In the fall of 2023, Nico Giro-Martin ’27 decided to run for class president. It was then he met his now vice president, Sophie Kennedy ’27, who ran as his opponent. The pair reconnected and combined their passion for student government, winning the Student Assembly student body presidential election Thursday, March 26.
Giro-Martin has served as class president for three years. While an experienced leader within SA, he said that this transition has still had its discrepancies.
“I started in freshman year, so I’m not new to putting my face out,” he said. “But then, blowing that up to like 9,000 people, both undergrads and graduates, is just a whole other scope. It really felt different, and I’m opening myself up to these people that I have never met, and they have never met me.”
Outside of SA, Giro-Martin is an active member of the Latin American Student Union. He served as historian during his sophomore year and is currently finishing his time as co-president alongside Carlos Juarez ’27.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve been a part of is LASU,” he said. “It is an amazing space of community and a space where I have been able to grow my leadership skills running the executive board with Carlos.”
Giro-Martin is confident that his leadership experience with LASU will translate well to his new role.
“It’s a lot of management and understanding of what the organization wants,” he said. “Some people are in it for the intramurals, some people are in it for the social aspect and some for the cultural. Balancing that with our budget and time constraints are all things that I tackled during my time as president.”
Giro-Martin’s personal hobbies are also rooted in his values.
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve talked about the things I can do for you,” he said. “I haven’t really talked about who I am.”
Giro-Martin mentioned his love for thrifting.
“I’m very big on sustainable fashion and understanding our impact on the environment, and that’s something that I bring into thrifting,” he said.
He also emphasized his passion for cinema.
“The Oscars are like my Super Bowl,” he said. “Awards season is just a beautiful time for me. If I ever have free time, and sometimes when I’m not even free, I’m still watching a movie.”
Giro-Martin highlighted some of his broader goals and interests for the upcoming term.
“There’s a lot of things I hope to change, especially reworking our data analytics department. It’s had a lot of time put into it, but with very little results,” he said. “We do hope to bring efficient care to Student Assembly and to students with our data.”
The issue of pedestrian safety is particularly meaningful to Giro-Martin. During his time in the senate, he sponsored the Pedestrian Safety Act, which added a new crosswalk and crosswalk safety lights on Jamestown Road near Lemon Hall.
“It’s finding ways to do smaller changes on campus in something I am interested in,” he said. “In general, an educational campaign for public safety is also something I am really interested in doing.”
He noted that Kennedy hopes to rework the inclusion of period products in campus bathrooms.
“Currently, the senate is pushing the Period Act and Period Project in general, which will fund all further replacements,” he said. “Logistically, we don’t have the right working facilities to get these products adequately refilled. At the end of the day, we’re not serving the students well enough.”
Giro-Martin said that he has spoken with former SA President Zoe Wang ’25 M.P.P. ’26, who has worked with the Virginia General Assembly to push for free health products in all Commonwealth schools. He hopes to continue this advocacy throughout his term.
“Other than those two things, it really is just seeing as we go,” he said. “Hopefully through that, we get some work done.”
The support of Giro-Martin’s team and peers has been crucial to his success.
“It’s these people that I surround myself with that I am just so in awe of and so in love with because they are campus to me,” he said. “They are William and Mary to me. And I hope to take care of them as much as I take care of the student body.”
He highlighted a few integral members of his process, including Kennedy.
“She is truly my rock when I don’t know what to do,” he said. “When I need just a second opinion, she’s always there for me, and she has just so much love for Student Assembly and the student body as well, which is exactly what we need in Student Assembly.”
Giro-Martin also mentioned the former SA presidents.
“The three presidents that I’ve experienced, Sydney Thayer [’24], Terra Sloane [’25], Zoe Wang, they’ve all taken their own very unique spin on this position,” he said. “I’m learning from each one of them and looking at how they took care of Student Assembly and what I can bring to it.”
As an international relations major, Giro-Martin believes that the skills he will gain as president will help his career goals.
“I’m constantly tuned into politics, but I’ve always been interested in student government even before I knew I wanted to get into this kind of career,” he said. “This is definitely shaping me and helping my understanding of how to collaborate with bodies in Richmond and state-level governments. It is something very new to me, so I’m going to have to learn in my time as student body president.”
Applications for the upcoming cabinet opened Monday, March 30.
“We’re currently working with the current administration to understand the pinpoints that they’ve left behind so that we can carry those on while continuing our own projects,” Giro-Martin said. “I’m excited to get to work.”
