SU's Sansom Sworn in as USM Board of Regents Student Member
SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University senior Nathaniel “Nate” Sansom will serve as the voice of more than 170,000 students enrolled at University System of Maryland (USM) institutions as the new student member of the USM Board of Regents.
Sansom’s term runs from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. He was sworn into the position by James “Bo” McAllister, clerk of the Circuit Court for Wicomico County, during a ceremony at SU.
“I enjoy being involved in my community,” the Salisbury native and Allen resident said, adding that representing his USM community is a natural extension of his deep-rooted interest in public service.
As a senior at Salisbury Christian School, Sansom interned in the office of Salisbury Mayor Jake Day. He received permission to continue in that role as a freshman political science and conflict analysis and dispute resolution major at SU.
Today, volunteering as Salisbury's Sister City liaison, Sansom has facilitated the city's memorandum of agreement with Salinas, Ecuador, and has also traveled to represent the Mayor's Office abroad in Tartu, Estonia.
In addition to overseeing the City's international partnerships, he continues to contribute to a wide range of policy initiatives, from amending Salisbury’s ordinance allowing local residents to keep “backyard chickens” to also include ducks, to instituting a paid family leave program for city employees.
“Working with the city has been a fun yet meaningful experience, as I've learned a great deal while helping to positively impact the lives of Salisbury citizens,” he said.
As the USM’s student regent, Sansom said he looks forward not only to representing student interests in policy and other decisions, but to meeting his student constituents at other campuses. In addition to the Board of Regents position, he also will serve as an ex-officio member of the USM Student Council.
During his senior year, he also will focus on his future, which he hopes will include law school. He credits several SU faculty and administrators, including Drs. Adam Hoffman, chair of the Political Science Department; Andrew Martino, dean of the SU Honors College; Brian Polkinghorn, executive director of SU’s Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution; and Kristen Walton, director of SU’s Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office, for fueling his passion for service.
They also have helped him stay on track for graduation, including arranging distance learning programs that allowed him to continue taking classes while partaking in international fellowship opportunities.
“I love that we have faculty and staff who are genuinely interested in my academic success and that of all students,” he said.
In 2019, Sansom studied Polish language in Poland as one of SU’s first National Security Education Program Boren Scholars. He also served with the Youth and Sports Division of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) Social and Human Science Sector in Paris as a Bosserman UNESCO Fellow.
For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website.