After two years of being in SGA, Nia Ailshie (pictured above being held by other SGA members) finally takes on the presidency role.
When Nia Ailshie first walked into a Student Government Association meeting even as a bright eyed freshman, she knew what she was walking into.
“I really just wanted to serve people, and I really want to emphasize that,” Ailshie said. “I just want to give back and represent the people as best as I can.”
Ailshie means that. Not in a politician-y, résumé-padding kind of way, but in the very specific Milligan sense of service.
Over the past two years, she’s been freshman class president, sophomore class president, and chair of the events committee. By the time this fall rolled around, she knew it was her time to run for SGA president — and not because she was chasing the title, but because she already knew the job.
More importantly, she knew the people.
“I feel like I have the personality to do it,” she said. “To give back, to be confident, to also, like, relate student concerns to faculty and admin.”
Which sounds simple, but isn’t. Most people don’t actually want to be the person relaying student frustrations about parking or housing or broken washers in the dorms to the vice president of student development at 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. But Ailshie kind of does — or at least she’s willing to, which might even be more important.
She’s also a resident assistant in Hart Hall, which gives her an additional layer of what might be called “student body fluency.” RAs see the emotional plumbing of college life up close: roommate drama, homesickness and existential crises over a midterm.
And for Ailshie, that constant interaction has only made her more committed to leading.
“That helps me a lot with communication. I have that connection with my girls, and it’s just about talking to people,” she said.
It’s not that she’s trying to “fix” Milligan — that would be impossible, obviously, and would involve solving things like the campuswide parking crisis, housing overflow and the terrible Wi-Fi signal in specific corners of the SUB — but she’s trying to do the thing that might matter more: be visible. Be reachable. Be present.
And whether that means chatting with students at campus events or just responding to DMs from someone wondering where to report a wasp infestation — she’s there.
Editors note: This story has been revised.
Photo: SGA members smiling and holding up president Nia Ailshie, by Chase McGlamery
