Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Major: Political communication
Student organizations/activities: College Democrats, GW STAR tour guide, Residence Hall Association, planning committee for Diversity Summit
Previous SA experience: Current vice president for public affairs
Favorite GWorld spot: South Block
Favorite off-campus spot: Tidal Basin
Dream job: U.S. chief of staff or interior designer
Favorite childhood memory: Going to Chicago for the first time
Proudest GW moment: Moderating an event with MJ Rodriguez as part of the diversity summit
Fun fact: I can guess the smell of any Bath & Body Works fragrance
Favorite place in the world: D.C.
Role model: My mom
Drew Amstutz said GW’s high costs nearly deterred him from returning to campus last fall.
But Amstutz said working with administrators to resolve his own challenging financial aid issues pushed him to run for Student Association president so he can help others who are financially struggling. He said if elected SA president, he would work to restructure the Office of Student Financial Assistance by pairing students with caseworkers to build personal relationships between students and advisers.
“If it weren’t for the help of connections that I had made in the administration, I would have been priced out – completely forced out,” Amstutz said. “I want to do a better job of advocacy in the financial aid office and working across the University to make it more financially accessible.”
He said he also wants to create a student task force to upload documents and student profiles in the financial aid office to speed up the reviewing process of students’ need applications.
Amstutz added that he found a welcoming community at the University after leaving the “conservative and unaccepting environment” in Indiana, but he realized in his role as a resident adviser that not everyone feels the same way, especially students of color.
“There was a time when a student came up to me, and she told me that this was her first PWI, her first predominantly white institution, and she was struggling greatly with that and she was seeking help,” he said. “And while I do not identify as a person of color, I was able to get those resources for her and since then, we’ve worked together to ensure that she has a home here at GW.”
Amstutz said he wants to implement a “one-form system” for current and incoming students who want to change their names or pronouns to better represent transgender and non-binary students. He said his campaign colors are light blue, pink and white, the colors of the transgender flag, to represent non-binary and transgender students.
Amstutz said he will work to waive the $25 fee for students who want to change their GWorld photos because they no longer identify with their original photo. He said he would urge the University to provide more singles in residence halls for students who may be uncomfortable rooming with others in their first year in college.
A student who requests gender-inclusive housing must choose a roommate before applying, including incoming freshmen, if they do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth, according to the housing website.
“Whenever I hear of the difficulties that students face here on our campus, I’m just compelled to help them feel the same way about GW that I felt in having a welcoming home here in D.C.,” Amstutz said.
