PULLMAN, Wash. – When people ask one of the best-known students at Washington State University what he’s studying, they often expect to hear “political science.”
“People are so surprised when I tell them I’m an elementary education major and I want to teach middle school,” said Riley Myklebust, a senior from Spokane. “They ask, ‘Well, why are you student body president?’ We usually laugh and I say, ‘I can tell you, I’m not going into politics, that’s for sure!’ ”
That’s his way of saying that being president of the Associated Students of WSU involves some stress.
“We’re required to work 20 hours a week, but it’s definitely more than 20 hours,” he said. Sometimes he’s up until 2 a.m. working; often he’s “kind of doing homework, kind of checking email.”
“We’re required to work 20 hours a week, but it’s definitely more than 20 hours,” he said. Sometimes he’s up until 2 a.m. working; often he’s “kind of doing homework, kind of checking email.”
Myklebust was an ASWSU senator during his first two years on campus and, during his junior year, directed the Student Entertainment Board. He ran for ASWSU president at the encouragement of a fraternity brother who had the job in 2010-11.
In pursuing education, he’s following in the footsteps of many family members: “My uncle was a superintendent in Coeur d’Alene and Montana and Idaho My cousin teaches on an Army base in Louisiana Another cousin coaches college baseball and is a high school teacher in Kansas. Oh, and my aunt was a teacher forever in (Spokane’s) Central Valley District.”
In pursuing education, he’s following in the footsteps of many family members: “My uncle was a superintendent in Coeur d’Alene and Montana and Idaho My cousin teaches on an Army base in Louisiana Another cousin coaches college baseball and is a high school teacher in Kansas. Oh, and my aunt was a teacher forever in (Spokane’s) Central Valley District.”
Along with his bachelor’s degree, Myklebust is working on a middle school math endorsement from the WSU College of Education. His specialization is partly pragmaticmath teachers are in demand even in a tough job marketand partly where his heart is leading him.
“When I had a math teacher who was passionate about students in a class, it just made a huge difference, said Myklebust, a graduate of Lewis and Clark High.
“I had great math teachers. Mrs. Marker in seventh grade was one of those,” he said of Kellie Marker at Sacajawea Middle School.
“When I had a math teacher who was passionate about students in a class, it just made a huge difference, said Myklebust, a graduate of Lewis and Clark High.
“I had great math teachers. Mrs. Marker in seventh grade was one of those,” he said of Kellie Marker at Sacajawea Middle School.
Myklebust came to WSU in part because his mom and stepdad, Barbie Riva and Grant Riva, are Cougar alumni. In fact, his room at Sigma Phi Epsilon is next to the one that Grant Riva occupied.
He plans to graduate in December 2012.
For a longer version of this article, see http://education.wsu.edu/blog/2011/10/25/riley_myklebust/
Source:
Riley Myklebust, riley.myklebust@email.wsu.edu, 509-335-9591
Riley Myklebust, riley.myklebust@email.wsu.edu, 509-335-9591
Media contact:
Julie Titone, WSU College of Education, jtitone@wsu.edu, 509-335-6850
Julie Titone, WSU College of Education, jtitone@wsu.edu, 509-335-6850