jakye Nunley: Oh, the pizza guys. That took me out. Yeah.

Shay Wilson: Whenever, I don’t know, I think about Toy Story and the Pizza Palace.

Amy Parsons: That could be us.

Jakye Nunley: All I remember from Toy Story is Mr. Potato Head. I’m not going to lie, that was my favorite person.

Shay Wilson: And the crazy razor buzz head kid. And he-

Jakye Nunley: Oh, yes. Yeah, okay, now… I’m sorry. This is part of my brain. This is like nostalgia personified.

Shay Wilson: Pizza Palace.

Amy Parsons: Well, Jakye and Shay, it is a blast serving on the Board of Governors with you this year. One of the saddest parts about my job is we get so attached to our student leaders-

Shay Wilson: And then we’re gone.

Amy Parsons: We get to know each other and we get to work together, and then you do your thing and you succeed and you graduate and you go, and then we miss you so much. But just thank you for being great leaders on our campuses and being such great role models for our students. What we do is all about student success, and you both exemplify that in the highest order. And we’re just grateful for you to be leaders. And thanks for spending the time with us today and laying down such great wisdom for our students.

Shay Wilson: Thank you for having us. Thank you for being-

Amy Parsons: Thank you for being you here. Thanks, and go Rams and go ThunderWolves.

Jakye Nunley: Yes, go Rams.

Shay Wilson: Go ThunderWolves.

Jakye Nunley: Thank you so much.

Amy Parsons: All right, thanks. Thanks, everybody. Thank you for listening. I’m Amy Parsons, President of Colorado State University, and you are 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.