Student Jacob Whitish named new WWU trustee

Jacob Whitish of Shelton has been appointed as the student trustee at Western Washington University.

Appointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, Whitish will serve on Western’s Board of Trustees until June 30, 2012.

As a trustee, Whitish will represent all the citizens of Washington but give a valuable perspective to the board because of his experience as a Western student.

“Jacob Whitish is an outstanding leader with a strong commitment to community service. We welcome him to the board and are very pleased that we will have the opportunity for his insights as our new student trustee,” WWU President Bruce Shepard said.

Whitish, a senior in Western’s Huxley College of the Environment Disaster Reduction and Emergency Preparedness track, supplemented his course load with classes in business law, financial accounting, micro- and macro-economics and management.

He has been very involved with community service. After receiving his Eagle Scout award, he remained active with the Boy Scouts of America as an adult member, giving back his knowledge to help younger scouts. Most recently, as an account executive in the WWU Associated Students Publicity Center, he worked on a service project to improve Franklin Park along with other members of the AS and members of the Bellingham community.

Whitish is a graduate of North Mason Senior High School. Prior to coming to Western, he attended Whatcom Community College and Washington State University.

His parents are Jan Aal-Whitish and Wes Whitish.