Tori Glover has big plans for her year as the University of Delaware’s Student Government Association president — and she’s making history while doing it.

Glover is the first Afro-Latina and third woman of color to serve in SGA’s highest role, and she said representing other students of color and being an ally for people of all different backgrounds is an important part of her leadership role.

“We're making history over here,” said Glover, whose vice president, Kyle Jenkins, is also the first Black executive vice president of SGA. “Undergraduates can see me in the role and be like, ‘You know what, that could be me one day. That could be something that I want to do. That's a club that has people that look like me.’ ”

Glover said last year’s SGA president, Kasiyah Tatem — the first Black woman and second woman of color to be SGA president — was a friend and mentor. Now, Glover said she hopes to serve as that mentor and role model for younger students.

“I knew this was something I could do, because representation is huge,” Glover said. “It's very encouraging when people see people who look like them in certain positions that they might want to strive for.”

Glover said one of her main goals for the upcoming school year is to expand diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. A lot of progress has been made, she said, citing the new Center for Intercultural Engagement in Perkins Student Center as one example, but she wants to keep that momentum going and bring more voices to the table.

“When you have more people at the table who come from different communities, who are different ethnicities, different races — it's a better conversation,” Glover said. “It's a more enlightened conversation. It's just a better community overall and a better environment overall.”

Glover plans to host more outreach events and continue with student body town halls that were started under Tatem’s leadership. She also wants to increase the communication between the Associate of Arts Program and student government and other registered student organizations.

“Transparency, communication and more outreach are my top priorities,” Glover said. “I want to make sure students know that they can always come to SGA with whatever concerns they have, and if we don't have the answers, we'll find the person that does.”

Glover knew from the start of her college career that she wanted to get involved with SGA at UD. She was the secretary of the student government association her senior year at Appoquinimink High in Middletown, Delaware, and she enjoyed being an advocate for herself and other students.

“Being an advocate is in all sectors of life, whether that’s advocating in health care or as a student,” said Glover, an Honors College student and a medical diagnostics major who plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in healthcare advocacy. “I wholeheartedly love being an advocate for students. If we didn't advocate for one another, then this University wouldn't be running. It's vital for us to advocate for one another.”

As a first-year student, Glover served as a student affairs senator, where she addressed student issues and concerns such as a lack of air conditioning in some of the residence halls. During her sophomore year, which was remote due to the coronavirus pandemic, she served as the College of Health Science academic affairs senator. Last year — her junior year — she was the vice president of University Affairs.

Each of those roles, she said, prepared her for the next level of leadership. It made perfect sense that running for president would be the next step.

“I definitely believe I deserve it,” Glover said. “I don’t feel like I need to do something to prove why I’m in this role. I think everyone who voted for me or people that know me, they know that I deserve this role. I feel like I did a little step each way to become president, and I'm excited to see how this year turns out.”

Glover wants to remind students that anyone can be involved with SGA, regardless of political affiliation, academic major or experience in leadership roles. That diversity is something she strives to embrace.

“We're nonpartisan at SGA. We want to hear people from all different roles,” she said. ‘I think it's very important to be able to bring people from all different walks of life together to have a great conversation. I think there's no way that a community or a university can operate at its best capability if it's not diverse.”