On April 24, the Student Union held its annual State of the Union event in the Mandel Atrium. After delivering opening remarks, the former Student Union President Rani Balakrishna ’25 reviewed the Student Union’s accomplishments over the academic year. Before swearing in President-Elect Ria Escamilla Gil ’27 and Vice President-Elect Daniel Shin ’27, Balakrishna reviewed events the Student Union hosted, projects it sponsored, meetings held with faculty members and funding results from the Community Emergency Enhancement Fund and the Campus Sustainability Fund.

The Student Union also recognized accomplishments and successes of its 12 graduating seniors. Continuing the celebration and recognitions, Balakrishna and her successor, Escamilla-Gil, presented internal awards. Of the four committees within the Student Union, Balakrishna announced that the Senate Internal Committee received the Committee of the Year Award. Additionally, the union also recognized the best new club of the year that was chartered during the year. This year, Girls Who Code was awarded best new club. 

According to the club's CampusGroups home page, the club’s mission is “to bridge the gender gap in technology by empowering women and nonbinary students at Brandeis University to develop coding skills, foster confidence and pursue careers in tech.” Escamilla-Gil presented two “Innovator of the Year” awards to Senator-at-Large Luke Faberman ’27 and Balakrishna. Faberman also received the “President’s Choice” award. Balakrishna explained that he is “always willing to help out.” “I've sent so many Slack [messages] this year, I feel like I'm shouting into the void with all of my messages and even after all these messages, Luke's always somehow available to help out.”

In addition to the “Innovator of the Year” award, Balakrishna was also recognized for her four years of service in the Student Union. Xan Maddock-Mark ’25, Zachary Miller ’25 and Rachel Gao ’25 were all recognized for their three years contribution to the union. Gao was also the recipient of the Vice President award presented by Escamilla-Gil. This year’s Senate legislator of the year was presented to Lukas Gordon ’26. Gordon was recognized for what Balakrishna described as an “instrumental” role during bylaw review. 

The union also recognized individuals who contributed to its work meaningfully. Balakrishna expressed gratitude to Assistant Director for Operations, Matthew DeCarlo and Associate Director for Budget and Operations in the Department of Student Engagement, Deepa Khatri. The two administrative staff were presented the “Friends of the Union” award. Director of the Department of Student Engagement, Michelle Polt and Director of Orientation and First Year Experience Laura Flynn were awarded the “Dedicated Service to Student Union” awards. Balakrishna shared that the advisors were “instrumental” in decision making and helping the union get through challenging times. 

After all awards were handed out, Balakrishna swore President-Elect Escamilla-Gil and Vice President Elect Daniel Shin ’27 into their respective positions. 

During her first speech as president, Escamilla-Gil shared her Student Union origin story, as a first-year seeking the First-year Senator role in the Union. Having never participated in student government in highschool, Escamilla-Gil, to her surprise, received an email notifying her that she had been elected by the Brandeis student body. 

As a sophomore, Escamilla-Gil served as Vice President to Balakrishna. She recalled there being “a lot of ups and downs” with changes in the Student Union’s Constitution bylaws and additional challenges. “Good thing that I'm a quick learner,” Escamilla-Gil reflected. She added that she had a “wonderful team” supporting her, which included the Student Union Senate, Treasury and Allocations Board. 

Escamilla-Gil acknowledged that she is taking over in leadership during “really unprecedented times” and said that while some may be “nervous, scared [or have] a lot of questions,” she will “work tirelessly to improve Brandeis, hear student voices and [is] always here to help.” 

Following Escamilla-Gil’s remarks, Shin shared that his motivation to join the Student Union was the desire to be a part of a broader community, while improving the student experience. Shin began his tenure in the Student Union as the North Quadrangle Senator during his first year. This year Shin has taken on multiple roles, including being elected as a Senator-at-Large, Executive Senator and Club Support Chair. The now Vice President thanked the members of the union who have helped him develop leadership skills and support him in his different position leading up to being vice president. In his conclusion, Shin expressed excitement to “continue [his] journey as a Vice President,” and added that the Union is “a team that just wants to make Brandeis better and wants to hear student voices.”

Closing out the State of the Union, Riley Miner ’25, shared remarks in her capacity as an administrative representative to the Board of Trustees Undergraduate Curriculum Committees and Alumni Association. Miner expressed her appreciation for Balakrishna for her leadership in a “thankless role.” She noted that Balakrishna's work during the 2024-25 academic year ensured the Student Union had “people actually knew [knowing] that we did things” and “have [has] a face and presence in student life.”