By Elianna Novitch
The second female duo to ever lead the University of Iowa Student Government reviewed their administration and time at the university as they prepare to move on to their postgraduation endeavors.Rachel Zuckerman and Lauren Freeman served as president and vice president of the 2016-17 UISG administration.
“I would characterize [graduating] as bittersweet,” Freeman said. “Obviously, the University of Iowa has been an amazing community and home to me and has really allowed me to grow in so many different ways so it’s sad to say goodbye but also very exciting that I can take the experiences I’ve learned from going here to the next stage of my life.”
Freeman will graduate with a double major in political science and economics. While she is still looking for a job, she plans to work in local government and eventually get a master’s degree in public administration.
Zuckerman will graduate with a double major in political science and journalism and a certificate in cultural competence. She will spend this summer working in the UI President’s Office, continuing the work she and Freeman started with UISG. Zuckerman plans to then work for the city of Detroit for a year before going to graduate school.
In reviewing their administration, Zuckerman and Freeman are proud of their accomplishments.
“We set out to change the culture of the organization, and I think we did,” Zuckerman said. “I could pick out any number of actual accomplishments or tangible initiatives but I think what’s more meaningful is that we created a service-oriented, student-centered culture in which people are results-driven. I think that will have more lasting implications than any individual initiative.”
Freeman echoed Zuckerman’s words.
“I think the engagement of our student government has been unprecedented this year, and I’m really proud of all the work that everyone has done in UISG,” Freeman said. “The productiveness of this year, from our leadership, from the hard work of many members, has just been really exciting to see.”
UISG Senator Lindsey Rayner, who served under Zuckerman and Freeman, attributed UISG’s success to strong leadership.
“There was a quote about leadership that said, ‘Leaders know the way, they show the way, and they go the way,’ and I think that is absolutely what Rachel and Lauren have done,” Rayner said. “They didn’t step into the role as wondering what they were doing to do with it, they walked in knowing what they needed to accomplish, how they were going to accomplish it, and pushed the entire organization forward.”
Rayner originally met Zuckerman when she was her residence assistant sophomore year and met Freeman through UISG.
“I’m going to miss their example of excellence and example of dedication. They knew they had one year to accomplish what they wanted to accomplish and they did not let one second slip through their fingers,” Rayner said. “I don’t think I’ll work for better people.”
As for working with each other, both Zuckerman and Freeman recognized their positive dynamic.
“We just work really well together. It was a happy accident. From day one of planning our campaign and then really getting into the weeds with student government and leading it, it’s been a pleasure working with Rachel and learning a lot from her and her leadership style,” Freeman said. “It’s been an amazing opportunity to see our different personalities and skill sets come together this year.”
Zuckerman said though her and Freeman differ, they complimented each other’s skill sets.
“When I asked her to run [with me] I understood that we were pretty opposite,” Zuckerman said. “But there’s the saying ‘opposites attract’ and I think that’s really true and where I was deficient, she was more than sufficient and vice versa.”
Zuckerman and Freeman recognized the historical significance of two women leading UISG.
“I think that any conversation about this needs to recognize the fact that we benefit from years of advocacy and the strength of women that came before us,” Zuckerman said. “I’m very lucky in that after being in four years of student government I saw three women presidents, myself being one of them, and so we are very proud but we’re also very humbled in the fact that we’re just one pair of what is many women leaders who have been trailblazing in the past and hopefully of many in the future.”
Both hope to have made an impact with their time as leaders of UISG and their time at Iowa.
“I hope that we’ve established more respect for the student voice, whether that’s in the classroom or with our administrators, I hope they see us as stakeholders who are invested and willing to help make things better and that we have valuable opinions and perspectives and unique experience that should be at the table when important experiences are being made,” Zuckerman said.
Freeman hopes that the changes they made during their time at the UI will be long lasting ones.
“We entered our terms in student government with the idea that we’d probably be making changes that we wouldn’t see but future generations of students would see, and I hope that’s true and that we can come back to the University of Iowa in like five, 10 years from now and see changes that we’ve made a mark on,” Freeman said.
