Influential 2009: Whitney Petrie

Each month on the Kimmel Center's ninth floor, about 50 key members of NYU's administration congregate to discuss university-related matters in a formal two-hour meeting.

Among those present at a recent meeting are the deans of each school, student representatives from the University Committee on Student Life, various faculty members and NYU President John Sexton, who speaks excitedly about educational issues and recounts anecdotes about his class. To Sexton's immediate right sits CAS senior Whitney Petrie. She takes notes and listens intently as she prepares to speak on behalf of the entire student body, relaying its most significant concerns. As chair of NYU's Student Senators Council, Petrie is arguably the most powerful and influential student at NYU with the administration.

In her four years at the university, Petrie has accumulated a long list of accomplishments: In addition to serving as head of the SSC, Petrie is chair of the All-Square Student Budget Allocation Committee, which approves funding for over 250 student clubs and organizations, and is a member of WSN's editorial board. As SSC president, Petrie has successfully campaigned to reinstate bus routes, responded to the year's budget cuts by arguing for more student input in university decisions, and formed an alliance with other student governments around New York City. She is also one of a handful of students to have already visited the NYU Abu Dhabi campus.

Despite her impressive achievements, Petrie, a politics major from South Florida, remains an incredibly down-to-earth and understanding person. She takes a full course load of 18 credits and works at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

Petrie was interested in pursuing law when she applied to NYU and remains passionate about politics and government. She was drawn to the school's high academic standards and numerous study abroad options. She became involved in student politics almost by accident, becoming a member of the General Studies Program Student Council as a freshman.

"I thought it [student government] would be a great way of meeting other students, and it kept me informed," she said.

Petrie acknowledges the complicated and sometimes intimidating nature of student government. But she said she makes it a point to understand and address students' concerns and is more than willing to patiently explain how things work.

"It took me a while to catch on myself," she said. "I really try to help students understand why things happen the way they happen."

Being such an involved member of the NYU community can be overwhelming at times; Petrie admits that she leads a pretty structured life.

"Some weeks I spend more time in meetings than I do in class, and there have been times when I see my roommate only once or twice a week," she said.

Still, Petrie maintains that she has had an incredible experience at NYU and that she feels happy to have helped other students.

"I don't know how many students can say they have friends in each school," she said.

After December's meeting at Kimmel, the crowd slowly dispersed, but Sexton found time to offer kind words about Petrie.

"Whitney is both an intelligent and articulate spokesperson for student interests," he said. "She's a master at combining both spirit and common enterprise, and it is easy to appreciate and hear her position."

Sexton paused, then smiled, adding: "She's a star."