Senior Spotlight: Amari Troutt Builds Belonging

This piece is part of our Senior Stories series, in which we highlight GU students throughout the year.

Name: Amari Troutt
Studies: Sports management, entrepreneurship and visual literacy
Hometown: Spokane, Washington

Amari Troutt goes after what she wants – and brings others with her. As president of Gonzaga’s Black Student Union and a driving force behind fostering community and connection, she’s making sure everyone has a place to belong.

Troutt came to Gonzaga following her family’s footsteps: her grandfather worked in admissions at Gonzaga and her grandmother was a student.

“In my freshman year, I was looking for community on campus. I was trying to find a space where I could be with people who had similar lived experiences as me. That’s when I joined BSU,” said Troutt.

Troutt quickly rose through the ranks of the student club, serving as secretary her sophomore year, vice president her junior year, and ultimately president in her senior year. Troutt takes great pride in her work with the Black Student Union, an organization she says is vital to student life on Gonzaga’s campus, and to the Gonzaga community as a whole.

During her time in leadership, Troutt spearheaded multiple new initiatives in the club, including starting a new annual community event, the Grill and Chill, creating a Black Student Union alumni network, and working with local news organization the Black Lens.

“In Spokane, there’s been kind of a misunderstanding of what BSU is, and there’s a belief that we get stuck in the Gonzaga bubble, and I really wanted us to branch out from that,” says Troutt.

Troutt began the Grill and Chill in 2024, a large barbecue between Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, Spokane Falls Community College, Whitworth University and Spokane Community College. Troutt organized the inaugural event, contacting the schools and securing sponsorship from local businesses.

In her role as president, she also helped organize the annual BSU dinner, a tradition stemming back nearly 10 years at Gonzaga.

“This year we decided to go with the theme of Soul Train for the BSU Dinner to showcase the importance of Black music and the playful and colorful ’70s culture.”

The celebration featured soul food, students performing spoken word, and a “Family Feud” game. “It was so much fun, and people really dressed up,” said Troutt.

While BSU takes up one facet of Troutt’s life, sports take up the other.

“I’ve always been interested in working in sports,” says Troutt. “Growing up, my brothers played football, basketball and ran track. My family grew up low-income, and my mom wasn’t always able to afford the opportunities for them to go to tournaments or play on certain teams.”

Troutt reflected on how it was disheartening to see the differences in athletics between kids who had access to resources in sports and those who didn’t.

“That inspired me to go into sports to try and tighten the gaps and create more opportunity for all kids,” Troutt says. “Ultimately, I want to open my own nonprofit gym and offer different resources like recruitment, guidance, nutrition help and sport-specific training.”

Troutt is currently a part of the sports management club and is an undergraduate assistant for the women’s basketball team, balancing her love of sports management with her leadership role with BSU.

As Amari looks towards graduation, she hopes to pass the reins of president to someone who can finish what she started in building BSU into the greater Spokane community.

“BSU is a space of empowerment, leadership, and community. A place where I can uplift Black students, celebrate culture, and create meaningful connections while making a lasting impact on Gonzaga and Spokane,” says Troutt. “It’s not just about student life but also bridging gaps and building relationships beyond campus.”