Contact:
Jennifer Onuska, 243-3393

May 10, 2002

ONUSKA ELECTED UNM STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESIDENT

Farmington native Jennifer Onuska has been elected president of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM), UNM's undergraduate government body.

A sophomore, Onuska was an ASUNM senator last year and worked on the Student Union Board and Student Fee Review Board.

"In my tenure I don't recall another sophomore serving as ASUNM President. She was elected senator at the end of her freshman year and did an outstanding job. She was very qualified to run for president," said ASUNM Advisor Debbie Morris, director of the UNM Student Activities Center.

This past year, Onuska also served as co-chair of a massive community service event titled "The Spring Storm" held in Albuquerque and spearheaded by Farmington native Dathan Weems, UNM law student.

"I gained a lot of awareness. It's incredible how many people want to help their community," Onuska said in response to the more than 600 people she helped recruit for community service projects from painting and landscaping to elderly visitation and youth education. "It's been an experience of a lifetime to help out the city like this."

"In terms of commitment, she will have a busy year as ASUNM president," Morris said. In addition to representing the voice of the undergraduate student body on campus, she oversees six executive agencies with a total budget of over $250,000 that provide services to the campus. Onuska is also working with Dathan Weems and other students to establish a seventh executive agency, The Community Experience, that will coordinate campus wide community service projects.

This year there will be additional duties for the ASUNM president. Onuska will be the chair of the Student Fee Review Board, which recommends the allocation of $5.5 million for student services on campus. She will select a panel and oversee the selection of three students who will have their names forwarded to the president for consideration as the next student regent.

She will be very involved in the relocation of ASUNM and student organizations back to the newly renovated UNM Student Union in January.

Jennifer is the daughter of Paul and Linda Onuska of Farmington.

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