Over a decade ago, Ryan Olkes was elected as the student body president for the Undergraduate Student Government on the Polytechnic campus. Today, Olkes is a project manager for Facilities Development and Management, still serving the University community a decade later.
Olkes is one of many former USG presidents who, after their time in office, stepped into leadership roles and credit their career goals and skills to their USG experience. As new USG leadership prepares for the upcoming school year, past presidents share their experiences.
Olkes did not plan on going into project management, but his experience with student government inspired him to stay at ASU.
"Because of my experience with USG, I shifted course and decided I would like to continue helping students, and so I immediately enrolled in the higher education master's program," Olkes said.
Olkes said that although his role as a project manager for FDM covers all campuses, he often gives insight on projects on the Polytechnic campus because he has more history there than many of his other colleagues.
"The focus is to enhance the student experience and make sure that students have spaces on campus that are built for their success," Olkes said.
Olkes said during his time in office, he learned skills like communication, advocacy and critical thinking, which transferred to his career.
READ MORE: Meet your student government presidential candidates
"Project managers ... can manage resources," Olkes said. "Managing resources and communication, schedules, money, are all things that you get taught as USG president; it is a warm-up to what project managers can do."
Similarly, Cecilia Alcantar-Chavez, a graduate student studying global management, also served as USG-P's student body president in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 and plans to work for the City of Phoenix in its management fellowship.
Alcantar-Chavez said during her interview with the City of Phoenix, she talked about her experience being a former USG-P president, which helped her land the job.
"My time in student government that helped me learn how to write memos, which has benefited me and my masters (program) and definitely benefits me in other jobs that I've had," Alcantar-Chavez said.
Alcantar-Chavez said a project management minor as an undergraduate helped her with the duties of being a student body president.
She said one of her defining achievements during her time as president was implementing inclusive dining and catering menus at the dining hall.
"If you've ever seen some of the international or Indian food catering menus, those were things that my team accomplished for ASU," she said. "Aramark actually ended up implementing them in universities throughout the U.S."
Alcantar-Chavez was re-elected as USG-P body president, an accomplishment rarely seen with USG presidents. She said her re-election was driven by students recognizing her commitment to the role.
"I was really passionate about things that I was working on, and my team was really passionate about all the projects we were working on," Alcantar-Chavez said. "I think it showed."
Before her, Jacob Goulding was the first ever USG president to win re-election. He held office in the Tempe campus during his junior and senior years from 2010-2012, while he was studying political science.
READ MORE: Goulding elected USG president
Goulding is the director of recruiting for iMatch Technical Services in Scottsdale, where he specializes in finding tech talent for companies.
"In a weird, roundabout way, I feel like I'm kind of the student body president in the real world," Goulding said. "I'm still continuing the aspect of service and trying to help people in their careers get better jobs."
Goulding said humility was his main takeaway from his time as the USG-T president.
"At the end of the day, you have to not take yourself too seriously and be able to have the communication skills to build relationships and earn trust and establish credibility quickly," Goulding said.
Goulding said he was re-elected for the first time in University history because he maintained a strong presence with students and clubs, and students could see how much he loved the job.
"I lived in my office 60 hours a week ... I lived and breathed it," Goulding said. "I think the results stemmed from people just having fun, and ultimately, it just turned into this big snowball of momentum that helped carry into being reelected."
Goulding's advice for aspiring student government president is to have real ideas, a platform that helps students and experience in USG or be involved in other organizations.
"You need to get involved in student government at a minimum, and then from there, build up your base and those are going to be the people that ultimately support you," Goulding said.
Goulding looks back at his time in office as an important part of his personal and professional growth.
"It was definitely a highlight even now in my professional career," Goulding said. "It was one of the best experiences I've done."
Edited by George Headley, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at vcruzbut@asu.edu and follow @valeriacbutron X.
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