The other guest speakers included Debbie Stabenow and Gretchen Whitmer, who pre-recorded videos that were then projected to the audience at the event. Tebay came in person, and was interviewed by co-facilitator of the event Ewurama Appiagyei-Dankah, an MSU alumna and the former ASMSU Vice President for Academic Affairs. 

Tebay began her 8-year-term as a trustee on Jan. 1. She is an MSU alumna who graduated from James Madison College with a bachelor's degree in international relations and a specialization in Muslim studies. 

During her interview with Appiagyei-Dankah, one of the first things addressed was the reason behind why Tebay decided to run for the position of trustee.

“I never planned on running for office, I was not in a room like this with you guys in training, thinking about wanting to run for office,” Tebay said. “I was watching what was going on here at Michigan State and was looking at some of the candidates that were thinking about running for trustee and said, ‘well, why not.’”

Tebay said she considers herself to be an introvert and a very “behind the scenes” type of person, which made running for office a challenge for her. However, she felt that her voice needed to be heard.

“Regardless of whether I won or not, I thought it was important that I started some conversations and had people talking about things that they should have been talking about from the very beginning,” Tebay said.

One of the students who attended the event, human biology junior Alisha Ungkuldee, said that it was “really inspirational” to learn that Tebay “never planned on being in public office but started a campaign from nothing.”

Following the reasons behind her personal campaign, Tebay then addressed why she feels that more women are needed in office, highlighting that the “passion” and vulnerability women have is something that brings a different perspective to the table.

“I've been called emotional many times," Tebay said, "but I take that as a badge of honor that I can show emotion."

Aside from motivating the seminar’s attendees to share their voice, Tebay also highlighted the challenges of running for office while being a young woman. 

“You as young women ... are going to be treated as if you are not wise, that you are too young. I get it still and I’m a Board of Trustee member," Tebay said. "Sometimes I'll walk into the president's office and they'll say, 'Oh the students are meeting over there.'

“As young women, this is something that we face. I get it at work, I get it on campus, I get it from other board members — (but) that's something that I think makes us stronger.”

She also addressed how the campaigning process brought on emotions she did not expect it to bring.

“Regardless of how much help and support that you have, it can be a very lonely experience," Tebay said, "and I think that's a thing that no one ever told me."

In the end, Tebay expressed that her most rewarding moment after beginning her term as trustee was the meeting they accepted former Interim president John Engler’s resignation.

“To look out into the audience and see students, professors and staff looking back at you, you could just see that they felt different in that moment already …. It was a weight that was lifted off this university’s shoulders," Tebay said. "It was pretty powerful, that was the board meeting that I cried (at). I think in those moments you feel like 'this is why I did this, this is why I decided to run' — so that moment was pretty amazing.”

James Madison freshman Emily Krejci was another student who attended the seminar, and felt Tebay’s attendance at the event was very beneficial.

“I thought she was very personable, it was a lot more personable than I was expecting which is exciting because I think a lot of politicians should follow that example going into future generations,” Krejci said. “I also really took away from it the normalcy that comes with campaigns, the human behind the campaign.”