By Anette Perez
Trinity Times Correspondent

When first-year student and criminal justice major Emili Gomez joined the Student Government Council (SGC) at Trinity Washington University, she did not expect to find a role model among its members. But the president of the SGC, senior Jamilehy Ramos, quickly left a lasting impression.

“She’s an amazing leader. I don’t know how she can manage to do all of the things she does for the school and at the same time keep up with her classes,” Gomez told Trinity Times. “I want to be like her.”

When Ramos first got involved in student government as a freshman, she did not necessarily envision herself as one day serving as SGC president. Now a senior majoring in business administration with a minor in fine arts, Ramos leads the SGC with a simple but powerful goal: connection.

This goal stems from a disconnect she noticed between the various student organization leaders on campus, including club leaders.

“I like to help everyone out the best I can,” Ramos said. “I wanted to help Trinity out and create that bond between all the leaders so we can try to make the school much more active and fun together.”

According to Trinity’s website, the SGC serves to promote communication and collaboration between student organizations, the student body and the administration at Trinity Washington University. It is composed of undergraduate students who hold various leadership positions, including class presidents and vice presidents, Campus Activities Association (CAA) leaders and Commuter Student Council (CSC) leaders.

The SGC was established alongside Trinity 125 years ago. It functions within the Office of Student Affairs and holds monthly meetings to plan and organize events for the semester. The mission of the group is to advocate for the well-being of Trinity students and operate as a nontraditional model of student governance that offers students a voice and student rights.

While all members of the student government play an important role, the president of SGC communicates with and oversees all council members, making the position central to the overall coordination of the organization.

On most days, Ramos follows the same routines as average undergraduate students – studying, finishing assignments and rushing between responsibilities. But in addition to these duties, Ramos is also checking in with student leaders, meeting regularly with administrators and organizing meaningful events to bring the campus community together. She describes her role as supportive and administrative.

“I have more meetings with the administration,” she said. “I advocate for not only the student body but also for the other class leaders.”

Ramos also said that her academic background has influenced how she approaches leadership. She said her management and leadership classes helped her understand how to manage a diverse group and offer better support.

“I’ve never seen [Ramos] mad or discouraged about being a leader,” said Flor Meraz, a senior majoring in business administration and the vice president of the Green Class.

Meraz explained that she is close with Ramos, having studied the same major and worked together throughout their time as members of SGC. Ramos was hesitant to run for SGC president, but encouragement from Meraz and other peers gave Ramos the confidence to run for the role.

One of the things that makes Ramos a distinctive leader is her focus on collaboration. She says she enjoys nurturing a team and sharing leadership so the entire group can work together to help the student body.

“If you attend one of the SGC meetings, you’ll see we’re all connected,” Meraz said. “[Ramos] consistently showcases a passion for leadership, and she builds us up.”

Throughout her term, Ramos has assisted with a number of events, but her personal favorites were a toiletry drive that supported a local shelter, a UNO game tournament in partnership with the CAA and the distribution of midterm care packages by the CSC. To plan the events, Ramos leads biweekly meetings where members come together to brainstorm. She also helps prepare event proposals and reserve campus locations.

SGC advocates for student concerns by gathering feedback from classmates and student organizations, Ramos said. However, she also admitted that one of the challenges for SGC is the lack of student body involvement.

“We don’t really hear much from the student body,” Ramos said. “It kind of gets discouraging when we make events and then there’s no one there.” 

One example she gave was a recent town hall focused on hearing from the student body’s general concerns. However, after organizing and publicizing the event, no students attended.

“We try to make it more accessible for everyone,” said Gomez, who also serves as the Blue Class president. She suggested that it’s difficult to increase student engagement “because most of the students here are commuters and they often come here, take their classes and leave.”

Ramos has experimented with other ways of gathering feedback. For instance, she posted a form on the SGC board, located in the basement of Main Hall, where students could stop by and leave feedback on what they want changed or share their concerns as they head to their classes.

On a more individual level, Ramos says the biggest challenge for her has simply been balancing the duties of the role with everyday student life. With a laugh, she said that she is typically on top of her responsibilities but is guilty of procrastination, especially around finals season. Still, the experience has been rewarding, as it has given Ramos opportunities for growth.

“She has grown and matured as a leader,” said Trinity’s dean of student services, Michele [Meechie] Bowie. “Consistency and caring about what she is tasked to do makes her very effective.”

Bowie supervises the student council and has worked closely with Ramos over the past year but has watched her evolve since her freshman year. Bowie praised Ramos, calling her “an excellent leader and mentor for all the other presidents and vice presidents of her board as well as her peers.”

Before graduating in May, Ramos hopes to leave SGC stronger than she found it, with her biggest goal being to increase student involvement in leadership. She noted that only a few students have shown interest in leadership positions and aims to inspire more students to run for SGC positions and become engaged.

Ultimately, Ramos wants to be remembered as a leader who was always willing to help and listen to her fellow students. She has helped build a community among government leaders and, through hard work, has established a genuine foundation for leaders to come.

“I hope that by the end of my term and semester, more students will be interested in running for leadership or just being more engaged with SGC in general,” she said. “I want my legacy to be that I was here and always aimed to help to the best of my capabilities.”