Ben Gillig serves as the president for ECGPS and is currently working towards obtaining his Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies.

Katherine Valde serves as the president of UISG and has now completed her last semester as an undergraduate at UI studying Political Science and History.

Gillig became involved with ECGPS during his first year as a Ph.D. student working as the budget director, managing the finances for student government.

“I was approached by the former president, Michael Appel, and he told me I should consider running. I gave it a lot of thought and decided to go for it,” Gillig says.

Valde started her journey as a freshman senator and worked her way through various positions to lead up to where she is today.

“After my freshman year as a senator, I served on executive board as a part of government relations and was then motivated to run for president during my junior year,” Valde says.

UISG and ECGPS vary in several ways. ECGPS represents graduate and professional students and advocates to the Board of Regents, state and federal legislatures, and university administrators. UISG works with undergraduate students and consists of three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. UISG focuses on environment, education, and advocacy.

Gillig and Valde say they have worked together frequently, especially when working on lobbying. ECGPS and UISG both provide funding for student organization activities and have one common goal: to improve the student experience at the University of Iowa.

Gillig has very full days, and says there is always something that needs to be done. “Some days are really quiet with just a couple of meetings and answering emails, but there’s no typical day and definitely never a dull moment.”

Valde agrees with Gillig, stating she has dedicated a significant amount of time to UISG this past year. “Every day is different. My days are filled with meetings. Sometimes I meet with the executive board or our advisor, but other days I meet with other departments to ask about student opinion. Each day is different but every day is full.” Valde spends between 30-40 hours a week doing student government work.

Gillig says he learned a lot more than he thought he would serving as ECGPS president.

“I was sort of approaching this as it was going to be my job this year and keep it at that, but it really turned out to be an amazing learning experience,” Gillig says. “I’ve been able to experience a lot of things I’ve never done before, in terms of state advocacy and interacting directly with law makers and state legislatures. It’s been an amazing experience and I’ve made some pretty important decisions of where I’m going for my career largely based on student government.”

Valde says the position has been a learning experience that will stay with her in the years to come. “I’ve become much more confident. I’ve learned about managing friendships and work relationships,” Valde says. “I’ve also learned about how much I care about advocacy and working in the public sector. I have been able to turn my visions into reality and that’s a really rewarding feeling.”

As their terms come to an end, the two presidents will use their skills developed from ECGPS and UISG to follow them in years to come. Gillig plans on finishing up his Ph.D. and attending law school at UI, while Valde will move to New York City and begin work at a think tank.

Ben Gillig

Current position: President, Executive Council of Graduate and Professional Students (ECGPS)
Education: Ph.D. Educational Policy and Leadership Studies
Hometown: Coralville, IA

Katherine Valde

Current position: President, University of Iowa Student Government (UISG)
Education: B.A. Political Science, History
Hometown: Iowa City, IA