EDITOR’S NOTE: The responses in this report have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
DeKALB – A National Guard and United States Army veteran, James Innis, senior accountancy major, was elected the Student Government Association vice president for the 2024-2025 academic year. Innis spoke to the Northern Star about himself and what he wants to accomplish as SGA vice president.
Question: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what you like to do in your free time?
Answer: I am a non-traditional student. I’m going into my senior year. I’m an accountancy major. I came here in the fall of ‘21, right after COVID was ending. Before that, I was in the National Guard for three years. And then before that, I was on active duty in the United States Army for three years. I did that right out of high school. I’m looking forward to graduating, getting out there, doing the workforce. I’m going to miss NIU a little bit. And as far as my free-time, weirdly enough, I roller skate recreationally. I used to work at a roller rink in high school, so this is an interesting hobby that I’ve had for a long time because of that. Other than that, I’m a really big movie buff, sci-fi, fantasy. Same thing with reading books and stuff like that. Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and things like that.
Q: Have you been part of SGA before, and if so what role did you have prior to being elected vice president?
A: My freshman year I ran in the election that was spring of 2022. I ran as a university-at-large Senator, got elected and then I served on the Senate for the full spring semester of ‘22. First semester I served in the Senate. I was in the Finance Committee and then the Campus Life and Greek Affairs committee. A couple things we did do in the Finance Committee, we just approved the funding for organizations that would come in and have events they want to put on and SGA would approve their funding and you know, people put those on for Campus Life and Greek Affairs Committee.
And then, actually, the student body president at the time, his chief of staff, was graduating in the fall and he saw my work ethic and he asked me if I wanted to take over that position. So I applied to the interview and then went up before the Senate and got appointed chief of staff. I served as the chief of staff for spring of ‘23.
And then actually the director of DEI, Olivia Newman, so basically I was kind of her boss because chief of staff manages all the directors. And then she ran in the election one and she was looking for people who were, you know, in SGA and had experience. And then she asked me if I wanted to be her director of organizational development.
Q: What does SGA mean to you?
A: I think it’s just mostly like giving power to the students, they can start an organization or giving them money. It’s pretty great. So when they start their new organizations and then they’re putting on all these events and they’re organizing. Like a good example of this was, I remember distinctly, because last spring we had a new organization come in. It was Students for Justice in Palestine. And you know, within a week they were approved. And then a couple days later they’re out, and they’re walking around campus. They’re protesting and things like that. So it’s going to see students taking power for themselves. Another thing is just leadership development is a big thing in SGA. I’ve seen people come in as senators and then they go on to the executive branch, they’ll go into the judicial branch, they’ll be a Chief Justice, and just seeing their leadership development throughout the years is really incredible.
Q: What do you want to accomplish as SGA vice president this year?
A: I’d just like to set SGA up for success. I mean, the main thing when I accepted the role of director of organizational development last year was I didn’t really have any transition materials was a big thing. So I was kind of going into the role blindly. Thankfully, we had SGA experienced people who had been on the organizational oversight committee and they were able to kind of mentor me through the process and I picked it up really quickly. But just making sure that every role has transitional materials left in place. So it’s like step by step instructions for the next person.
Another thing is also growth, getting out there and making sure students know who we are, know that we exist, know that they can join, that it is, you know, it’s a governing body, but people are voted and elected into these positions, at least on the legislative side and obviously the executive branch that people can get appointed to directorships and kind of build their resume and build their success.
And then another thing I really wanted I’ve been talking to President Jones about was our Instagram, our social media presence. A lot of students don’t know SGA exists. And if they do, they’re like, ‘oh, you know, like that’s, that’s great.’ But they’re not really interested. So just beefing up our social media, getting students interested, letting them know what we do and why it’s so important, and then just growing their organization.
Q: What is your favorite thing about NIU?
A: Honestly, with the four years I’ve been here, it seems like a really small university, at the same time, it feels like it’s so big. And then I love the diversity here. I love the fact that there’s people from all walks of life, different states. We have international students. It was just like when I was in the Army and we had people I was serving with and they’d be from all over the place. There’d be people who got their citizenship by enrolling in the United States Army and just serving with them. And it was just so much fun and hearing all these stories and these walks of life. That’s what I love most about NIU honestly.
Q: What would you like students to know about you?
A: I guess the main thing is that I do have scheduled office hours, but I am readily available. Someone can type in my name and send me an email so they can come talk to me whenever I’m available. I have an open door policy.
