Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that Rodriguez serves as the director of DEI for SGA.
DeKALB — Running uncontested, Leilani Rodriguez, a junior business management major, was elected as president of the Student Government Association with 237 votes.
Rodriguez was among the seven elected positions in March during SGA elections.
Now, as president-elect, Rodriguez hopes to carry out her aspirations as SGA president for the 58th session.
Rodriguez based her campaign on helping incoming students understand the available resources at NIU.
“My biggest thing is students understanding what resources they have access to,” Rodiguez said. “I feel like some departments do a great job of trying to reach out to students, and I don’t think that’s what the problem is. I think it’s more of just refocusing how we’re communicating with students.”
Aside from deciding to run for the SGA presidency, Rodriguez previously worked in the Department of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI). Rodriguez currently serves as the department director in SGA.
“I worked there for about two years, and I kind of just strengthened my leadership skills, and kind of found who I was and the kind of leader I wanted to be on campus, not only a leader, but also the kind of student I wanted to be,” Rodriguez said.
When Rodriguez joined the Student Government Association in fall 2025, she hoped to expand her passion for advocacy through her work in SGA.
“When I found out about SGA, I was like, ‘This is how I can use my passion for advocacy and actually make a change on campus,’” Rodriguez said. “I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to run for president or not. I was kind of just really interested in growing in my leadership role as the director (ADEI).”
One of Rodriguez’s aspirations as SGA president is improving student outreach.
“The biggest thing for me is hearing student outreach, so just making sure that people (students) can share with us how they want to be communicated with,” Rodriguez said. “We kind of push a lot of things on students at times, but we don’t really ask them how they feel or how they like to be best communicated.”
Rodriguez also looks to improve the overall connection between students and faculty by hosting events that allow students to speak with faculty members.
“When I started getting close and connected with faculty, that’s when I really started strengthening my leadership skills, not only my leadership skills, but just overall becoming a more well-rounded student,” Rodriguez said.
Collaboration within the SGA government body is a priority that Rodriguez intends to implement during her presidency.
“I want to make sure that I’m putting student leaders that are passionate about their work, but also they’re willing to learn from other directors,” Rodriguez said. “I want us all to be able to collaborate with one another to make the entire SGA more powerful and more seen.”
In the future, Rodriguez hopes students can become more comfortable reaching out to the SGA.
“I want more students to feel comfortable and come talk to us, come in the offices and talk to us and ask us questions. I want students to come and feel comfortable doing that.”
Rodriguez will assume the role of SGA president in July.
