For Chelsea Eret, becoming involved with Student Government is a continuation of her work as a student to propel the university. 

Director of university affairs, as well as a senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Eret’s route to Student Government has been shaky but well-intentioned. Her passion for Iowa State, however, was never wavering. 

Previously working as a Cyclone Aide and a TelSTARS — which is a student affairs position where one talks to prospective students on the phone — as well as a community adviser, Eret focused a large part of her college career on recruiting new students and making sure their transition was the best it could be.

“I joined Student Government in February [2017] and at that point I was a community adviser, but that was really all I was doing in that realm,” Eret said. “Student Government filled the hole that student affairs had left.”

Through Student Government, Eret felt instead of working to benefit incoming and first-year students, she was now able to work for everyone.

“I saw it as a continuation of what I had done for prospective students and then incoming students with orientation and then first-year students as a community adviser,” Eret said. “And then this [Student Government] was helping people who are students — whether on campus or off campus and all grade levels.

“I really love Iowa State, which is what motivated me to get people to come here, get people to stay here and have people enjoy their experience. Now it’s getting people to have the most out of the university.”

But Eret doesn’t want to work in student affairs, her passion instead being in political science with intentions to go to law school. She didn’t always know that, however. 

“I came in as elementary education, switched to microbiology, switched again to English education and political science and finally decided that political science by itself is really where my heart was,” Eret said.

And as her major changed her involvement changed.

“Political science is really where I made my best impacts in the classroom and my best friendships,” Eret said. “That’s also around the same time I got involved in Student Government which has probably been one of my more meaningful student involvements.” 

Eret — who is from Council Bluffs, Iowa — didn’t even have intentions to go to Iowa State to begin with. Her sister graduated from Iowa State in microbiology near the same time Eret was applying to institutions and Eret knew she wanted to have a different college experience. 

“I just thought I want this [college] to be unique to myself and I realized that none of those places [the other institutions] really stuck. So I applied to Iowa State, got in, and felt good about it,” Eret said. “I decided to come here and I loved it instantly.”

Ever since, she’s been doing her best to give back to the university. 

“Even though my major was shaky and there were definitely some uncertainties with what I wanted to do, Iowa State was never in question,” Eret said. 

Now, as a senator and the director of university affairs, Eret is hoping to apply a more critical lens on the university. 

“In this role I see myself challenging the university a lot more,” Eret said. “I’m able to call out certain issues on campus or be a little more critical and really try to use that as a way to make the university better. It comes from a good place of just trying to get more out of the experience.”