Danna Gonzalez is the new voice of students at the College of DuPage (COD), as election officials announced the results of the Student Leadership Council (SLC) elections that occurred last week. Joining Gonzalez are six students chosen as leadership council officers for the 2026-2027 academic years.
Through the election, COD students voted for their next Student Trustee and SLC officers. In total, 273 ballots were cast in this year’s election. For Student Trustee, Gonzalez was elected with 100 votes, who was previously an SLC representative. Among the seated officer candidates, Isabella “Luna” Escobar received 127 votes, who was previously the 2025-2026 Student Trustee. In addition to Escobar, Gonzalez is seated with 95 votes, Vrunda Patel is seated with 85 votes, Eduardo Contreras is seated with 146 votes, Venuka Rajpurohit is seated with 78 votes and Luka Volarvic is seated with 112 votes.
Following the announcement of the results, newly elected candidates began reflecting on what the outcome meant to them. For Patel, learning the results was a moment to celebrate and reflect on the responsibility that comes with being an officer.
“I felt grateful that students placed their trust in me,” Patel said,“and I immediately began thinking about how I can use this role to ensure that student voices are not only represented but truly heard and acted upon.”
Newly elected Student Trustee Gonzalez said her leadership will center on representation and inclusivity, stating the importance of understanding the diverse needs of COD’s student body and ensuring those perspectives are reflected at the Board of Trustees level.
“Growing up as a child of immigrants, I saw how harmful not being represented was. So I get to use those experiences and connect with students on a deeper level,” Gonzalez said. “I want students to know that they will see from me this willingness to pursue their opinions and pursue what they want.”
Gonzalez said her leadership will focus on directly engaging with students, prioritizing conversations with them to understand their needs and ensure their voices are heard.
“I really want to [have] open conversations. All types of conversations are welcome, no matter how difficult they may be,” Gonzalez said. “Students can not only expect to be able to come to me but also expect that I come to them as well, because it goes both ways. I can’t expect people to come to me if I’m not initiating that first step.”
Other elected officers stated similar advocacy for student engagement, including Contreras, who said his election represents a goal he has pursued since beginning at COD. Looking ahead, Contreras wants to raise awareness of the full range of academic opportunities and career resources offered by the college that are available for students.
“I’m finally able to advocate for students and have the ability to make positive changes. One thing I’m looking forward to is providing more opportunities for students, [both] academically and career-wise,” Contreras said. “I feel like a lot of students don’t know how much COD has to offer.”
Volarvic, who also secured an officer position, said his election for officer was both surprising and meaningful, especially after previously being denied a representative role. He said the experience reinforced his commitment to staying involved and advocating for students.
“I was pretty shocked when I found out I was elected,” Volarvic said. “When I first tried to get involved at COD, I applied to be a student representative, and I got denied, so I went from getting denied from being a representative to now being an officer.”
As he prepares to begin his term, Volarvic said he views the role as an opportunity to take student proposals and ideas and ensure they are heard, followed through and executed.
“I also want to be someone who can get stuff done. Tell me what you need, and I’m going to voice that,” Volarvic said. “I have a goal to have all the proposals that get tossed towards us and all the ideas brought up, to at least get the majority of them done.”
The Courier reached out to Venuka Rajpurohit and Isabella “Luna” Escobar. They had not responded at the time of publication.
As the newly elected officers prepare to begin their terms on May 25, they will first complete an onboarding over the summer and assume full responsibilities starting in August 2026. Gonzalez stressed the importance of maintaining open communication and ensuring that students feel comfortable engaging with SLC as they move forward.
“I know sometimes there’s this divide between SLC and the student body. I don’t know why, but I don’t want [that] to continue. I want to be easily accessible, and I strive to build that within my term,” Gonzalez said. “At the end of the day, we’re not here to serve ourselves. We are here to serve the students.”
SLC invites all students to attend their business meetings on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Service Center (SSC) 1135. For more information, visit the Student Leadership Council website.
