Colorado Mesa University students were given an opportunity to speak with Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams Friday afternoon during his visit with the CMU Political Science Club.

“I was really happy with the turnout of people,” Alex Perry, president of the CMU Political Science Club, said. “And, I think there were good questions, and [Williams] was super open to answer anything.”

The hour-long presentation and question and answer session covered a variety of subjects ranging from the responsibilities of Williams’ office to his personal decisions as a college graduate.

Justin Gollob, a professor of political science at CMU, said that visits like these offer a hands-on experience that students can’t get out of a textbook.

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“I noticed a lot of the questions were personal, about his experiences, how he got there and how he handles different issues,” Gollob said. “And that’s just something very difficult to teach, so it really supplements our material.”

The visit was organized by CMU Political Science Club member Sierra Creen after she spoke with Williams at a Club 20 event.

“This was student-initiated, student-driven, they’re the ones who wanted to provide the opportunity with the secretary of state,” Gollob said. “I was just happy to support it.”

Student government members were also present at the presentation, including Associated Student Government Vice President Gabby Gile and Student Trustee Beau Flores.

While Williams has visited other Colorado universities on the Front Range, the secretary of state was happy to have his first visit with students at CMU.

“I love the chance to answer questions,” Williams said. “Some of them were directly related to the office and others were more far-ranging.”

While Williams will have to make the long drive back to the Front Range after he concludes his visit to Grand Junction, he’s no stranger to the experience.

“I put 50,000 miles on a car when I was running to be secretary of state,” Williams said. “And we’ve kept up that pace.”