There has been a changing of the guard for the Student Union Board presidency. Matt Schroeder, an Iowa State junior majoring in agricultural communications, now fills the shoes of former president Jennie Norris.  

Schroeder has been a constant fixture in recent years around SUB events. Starting out as an audience member unrelated to the organization, Schroeder eventually became involved with Grandma Mojo’s Moonshine Revival, a student improv group that performs at the Memorial Union in the Maintenance Shop.

“I went to one of their shows and then eventually I began volunteering at those shows and then I just started getting into it,” Schroeder said.

After joining SUB during the spring semester of his freshman year, Schroeder quickly worked up to being named co-director of the Maintenance Shop, a position he shared with then co-director Angela Chamberlain. As co-director of the M-Shop, Schroeder’s responsibilities included keeping concerts running smoothly inside the venue and setting up for events.

In his new position, Schroeder’s duties have expanded vastly.

“I’m pretty much in charge of the executive board, so like, I run all the exec meetings as well as how to handle relationships within the exec board and then I’m kind of the face of SUB so I have to do interviews or go to meetings and represent SUB and things like that,” Schroeder said.

Having developed a strong connection to SUB, Schroeder is keen on leaving SUB a better organization once his tenure as president comes to an end.

“I’m looking to keep growing it,” Schroeder said. “I know that SUB is always growing but I definitely want to keep that going in terms of attendance as well as you know, our general members and just in general I want to see it grow.”

As president, Schroeder took the controls of an operation that is bigger than he ever imagined. SUB is responsible for an array of events that happen on campus. SUB has organized large-scale events such as the Fetty Wap concert on campus last April and has had artists perform at Iowa State before they gain international notoriety. Indie rock outfit, COIN, visited Ames in 2017 before their highly acclaimed album “How Will You Know If You Never Try” shot them to international fame.

SUB is also behind other events besides concerts, including ISU AfterDark, which has brought actors such as Marlon Wayans and Pete Davidson to Iowa State to do stand-up comedy, interviews and more.

While the daily duties of being the SUB president can be intimidating at first, Schroeder says there are plenty of activities that SUB does as an organization to create a fun work environment for its employees.

“My favorite SUB experience would probably be when we have a retreat every year,” Schroeder said. “Last year was my first year being a director and I went to the retreat and that whole experience was just a lot of fun. We played a lot of team-building games and [got] to know each other pretty well.”

Raised in Radcliffe, IA, approximately 30 minutes from Ames, Schroeder is the oldest of four children. His younger sister, Tannah Schroeder, also attends Iowa State. After graduation, Schroeder plans to attend graduate school to enter the field of agriculture research and education.