Stassney Obregon had just enough time to apply to the Bellevue College Board of Trustees before the 19-year-old student had to return to the Phillipines to see her ailing father.

Obregon was born in the Phillipines and moved to the United States when she was 11. She attended Lindbergh High School in Renton, where she lived with her mother and stepfather.

“My dad died and that’s why I left,” said Obregon, who missed part of her spring quarter at Bellevue College. “I got here and I thought I had lost everything, but I got back (to Bellevue) and I was a trustee, and that was a good feeling.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee made the appointment on June 20, and Obregon replaces student trustee Takhmina Dzhuraeva when she attends her first board meeting Sept. 10.

“I got here because of my mentor, who happened to be the student trustee for Bellevue College before me,” Obregon said. “… I do a lot of community service, so I thought it would help a lot of students if I became a trustee.”

As she enters her third quarter at Bellevue College this fall, Obregon said she has very broad goals for her time on the board, which includes improving service and support. Her term expires June 30.

“My personal goal is to stay as grounded and humble as possible,” she said.