CASTLETON — A Colorado native says he’s fallen in love with Vermont after only two years attending college here, and says he hopes to make it easier for people like him to stay and work in the Green Mountain State, all while protecting the environment.
Perry Ragouzis, a junior at Castleton University, was appointed student trustee to the Vermont State College System Board of Trustees this summer.
A political science major from Fort Collins, Colorado, Ragouzis has attended two full board meetings — one remote and one in person — along with several committee sessions.
“I’m very privileged that I was able to choose where I wanted to go to school, and so I was looking around, and Vermont was just so different, politically, than Colorado,” he said.
Ragouzis said a state that elects a Republican governor while also sending someone like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to Congress is an interesting place, politically speaking.
“I just felt like if a guy like me wanted to get involved in politics, then Vermont is the place,” he said.
It’s an interesting time for Vermont’s state colleges. During the pandemic there was talk of closing several campuses all while several high-profile leaders were resigning or announcing their intent to do so. Today, the system is working toward merging several of its campuses to create the new Vermont State University.
According to Ragouzis, there’s a lot of uncertainty, excitement and hope among students as they look at the coming changes.
As the student representative to the system’s board of trustees, he’s also chairman of the Vermont State College Student Association, which itself is composed of the president and vice president from each campuses’ student government. It is the student association that chooses its chair and representative to the larger board of trustees.
Ragouzis said his position gives him some insight as to the mood and thoughts of the statewide student body.
“The freshman class is being brought in by Vermont State College information and curriculum information, so they are more excited about the transformation happening than they are about the actual institution that they are in,” he said.
Which isn’t to say no one cares about each campus’ identity, he said, adding that he wants to see the character of each school community kept distinct and intact.
“I think the general feeling for the state of the Vermont State College System is really optimistic,” he said. “We are definitely better off than we were even a year ago in terms of finances and stability.”
He praised the leadership of new VTSU President Parwinder Grewal.
“He has just been just such a tremendous force for students in particular,” said Ragouzis. “He is currently at the Randolph campus, so he’s an hour away from Castleton, but he makes an effort to consistently visit.”
He said that Grewal also has agreed to meet with him on a regular basis about student issues.
Ragouzis said he’s fallen in love with Vermont in the short time he’s been here, and would like to remain.
“It would be almost a waste to throw away all the opportunities that people have given me here, and so I do hope to make Vermont my permanent home,” he said.
The cost of living in Vermont is high, though not as high as some other places, he said. It’s also difficult for graduating students to find both lucrative and fulfilling work, which is why colleges play an important role in their communities.
“That is something I see students struggling with now, is finding a sustainable future in Vermont,” he said, adding that those struggles won’t be going away overnight but he says there is hope that things will improve.
As for his work now, and his own life and career, the health of the environment is foremost in his mind.
“My focus is really climate policy and sustainability,” he said. “The climate crisis hits my generation particularly hard. It would be a dream to be an elected official and try and put in place policies that end up reversing the effects of the climate crisis … but really my goal is to just help as many people as I can while also achieving those sustainability goals no matter what position I hold either behind the scenes or in an elected position.”
keith.whitcomb
@rutlandherald.com
