On April 13 and 14, the Student Government Association (SGA) held their Spring 2016 election for several important positions within the organization. UIS students casted their vote for who they thought would be the best student representative to the Board of Trustees and elected Nathan Hoffman, a UIS junior, to that position.

As student trustee, Hoffman will act as a direct liaison between the UIS student body and the Board of Trustees that oversees many important operations for UIS, as well as the other University of Illinois campuses spread across the state.

Although Hoffman will not officially fill the position until the the fall semester of 2016, he already has a list of what he plans to do, starting with building relationships with fellow students in SGA and the UIS administration.

“I plan to meet with Chancellor Koch and the other senior administrators to forge the start of a good working relationship,” Hoffman said. “I hope to meet with my newly elected counterparts at UIC and UIUC and facilitate a discussion on how we can make the most of our year on the Board of Trustees.”

“It’s tough to name my biggest goal, but I have a number of top tier items,” Hoffman said.

Some of those items include expanding off-campus transportation options for students, pushing Parking Operation reforms that started this year in SGA (especially filling those pesky potholes around campus), and working to increase job opportunities both on and off campus for undergraduate and graduate students.

No stranger to SGA, his decision to run for student trustee came after serving as student senator for transfer students for a year. “We accomplished quite a lot and stirred conversation on some very important topics on campus,” Hoffman said.

When asked if he had anything to say directly to the UIS student body, Hoffman replied:

“I’m humbled and greatly appreciative to the student body. I ran for this office with the understanding that I was less known on campus, but I knew I had the experience and the commitment to carry out the duties. Leadership Lived is our motto and I intend to carry out that motto. It’s also important to me that we move ourselves out of the many silos we are in and become #ONEUIS. I’m hoping to work to create greater enthusiasm and buy-in for our athletic teams and our campus clubs and organizations.”

Hoffman said he – along with his fellow SGA student members – hopes to carry on the same aggressive agenda on behalf of the students that was pushed last year.

For a full list of this year’s SGA election results, visit the SGA’s website from the UIS homepage.