Leadership lived: Dream comes true for new Student Government Association president

As a freshman, Joseph McGee set a goal of becoming president of the Student Government Association (SGA) at the University of Illinois Springfield by his senior year. Thanks to his hard work and the opportunities available to him at UIS he’s achieved his goal.

“I’ve always been an advocate for the students and trying to get things fixed and better for the student’s lives at the school, so when I found out they had SGA, I automatically wanted to be president before I graduated,” he said.

McGee was selected by his fellow students to become SGA president following a campus-wide election. He’s also involved in Model Illinois Government, College Democrats, and the Black Male Collegiate Society.

His involvement on campus has taught him many leadership lessons that will continue to benefit him in the future.

“It’s teaching me a lot about life,” said McGee. “It’s teaching me a lot about myself and a lot about others also because where I came from for school; it wasn’t really diverse at all, so coming here, interacting with different people, it’s really good.”

McGee is a political science and legal studies major who is considering attending law school or becoming a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger following graduation.

“This is something that I’m going to be going into, so it all prepares me,” he said.