Printed with permission of Elsa O’Brien

Senior Elsa O’Brien’s journey at Colgate University has been anything but ordinary. From being a quiet girl who never intended to hold a public position, much less president of the Student Government Association (SGA), she has since become a powerhouse on campus, boasting an impressive number of other leadership roles. 

O’Brien is originally from the Bay Area in California and had never experienced snow, yet somehow ended up all the way in upstate New York. What made her choose Colgate? 

“I applied in the heat of COVID, like way before the vaccine, so I never got to tour a single college. […] It was the online forums where people commented, like Reddit — where people talked about the community,” O’Brien explained. “[I read about how] it’s not just you and your friends, it’s the professors, it’s the faculty, it’s the staff, it’s the town. And I was like, that’s rare, and I just had a good feeling. I applied ED1, I got in and I cried.” 

Funnily enough, O’Brien never intended to hold as many leadership positions as she currently does. In fact, she was an extremely shy person who wanted to go through university completely unnoticed. During her first year, when she received an email about running for SGA, she couldn’t understand why anyone would apply for it. 

“Who would run for a college student government? I guess I wasn’t a very happy or social person when I came to Colgate, and I think I ‘180-ed,’” O’Brien reflected. 

Eventually, after noticing the issues with the current government, O’Brien was determined to make a positive change for the Colgate community. 

“I came into student government in the middle of my sophomore year. Student government wasn’t in its best place […]. I had this idea that I’m going to stick through with it for this team, just to help this group through it,” O’Brien said.

She emphasized her goal of representing the people who were too shy to voice their opinions or to speak out, much like how she was prior to this role.

“I think of the student government and its purpose for representing students. It deserves a chance, you know, because I kept thinking there’s a shy girl out there somewhere just like me, who maybe wants to see something different in their experience, and they just can’t say it,” O’Brien explained. “We should be there for them; we should get back on track representing students. I was like, you know what? This deserves a shot, so I ran. I ran, and I won.” 

Fast forward to her senior year, O’Brien’s full list of positions and accomplishments includes social media chair for Colgate University Television (CUTV), entertainment director for the Student Activities Association (SAA), acting treasurer and co-president for the SAA, vice president and acting co-president for Creative Arts Society (CAS), Career Services office ambassador and summer intern, admission ambassador (in the summer and academic year), SGA liaison to student organizations and the president, a presidential ambassador and a classical studies 2023 extended study participant.

O’Brien is also extremely passionate about English and classical studies, her two concentrations. Ever since she was young, she has always loved books and English, and had always intended to pursue those interests in university. Prior to the current Core Conversations class, there were two separate required core classes at Colgate, one of them being Legacies of the Ancient World. Her professor for Legacies happened to also be a classics professor, and encouraged O’Brien to sign up for a Latin course in her sophomore year. She immediately fell in love, and within six weeks, she declared a major in both English and classical studies.  

“My academics are my greatest happiness at Colgate, like they are my everything […]. I ended up in an English class my first semester,” O’Brien said. “[I] loved the department, and that professor who taught my first semester class ended up being my advisor for the major.” 

When asked about her favorite Colgate experience, O’Brien immediately answered that it was taking the classics courses. 

“That classics room is the only place I can let my guard down. It’s the only place […]. It goes for English too, don’t get me wrong, but the three years I’ve had classes in the Classics Center have just been the only place I can let loose and truly be myself […]. It’s where the best memories have happened,” O’Brien reflected.

Finally, O’Brien concluded with one piece of advice for the younger Colgate students.

“I would say the biggest advice I could give is whether it’s something as simple as going to dinner with a friend, or something like, ‘Hey, have you considered applying to this position in a campus office or club,’ is to just do it. Because you don’t know what little moment, what little interaction could lead you on this path,” O’Brien said. “If I had never picked up someone’s phone call who said, ‘Hey, there’s this open position on something called SAA, I would have never found the SAA, and I would have never been the SGA president […]. When you have the opportunity to do something, to try something, do it.”