Lizbeth Ortiz: Reviving Rider’s spirit as SGA president

By Brannagh Rattigan

The election results for Rider’s Student Government Association’s presidential race are in, and Lizbeth Ortiz was elected as the student body president for the 2026-27 academic year.

After hearing the results of the race, Ortiz, a junior human resources management major, explained she was overcome with joy and was extremely grateful to all of those who supported her.

“It felt great [to hear the election results],” Ortiz said. “I’m so grateful for the people that voted for me. It wasn’t my friends or anything, it was people that I genuinely had conversations with.”

Ortiz defeated her opponent and friend, Jaiden David, a junior political science major, in the election.

Despite the competition, Ortiz endorsed and appreciated David’s hard work and capabilities.

“It takes a lot of guts to present yourself to the student body, so he should keep pushing, he has great things in store for him,” Ortiz said.

Moira Geiger, a senior computer science major and outgoing SGA president, was equally as excited to hear the election results, not only for the winners, but also for the student participation.

“I was very excited to hear about the election results. It doubled last year’s voter count and was our highest turnout in three years, so I was just so proud with how well the candidates did at spreading the word and getting people’s attention,” she said.

Geiger is finishing her term as SGA president with sadness, but without concern, as she is confident in the transition between her and Ortiz, as well as Ortiz’s potential as president.

“I can’t believe how fast it has truly gone. It is definitely a little bittersweet and I will miss the board, but I am excited to see how next year’s board’s vision comes together,” Geiger said. “I do feel confident handing over the presidency — Liz and I have plans for a transition meeting, and everyone on our executive board does a great job creating documents outlining suggested timelines.”

Ortiz explained that, as SGA president, she wants to implement her value for community into Rider’s atmosphere and to give students and staff more opportunity to build connections.

Ortiz intends to carry this out by, “rebuilding Rider’s spirit, building more community on campus, getting more people to engage within student government and getting facilities to start working on campus projects,” she said.

While Ortiz has big ideas, she emphasized wanting to do things the right way to ensure that the Rider community she fosters is built on trust and confidence in SGA and the student body.

Cate Bergevin, a junior accounting major and voter in the SGA election, expressed an idea similar to Ortiz — no matter who won the presidency, Rider would be in good hands.

“I thought both candidates were qualified and had a lot of passion, not only for SGA, but for Rider in general. I knew of both of them before they decided to run, so it was great to see people who are already involved around campus taking initiative within SGA,” Bergevin said.

Geiger completes her term with pride and hope for the future of Rider, a conviction that is reassuring for the student body.

“I am so proud of everyone who put themselves out there to campaign, vote and stand up for students. I am excited to see next year’s board come together, and I hope they are as lucky as I was with mine,” Geiger said.

Ortiz enters her new chapter at Rider with a statement of gratitude, saying, “Thank you for engaging and voting, thank you for using your voice.”