Cullen White, ASUW President. The name rings a bell, the position rings a bell, but few people are familiar with what he really does. White was elected last spring and is now in the final quarter of his one-year term.

After following White around for the day of Friday, April 13, it's clear that "ASUW President" is anything but an honorary title.

7:30 a.m.

White starts out the day bright and early, waking up at 7:30 a.m. for some coffee and reading for class. Coffee is a part of White's daily routine, and he said that he will either make it himself when he wakes up or buy it. Today he stops by Starbucks for coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

10 a.m.

By the time he arrives on campus, White has already been up for two-and-a-half-hours. The first stop he makes before his 10:30 a.m. class is Gerberding Hall to meet with Ana Mari Cauce, the UW's executive vice provost. The reason behind this impromptu meeting is to request money for the Husky Tee, a project that White has been working on for the past few months.

White doesn't have a chance to explain what exactly the Husky Tee is because while Cauce was trying to get ahold of the right people who could write him a check, he receives an e-mail on his Blackberry that gives him a surprise nearly flooring him. He has received the Bonderman Travel Fellowship, which awards its recipients $20,000 to travel abroad independently for eight months or more.

Once he is out of the office and finally regains his ability to speak, he calls his mom to share the good news.

White said that receiving the Bonderman was unbelievable, because the concept of being able to travel around the world for free for almost a year is so surreal for him. He grew up in rural Nebraska and said he sees this as an opportunity for him to push himself to new heights. This was a major reason why he applied for it, but not the only one, he said.

Recipients of the fellowship have to travel to six or more countries in two or more major regions of the world. White wants to travel to Central and South America, as well as Greece, Egypt and Croatia. He said he's not sure where else he wants to go yet, because every country has its own character and culture. He said he's taking this opportunity to go and learn about himself in a different context.

On average White said that his days go from 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. and he still has homework to do afterward, but he shrugs it off.

"That's life," he said. "It's always just go, go, go."

And go, go, go it is as he drops in the ASUW office for a few minutes before his class.

10:30 a.m.

President he may be, but White is first and foremost a college student. He goes to his Scandinavian studies class where he spends the hour listening to a librarian who has come in to speak to them about a research project for the class. After class, it's back to the office for some downtime; he takes advantage of it by doing some homework.

12:30 p.m.

White heads upstairs to the Student Activities Office to meet with Rene Singleton, the assistant director of student activities and union facilities. They discuss more details about the Husky Tee. Throughout the discussion, White sits at Singleton's desk and plays with the various toys on it.

"We usually talk while he plays with the Etch-a-Sketch," she said.

This does appear to be routine, as White has gotten quite good at it and can draw almost any type of animal on demand.

Fifteen minutes later, White is back in his office, and the first thing he does is pull out his speakers so he can listen to music, which he admits, is limited in terms of variety.

"My roommate listens to bad rap music," he said. "So that's all that's available because I don't have time to go searching and downloading any myself."

Because of a canceled meeting, White has time to check his e-mail. White said he receives up to 90 e-mails a day; he also sends out a lot himself.

"Cullen sends out more campus-wide e-mails than any other president I've ever seen," ASUW Publicity and Programming Director Tyler Dockins said. "But it's a good thing."

Once he finishes his e-mails, White brainstorms ideas of promoting the Husky Tee. He has been working with retailers in the area, including the University Book Store and the Husky Team Shop, both of which will carry the shirts.

The Husky Tee is a fundraising initiative for the Husky Pride Fund, which seeks to reduce the financial barriers students face that prevent them from really engaging in the school and everything it has to offer.

White said the Husky Pride Fund is very close to his heart because he has personally experienced those barriers. When he was 15, White moved to the Issaquah area with his mother after his parents divorced. His freshman year at the UW, White worked 40 hours a week at Daniel's Broiler and Cucina! Cucina! to pay for his schooling. He also had to pay for plane tickets to fly back to Nebraska several times to see his father, who had been diagnosed with cancer that spring quarter.

When his father died at the end of fall quarter his sophomore year, White received money for school because his father was a veteran, and was able to stop working so much. He was finally able to get more involved in campus activities; he helped establish the Husky Pride Fund to allow other students to receive the same opportunities he did.

While discussing all of this, White takes the time to sit down and take a breather. At this point, he said that he has been going on four hours of sleep.

"It's because I played Nintendo Wii till three in the morning," he said.

After the nice break, it's time for lunch.

2:30 p.m.

White heads over to Shultzy's on the Ave., which is where he said he usually goes whenever he has time for lunch. Much of the time, he either doesn't have time to eat or he forgets.

White takes the time to display some of the lesser-known talents he possesses. From his experience working in restaurants, he can write his name upside down. He can wiggle his ears and he can wiggle his eyebrows like the wave.

After lunch, White stops by Eric Godfrey's office in Schmitz Hall for more discussions about the Husky Tee. He tells Godfrey, the vice provost for student life, about the money request that he put in with Cauce earlier in the day.

Godfrey said he has been fortunate this year because his office and ASUW have been in sync when it comes to their aspirations for the students here. Both entities are very supportive of promoting a sense of community. White said it works both ways, and the provost has become more accepting and receptive while working with students. He said students are taken more seriously.

3:30 p.m.

The Husky Tee meeting that White has scheduled is used to discuss the logistics of ordering as well as the marketing and promotion of the shirts.

After the meeting, it's back to Singleton's office, where she and White are able to hammer out the details and place in the initial order with Kotis Design, the company that will be producing the shirts.

5:15 p.m.

White heads back to the Ave. to Chipotle, where the UW Dream Project is holding an event and giving out coupons for free burritos.

White then walks in the rain to the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering for the UW Tribal Leadership Summit. It's a short appearance, which is much of what his job entails. White stays long enough to mingle with guests.

6:30 p.m.

White's day is not quite over yet, but it is over for him in the capacity of the ASUW presidency. He is on his way to meet some friends and take the bus down to Safeco Field for the Mariners game against the Texas Rangers. He said that he is not a big fan of baseball; he goes to hang out with his friends.

He was home by 11 p.m. and went to sleep, but not before putting in a little Wii time with his friends.

Reach reporter Samantha Pak at features@thedaily.washington.edu.