Teagan Roeder ’18

Earning the title of “El Presidente” during his election, Teagan Roeder discovered a lot about his personality.

“While running for president I found that I really loved public speaking and the experience of being around people,” Roeder said.

The experience of the elections was something Roeder enjoyed.

“The election was a lot of trying to boost people’s morale and I found it hilarious when people called me ‘El Presidente,’” Roeder said.

While Roeder liked the elections, he had some issues with how they were run.

“The current system is undemocratic. Currently, the winner is the candidate with the most votes. Even if the winner doesn’t have a majority, they win. In terms of [a] representational] sys- tem, I think a ranked voting system would work better. Hypothetically, in my election, I would have been able to win with only 51 votes,” Roeder said.

An experience from the presidency that helped Roeder grow was the task of having to respond to the needs of multiple people.

“It’s not an intensive position, but you still have to respond to the people that are like, ‘Hey, we should do X,Y, and Z for the next dance.’ Being accountable gives you a taste of what it’s like to be in an important position,” Roeder said.

Currently Roeder is studying at the U of I. “I am an open major and I am the president of my dorm. I also have something in the works that I am not able to share as of now but I am excited for what the future holds,” Roeder said.