Most College of DuPage students will be filled with hope of the start a colorful spring next month, but for Stephanie Torres, student body president, and Michelle Gallardo, student body vice president, spring’s bright beginnings bring the earnest endings of a leadership experience that has shaped the both of them.

“It is really sad, most of us, are leaving to for another college,” Gallardo said. The “us” she refers to are the members of the Student Leadership Council. In mid-March, online elections will take place for student trustee, student body president and student body vice president. There are two candidates running for each position.

Even with sadness that surround a close group of colleagues disbanding, Torres and Gallardo realized that the upcoming elections should be a pleasant time for students at COD.

“It is really exciting because we know we are going to get more people involved,” Gallardo said.

While Torres is completing a 3+1 nursing program with Benedictine University, she hopes to continue leading students on a bigger platform this time.

“I am running for the student seat on the Illinois Community College Board,” Torres said. “When you start getting involved it is really hard to just move on with your life without continuing to do it.”

As Torres and Gallardo reveal, the key phrase is “getting students involved.” As they explain, getting students to take the first step is the hardest part. Last year, student election turnout was very low.

“Around 500 people voted out of almost 30,000 students,” Torres said.

Thus, Torres and Gallardo want to ensure that as many students as possible know about the elections and vote.

Erick Mariano, a first-year nursing student, was initially unaware of student elections and feels COD is doing a disservice to students by not informing them.

“I think most students just don’t know [about the elections],” Mariano said. “They are really good at sending emails for other stuff. They should send emails to inform students on what’s going on.”

It should be noted that for a college the size of COD, the Student Leadership Council is very small.

“We have six people representing almost 30,000 people,” Torres added. “If we knew how to get more students involved, there would be more students involved.”

Despite this, Torres said that she understands why many students are not that informed. During her first year, she explained that she was not very involved.

“I would just come to school and go home,” Torres said.

That summer, after being tired of sitting at home, Stephanie Torres decided to sign up for a free retreat hosted by the Living Leadership program.

“That was the turning point,” Torres said.

Now after a year as student trustee and a year as the SLC president, Torres describe her role at COD as being a “student voice” to the administration.

“They really do listen to us,” Torres said of the administration, “we are part of a bigger dynamic machine.”

The SLC consists of a president and vice president, who are elected and then appoint coordinators who oversee things like outreach and community service. The members of the SLC take part in the college decision-making process and are called on by the administration to represent the students.

Torres believes her achievements can attest to taking part in school affairs.

“While we haven’t done everything on our agenda, we’ve had events like Pizza with the President,” Torres said. “ I’m very proud of the volunteer work we did.”

As Torres and Gallardo prepare to step down from their positions, Torres wants students to look back and know that her and her colleagues wanted the best for students.

“I would like them to know that we represented them with dignity,” Torres said. “We really did everything in our power to inform them.”