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May 6, 2003

ULM Student Chosen to Represent Five-State Area

Senior social work major at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Anna Beene, was recently elected as District Four Representative for the Association of Student Advancement Programs (ASAP). ASAP is a program within the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). ASAP is an association of student alumni organizations at more than 360 higher education institutions across North America, all with the common goal of enriching student advancement programming.

ASAP is a unique CASE program run by students, for students, with the help of district advisers. ASAP has eight districts with one student representative and one adviser from each district serving on the Executive Board. The states that are part of district four, which Beene will be representing, are Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico. Mexico is also included in her district.

As a district representative, Beene will serve a two-year term on the ASAP executive board. The Executive Board consists of a chair, eight district representatives, their advisers, four immediate past advisers, the student advancement program coordinator on staff at CASE, and the CASE vice president for professional development. Together with the staff at CASE, the Executive Board works to create networking opportunities for all ASAP members.

Beene won the title while at district conference this spring. "In the process of being elected I had to fill out an extensive application and submit two letters of recommendation, a resume, and several essays about selected topics. I sent this in to the District 4 advisor, and they sent each university in our conference a copy of my application. At the conference I gave a 10-minute speech, as did the other candidate. At the end of the banquet on Saturday night I was announced as the new District 4 Rep. It took extensive preparation to get this far and I know it will be a lot of work over the next two years. No matter how much work is involved, I am thrilled to be able to represent the students at ULM on such a level as this," said Beene.

Beene, from Monroe, was recently re-elected as President of the ULM 31 Ambassadors (a student service organization). In addition, at a recent 31Ambassadors awards banquet, she was named "Volunteer of the Year". This award is given to the member who volunteers for the most projects during the previous year. She was also the winner for the third consecutive year of the "Don Weems Spirit of 31" award which is the highest honor a member of the 31 Ambassadors can win. It is named for ULM Alum Don Weems who founded the 31 Ambassadors. Twenty-three-year- old Beene is also involved in the Preview Registration Environment program staff (PREP), the Student Government Association (SGA), Student Social Work Association, and plans to graduate in December 2003 in Social Work with a Spanish minor.

Tommy Walpole, associate director of ULM Alumni Relations and advisor of the 31 Ambassadors, says of Beene, "Anna is a very dedicated, energetic and hard working student. As president of the ULM 31 Ambassadors, she always sees her projects through and leads the group in the right direction. We are all proud to know that she has been chosen to represent not only ULM's students, but also all students in District 4. We are certain she will do an outstanding job."

To be eligible to run for district representative a candidate must be a member in good standing of an ASAP member organization, have the expressed support of his/her adviser and institution, and plan to serve the entire two-year term. The vice president for professional development and the student advancement program coordinator are full-time positions within CASE.

The Executive Board meets twice a year to discuss issues affecting the organization and its membership. Beene will travel to Washington, D.C. in the fall and to Nashville, Tenn., in August for the international ASAP conference. Members of the Board serve on committees such as member services, publications, and promotions and communications. Each committee works with the student advancement program coordinator to keep the member benefits updated and running smoothly.

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