I may be talking to the student body president but by the way he constantly drums his fingers on his desk, you’d think he was the nervous one. Trevor Tooke reaches into his drawer and displays two drumsticks, explaining that he has a pair in his desk at all times. “I used to be in a band called Lightning Fry,” he laughs.
Tooke’s hands are in the constant motion and service, whether he’s drumming or shaking several pairs of hands at board meetings. He spent the summer, for example, helping build orphanages in Thailand with a UVU chapter of the humanitarian group Youth Link. He got to ride elephants too-but the ride was pretty rough. “I hate elephants-and I hate math.”
But he’s open to just about anything else and is willing to discuss new ideas. He tells me he’s on his way to a meeting to discuss making spring and fall breaks five days long instead of only three. He’s fairly confident he’ll be convincing, even if this is not the first time he’s presented the idea.
And that’s part of what makes Tooke a student body president to be respected. He loves to meet new people and he’ll fight long and hard for the causes students come to him with. “I love talking to people and hearing their stories. It’s great because I can get on their level and we can find something to talk about and eventually, I find something admirable. Take Nascar. I can’t stand Nascar races, but I really love people who take that stuff seriously! It shows dedication.”
Perhaps this is also part of what makes Tooke a president to be respected: even if there’s something he personally doesn’t like or agree with, you can trust he will always respect you too.
Just make sure you don’t play twangy country music near him.
