Najee Rodriguez Elected Student Body President
Shortly after polls closed this evening, junior Najee Rodriguez was elected as Penn State’s next student body president.
Rodriguez was elected alongside his running mate, Sydney Gibbard, in an uncontested race. The duo will serve as the president and vice president for UPUA’s 17th Assembly.
Together, Rodriguez and Gibbard garnered 2,053 votes (85.6%) on Thursday, while nearly 350 votes went to ineligible write-ins. In total, just under 2,400 students voted — down from 3,300 in 2021 and nearly 5,000 in 2020.
Rodriguez is a history and international politics major from Orlando, Florida. For the past year, he’s served as Penn State’s student body vice president, alongside president Erin Boas. Rodriguez has also previously served within UPUA as a first-year representative, a College of the Liberal Arts representative, and the first-ever chair of UPUA’s Justice and Equity Committee. Rodriguez will be the first queer person of color to serve as student body president.
Gibbard, also a junior, is from Yardley, Pennsylvania. She’s majoring in biomedical engineering with a concentration in biochemistry and molecular biology. Most recently, Gibbard served as UPUA’s speaker of the assembly, but she also has experience as the vice-chair of academic affairs, faculty senate student senator, and a College of Engineering representative.
Additionally, the following at-large and academic representatives were elected to serve in UPUA’s 17th Assembly.
At-Large Representatives
- Giselle Concepcion
- Elliot Copeland
- Kayla Davidson
- Carter Gangl
- Marissa Gillespie
- Isabel Graham
- Simran Kakar
- Conor Kelley
- David Morgan
- Elijah Neal
- Nora O’ Toole
- Zachary Perrin
- Vikram Raj
- Joshua Reynolds
- Daniel Rodgers III
- Lev Rotkin
- Siddharth Shah
- Zion Sykes
- Jordan Deibler
- Mitchell Scordo
Academic Colleges
College of Education
Giani Clarke
College of Engineering
Kyle Quinn
College of the Liberal Arts
Isaiah Johnson
Smeal College of Business
Ryan Setzenfand
College of Agricultural Sciences
Brandon Bixler
Bellisario College of Communications
Owen Haddad
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Matthew Roy
Eberly College of Science
Vincent Smedile
Division of Undergraduate Studies
Ava Phillips
College of Arts and Architecture
Ky McKenna
Schreyer Honors College
Tori Kovalchick
College of Informational Sciences and Technology
Chris Virostek
College of Health and Human Development
Jenna Angel
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