Thinking about the Nest’s future, Nest chair Julia Schmelzer said in order for the Nest to succeed, they need a variety of students involved in planning.

“We need to make sure that we have diverse student interest present in shaping what (the Nest) becomes,” Schmelzer said. “In order for (the Nest) to be successful, it needs to be used by the students, and in order for it to be used by all the students, we need all the different groups, different interests, different areas to make sure that there is something there for everyone.”

According to sophomore Nest board member and branding team coordinator Cole Nugteren, there are many ways for students to get involved in the planning process.

“(Students can come to) general interest meetings. We are starting to have them at the school so that’s more accessible, (and they) can come to board meetings if you want to get  more involved,” Nugteren said. “There are a lot of different ways to get involved, if you come to a meeting we can find a way for you to help, with any level of involvement.”

Schmelzer said they need support from not only the community, but the city as well

“The city is very supportive of the idea,” Schmelzer said. “We asked (the city) to pay rent for the first year, which is about $25,000, and four out of the seven were very in favor of that. The other three were in favor in (theory) but still were wondering what we can do to make sure we set ourselves up for success.”

According to Schmelzer, besides donating money, adults can lend their time and skills toward grant writing.

“We can sort through those grants and see which ones we qualify for, but then we still have to do the grant writing to have a chance to get that funding, so that would be a way for adults to get involved,” Schmelzer said.

Nugteren said the Nest initiative needs more people to help forward their goals, as some original members have graduated.

“We need a lot more help. Our founders all graduated, so we need more people. The people involved right now are doing the work of multiple people — everyone is doing everything,” Nugteren said.

According to Schmelzer, the Nest is trying to find ways to make an impact now, instead of waiting until they have a space.

“We are looking for things that the Nest can do right now that can help the student body now, even though we don’t have a space,” Schmelzer said. “A lot of the things that we can do to help don’t have to cost money.”

Nugteren said students and community members should come to a meeting or reach out to the Nest.

“(Everyone) should get involved. We need lots of different perspectives, otherwise it isn’t going to work,” Nugteren said. “It will only be designed for one type of person, which won’t accomplish what we want. So, come to the meetings!”

According to Schmelzer, the next Nest meeting is at 8 a.m. March 8 in room A304. The Nest will be presenting to the school board 7 p.m. March 12 in room C350. For more information visit the Nest’s website.

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