Three finalists for Young Alumni Trustee election announced

Seniors Jonathan A. Ort ’21, Emma Parish ’21, and Morgan A. Smith ’21 have been announced as the finalists of this year’s Young Alumni Trustee (YAT) election.

General elections to select a single trustee will be held later this spring from April 20 to May 12, in which all members of the classes of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 will be eligible to vote. The final results will be announced on Friday, May 28, 2021.

The YAT position was established in 1969 with the aim of having recent undergraduates represented on the University Board of Trustees. One member of the graduating class is elected each spring for a four-year term.

Valued due to their experience as recent members of the undergraduate body, YATs provide a student perspective to the Board and “knowledge of the needs, concerns, and interests of the current generation of Princeton undergraduates.” While elected primarily by the student body, YATs have the same rights and responsibilities as other trustees and take the same oath to “faithfully, impartially and justly” perform the duties of the office of trustee.

The three finalists all expressed their excitement for moving on in the selection process and appreciation for their peers who remain in the running alongside them.

“By advocating for students and recent graduates, Young Alumni Trustees play a vital, democratic role on Princeton’s Board. My experiences, especially leading the ‘Prince’, have taught me how to listen to my peers, heed their stories, and represent them,“ Ort wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “I am humbled to run alongside Morgan and Emma, who I know as friends and admire as leaders. They have made Princeton a better place.”

Ort is a former Editor-in-Chief and Associate Opinion Editor for The Daily Princetonian.

"I am thrilled to be a YAT finalist and hope to have this opportunity to bring positive change to the university,” Parish wrote. “I have loved serving Princeton as the 2021 Class President and am committed to continuing to work hard to represent the student body and young alumni. There were so many incredible candidates for this position and I am honored to be nominated with Morgan and Jon.”

"I am so grateful to those who encouraged me to run, and it's an honor to be among such amazing finalists like Emma and Jon,” remarked Smith upon her nomination. “It's a very exciting prospect to be able to serve the student body in such an impactful way. Our peers can't go wrong from here."

Primary elections for the YAT ran online from Feb. 23 to March 4, with 21 students in the running, during which all members of the Class of 2021 were eligible to vote.

The 21 seniors that ran in the primary election listed alphabetically are Jack Allen, Sophia Cai, Kelton Chastulik, Kavya Chaturvedi, Casey Conrad, Abraham E. Cruz-Pena, Sarah Du, Brandon Flora Dunlevy, Rachel Hazan, Wendy Ho, Jared Holeman, Grace Hong, Arjun Sai Krishnan, Harley Lopez Miro, Austin Mejia, Kalyn Nix, Jonathan Ort, Emma Parish, Ashley Scott, Morgan Smith, and Noa Zarur.

The current YATs are Jackson Artis ’20, Sarah Varghese ’19, Myesha Jemison ’18, and Achille Tenkiang ’17.