Islas. Javell Sheppard
I spent the day with the president of SXU’s Student Government Association (SGA) Giuliana Islas, to find out how she spends her time and manages such a busy schedule.
In addition to being president of SGA, Islas (whose friends refer to her as Giuli) is the president of SXU Drama, an opinion editor at The Xavierite, a teacher’s assistant (TA), a full-time Communication student, and a friend to many.
She’s been able to achieve all this and also managed to complete her degree in three years.
Before becoming president, Islas was a senator in SGA, and then the vice president (VP) of registered student organizations (RSO’s). She planned on leaving SGA at the end of her second year but was convinced by the former SGA Advisor that she should be president.
Despite her reluctance to take on the role, Islas said that she is honored to be SGA’s president.
“Even though it’s been really stressful cause we’ve had a lot of changes going on internally, I have a really great team I get to work with, and I’m very passionate about amplifying the voice of the students,”
A typical morning for Islas is calm. As a commuter, she drives to and from campus in her car, “Silver Springs”, which is named after a Fleetwood Mac song.
She has the same breakfast every day. Provolone cheese on toast, with scrambled eggs, and a glass of RC Cola. After breakfast, she takes a shower, then spends “a ridiculous amount of time” doing her hair and makeup.
“There’s that one Mitski song where she’s like If I don’t look good I’ll kill myself or something,” Islas said, misquoting indie artist Mitski when explaining why she takes so much time to get ready.
Islas spends most of her day bouncing around from one responsibility to another. On the Thursday that I shadowed her, she started her day with a short guitar lesson.
She bought her guitar in November and has been taking classes since January. While she doesn’t know any songs yet, she is currently learning “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift, and wants to learn “Sara” and “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac.
After telling me this, she leaned forward and whispered “I love Fleetwood Mac.”
Islas then spent a small part of the afternoon tabling in the diner, where she sold tickets for the spring formal before heading over to the Media Center to TA a video production class. Her parking job as she pulled into the lot was very smooth.
In this video production class, Director of Student Media Professor Peter Kreten teaches students technical skills, such as how to manage camera equipment, write scripts, and edit footage.
I was able to sit in on the class as Kreten instructed students to go around campus shooting B roll footage and asked Islas to assist any students who needed help. She made herself available around campus for the next hour, and sent out emails while she had time to spare.
She ended her day at The Xavierite office, where she finished up some work she had to do before declaring “I’m not doing jack sh*t productive right now.”
As drama club works on its production of “Game Of Tiaras” a Disney parody, Islas has been focused on passing the torch to the club’s younger members.
As one of the creators of the club, Islas said that she “learned things the hard way.” She hopes that as the club leaves her hands, the remaining members won’t have to make the same mistakes she did. She expressed love for the club, and is excited to see where it heads in the future.
Islas does so much for SXU because she cares deeply about the opinions of students. The common thread among all her responsibilities is a love for her community. While she does not shy away from giving criticism, she believes that SXU and its students are full of potential.
“SXU to me means a place where you find your own path,” she said, and that making the most of one’s time as a student here means creating the things they want to see.
As our initial interview ended, Islas had this to say for other students who have a lot of ambitions.
“When you believe in something, whether it be a change you want to see in the school, or anything like that, to stick by it. Even if people, no matter who they are, no matter how much power they have in the school, if they try to tell you that it’s not worth it or they try to shoot you down in any way, you stick by what you believe in, and you keep going. When something’s worth it, you fight for it,”
To keep up with Islas, readers can follow SXU Drama, The Xavierite, and SGA on Instagram and The Den. Her office hours are Tuesdays from 10 A.M to noon, Thursdays from 11 A.M to noon, and Fridays from 11A.M to noon in The Soc.
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