Mike Jewsbury says the reason he wants to be executive chair of Program Board is simple – he loves the group.

“The whole organization is very friendly,” he said.

Jewsbury, a informational systems major, worked with PB as a work study his freshman year, was chief of the concert crew sophomore year and currently is PB’s advertising chair.

“I feel I have a great opportunity to lead something I’ve come to love,” he said.

Jewsbury says he has much experience from being around the office more than 20 hours a week and watching how others handle crisis management.

He says he will focus his concerns on reaching certain groups of students – specifically members of Greek-letter organizations, athletes and graduate students.

Jewsbury says he hopes PB will host pre-rush parties to help students learn more about fraternities and sororities on campus. He also says he will garner support for GW teams by boosting advertising and sponsoring giveaways at games.

For graduate students, Jewsbury says he realizes solutions may be harder to find.

“We need to find a balance,” Jewsbury said. “We make the balance by seeing what we have to do for undergrads to get programming for them – and then look at grad students and see what we need to do differently to appeal to them.”

Jewsbury says he realizes priorities for grad students are different. He says they want alcohol at their events and they like programs that promote networking and educational opportunities.

“We’re trying to hit those ideas of what grads really want,” he said.

Jewsbury says meetings already have started to improve on this year’s Homecoming.

“Homecoming is the one event we’ve been striving for,” he said. “We’re learning from this year.”

Jewsbury admits not much separates him from his opponent and friend Brian Nathanson.

“Our programming ideas are mostly the same,” he said. “It comes down to how we’d run an executive board meeting.”

Jewsbury says he is happy with the way PB operates this year, and with what the group has accomplished.

“We’ve been able to bring (events) like David Spade to campus successfully,” he said.

But in Jewsbury’s mind, one thing matters most.

“I believe my ideas are what the students want.”