ASWSU President Riley Myklebust is no stranger to failure. He first tried his hand at student leadership in sixth grade when he unsuccessfully ran for student body president. He lost again in eighth grade.

However, the senior elementary education major is also well-acquainted with victory through perseverance. He and running mate Amanda Spalding won 63 percent of the votes in last spring’s election.

But this victory did not happen overnight. Myklebust grew up in Spokane where he attended Lewis and Clark High School. He decided to attend WSU largely because both of his parents were Cougs. His dad was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and he brought Myklebust to the house on campus for a visit.

Myklebust said he had never been an outstanding student in high school, so he worried he would do worse academically in college. But when he visited Sigma Phi Epsilon, an alcohol-free house with a live-in adviser and the highest average GPA of any fraternity at the time, he said he was sold.

Former ASWSU President Jake Bredstrand was the fraternity’s recruitment chair when Myklebust joined. At the time, Bredstrand was an ASWSU senator. A couple senate seats were open, and Bredstrand encouraged Myklebust to run. A few weeks later he was serving as District 10 senator.

Myklebust was Pro Tempore, or leader of the senate, during his sophomore year. He said it was a great learning experience.

“You can lead and tell people what to do, or you can be the leader who people want to work with,” he said.

However, after two years serving on the Senate, he wanted to try something new. Myklebust became director of the Student Entertainment Board his junior year, but thoughts of bigger opportunities with ASWSU nagged at him.

By the spring of his junior year, he had resolved to run for ASWSU president, despite ever-present budget cuts and uncertainty throughout the university.

“It’s sometimes nerve-racking being at the top,” he said. “We knew tuition was going to go up; we knew that state funding probably wasn’t going to be good. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is going to be the best time to be student body president.’ There are a lot of tough questions that we don’t necessarily have answers for.”

Encouragement from friends, family and his fraternity brothers solidified his decision.

Myklebust’s roommate and fraternity brother, senior civil engineering major Tyler Weinbrecht, said his first reaction to the news that Myklebust had won the election was, “I told you so.”

“I think I’ve known he was at some point going to be student body president,” Weinbrecht said.

He said Myklebust is extremely driven.

“He’s very goal-oriented, he’s ambitious and out to do great things,” Weinbrecht said. “He’s always been a great leader, even if he doesn’t have the title.”

Myklebust said the choice to run with Spalding, a senior communication and Spanish major, was a natural one. The pair served on Senate together their freshman and sophomore years and became quick friends.

“I think we complement each other really well,” he said. “We have a brother-sister mindset.”

Spalding agreed and said she is as close with Riley as she is with her sorority sisters.

“He is a really, really good friend, and he has a heart of gold,” she said. “He’s one of the most sincere people I know.”

Spalding said she knows Riley is a good fit for president because he cares deeply about the students and has their interest at heart.

“He’s my best friend, so I feel really fortunate to share this experience with him,” she said.

ASWSU’s new projects include the beautification of an empty lot across from Corner Market Adams Mall and the creation of an art wall on NE Colorado Street across from Parking and Transportation Services.

Though Riley said he is swamped and would be lost without the calendar on his phone, he is ready to take on the year. He said he wants to make a lasting impression on the university by doing what best serves students, and he doesn’t simply want to follow in others’ footsteps.

“I hope throughout this year we can look back and say we challenged how we did things, and we didn’t just do them because they’ve been done in the past,” he said.

ASWSU Fast Facts

ASWSU, or the Associated Students of WSU, is the university’s student-run government that serves the Pullman and urban campuses.

The governing body is made up of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial.

ASWSU charges every student Service and Activities Fees that help fund many student organizations on campus.

The student government’s actions are ruled by its constitution and bylaws.

Elections for the ASWSU presidential ticket are held every spring.

The senate is comprised of senators from 10 districts. The senators represent on- and off-campus residents as well as residents of Greek housing.

The judicial branch consists of five independent officers. This branch is most active during election season.

For more on ASWSU, visit www.aswsu.wsu.edu