A journey from club member to student government leader

“When I started at the UW Bothell, years ago, if you had told me I would one day be student government president, I would have told you it was impossible.”

That was the message, Associated Students of University of Washington Bothell president Adan Rodriguez shared at the 2025 I ❤️UW Bothell Luncheon.

Rodriguez was featured as a speaker for the event which raised $252,000 to support student scholarships and programs. He shared his experiences as a college student and reflected on the challenges too many students face.

“Sadly, some students see so many barriers in their way,” Rodriguez said, “that they may believe it’s impossible for them to graduate.”

Finding impact and opportunity on campus

Throughout his time at UW Bothell, Rodriguez said he has “grown from a once shy student into a confident leader.”

He traces the start of his growing confidence back to joining the TrickFire Robotics club. Initially, he joined to gain hands-on engineering experience, but when the club needed a treasurer, he applied for the role — a move that later led to him becoming club co-president.

As the treasurer, Rodriguez was responsible for the club’s finances and learned how student fees were distributed on campus. But being in clubs didn’t just help Rodriguez gain engineering and finance skills. He said they “also built a community around me who supported me and encouraged me when it came to putting myself forward for something like being the ASUWB president.”

Rodriguez put himself out there again when a vacancy for the ASUWB director of finance opened. He got the job and, in the role, managed the committees that approved the use of funds from the Student Technology Fee and Service & Activities Fee. This experience gave him insight into student needs while he helped choose where funds were allocated — something he shared with the luncheon audience.

“I know that many students have to work multiple jobs to pay for their college,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve heard about students who have struggled with food insecurity and have used UW Bothell’s Husky Pantry for meals.”

After his time as director of finance, deciding to run for president was a natural next step so he could advocate even more for those same students.

Advocating for student success and support

Now ASUWB president, Rodriguez said he wants to see all students succeed. He believes student government can be central to their success as it makes it possible for students to “talk about things that matter to them when they otherwise wouldn’t have a voice.”

One group of students Rodriguez said he wants to support specifically are those from Indigenous backgrounds. He is a member of both the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Nakota of White Bear tribes, and said he is all too aware of the experiences of Native students.

Being separated from tribal culture, especially given the Indigenous diaspora, can lead to identity issues. “Because of dispersal and relocation, many Indigenous students feel far from their culture,” he said. “I’m an urban Native. I haven’t lived on any reservation, and my family’s tribes are not from this area.

“One thing I want to do is start an Indigenous Peoples Club on campus,” he said. “It would connect Indigenous students back to their cultures — whatever that may look like.”

Rodriguez has other goals to advocate for Indigenous students that he wants to work on with the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. He is also hopeful that, one day, UW Bothell will have its own, dedicated tribal liaison position.

Creating opportunities on a smaller campus

When Rodriguez reflected on his road to becoming ASUWB president, he was quick to tell the luncheon audience that UW Bothell provided just the right environment for him to get where he is now.

The size of UW Bothell was the first thing he highlighted. Many colleges may have a robotics clubs, he noted, but on a larger campus he may not have had the chance to become a club treasurer or co-president — let alone all the other student government roles that he took on afterward.

“On a smaller campus, there are more opportunities to get to know the community,” he said. “You can interact with a larger chunk of the population and see the impact that you’re making in a more tangible way.”

When it came time to run for ASUWB president, Rodriguez also saw how supportive the UW Bothell community is. To run in the election, he needed to gather 50 student signatures. “People were very willing to talk to me,” he said. “They were very friendly. Almost every person I talked to said, ‘Yeah, I’ll sign,’ once I explained what it was for.”

Despite the support of friends, Rodriguez said he still lacked confidence when it came to campaigning during the election, so he decided to seek guidance from UW Bothell’s counseling team. “It was very reassuring, being able to talk to someone about your issues and knowing it was going to be confidential,” he said.

His main takeaway from the experience? Realizing just how big his network of support really was.

Focusing on community building

When Rodriguez graduates this spring, he will do so with two degrees — a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and in Business Administration with a concentration in supply chain management — and plans to look for a position role where he can use both skillsets.

For now, he said he continues to focus on improving the UW Bothell Husky experience for students in any way he can.

He also noted that his own motivations for getting involved in student government align well with the motivations of donors who gave at the I ❤️UW Bothell Luncheon.

“I want to see the people around me doing well and having opportunities. I want this community to do well.”

“I want to see the people around me doing well and having opportunities. I want this community to do well.”

ADAN RODRIGUEZ