WKU News

Pictured: DCS President Daisy Major

College is not meant to be a purely academic experience. For many students, it is a chance to expand their horizons. For Potter College’s Dean’s Council of Students (DCS), many members receive opportunities to grow and give back to the university that they wouldn’t have inside a college classroom. DCS President Daisy Major and DCS Staff Advisor Cierra Waller know firsthand the positive impact this organization can have on DCS, both members and WKU students in general. 

“It has definitely helped with that idea of the Potter College family making everyone feel welcome,” said Waller, “We have so many programs (12 academic units), so we’re pretty big, and I think one of the benefits of DCS is that they are able to reach students through their own respective disciplines. It is a unique student-on-student experience where they are able to give that positive impact and being willing to serve.” Waller has been serving as DCS’s staff advisor for almost five years and is proud of how the members have been representing Potter College. “It’s been great! Actually, DCS is the bright spot of my day. It’s a very rewarding experience to work with the students and seeing them excited about doing events and listening [to] their stories about what drew them to WKU. All of the students are very passionate about their programs, so they represent us very well.” 

DCS plays a vital role in Potter College’s student recruitment and community outreach. “DCS is our Potter College Student Ambassador group. Our student ambassadors handle our college orientation, recruitment, and retention events,” said Waller. “They serve as guides, they field questions from prospective students and families, they work current students, they help with graduation. They essentially perform service for the college.” For Major, DCS has been an important part of her growth as a student and as a person, and she looks forward to her future within the organization.

Major, a history major from Hickman, KY, was recruited into DCS in Spring 2019, and this is her first semester as the organization’s president. “One of the previous presidents was my sister’s roommate, so she recruited me last spring. She really loved it and was really excited about it, and she thought that I would be a good fit with the other members and the mission of DCS.” Learning to balance the responsibilities of her junior year of college and her newfound leadership role has offered unique challenges, but Major takes them in stride. “It is a little bit more responsibility because as a member, you are mostly just getting events ready, meeting people and helping students,” said Major. “It’s pretty much the same as president, except I’m overseeing everyone else as well as myself.” Though the transition into a leadership role has been challenging, Major is grateful that DCS has given her the opportunity to reach out to the WKU community. “I wasn’t as involved when I first came to WKU,” said Major, “but once I got recruited onto DCS, I got to know my professors, and the incoming students, the potential students, the students that are already here. It has helped with making connections with people and getting the word out about DCS. Knowing people in DCS has helped me get to know people in other colleges as well.” 

Visit https://www.wku.edu/pcal/deans_council_of_students/deans_council_of_students.php to learn more about Potter College’s Dean’s Council and receive more information about applications and recruitment. If you have any questions about DCS, email wkupcaldcs@gmail.com to reach out to the organization directly.