From model bridges to making history: SGA President Francesca Casanova’s inspiring journey

It’s been an unexpected path for Francesca Casanova. It all started when she was tasked with building a model bridge for a school project in the sixth grade. Her father offered to help, but Casanova was determined to do it on her own.

That day, she discovered something about herself — something that would later help her become a history-making student at FIU.

“I was curious as a kid about how things worked, putting things together and taking them apart,” Casanova says. “I had a logical approach to things and was interested in the cause-and-effect process. I definitely still have that.”

It turns out that understanding how things work so that you can make them better is a vital skill, whether you are an engineering student or the Student Government Association (SGA) president.

Casanova is the first female student from the College of Engineering and Computing to become SGA president. She is preparing to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering this spring.

“Coming to FIU turned out to be the best decision of my life. The experience is exceptional. The resources are outstanding. And if you had told me as a freshman that I was going to have all the opportunities that I have had here, I would have said you are insane,” Casanova says.

Casanova hasn’t been sitting idle waiting for opportunities to come her way, however. She has embraced everything FIU has to offer, from academics to social offerings. It’s an adventure she hopes all students will embark upon because each class, each activity and each interaction along the way has enriched her life, she says.

She says her involvement in the Alpha Xi Delta sorority prepared her for her position as president of the College Panhellenic Council, which oversees seven sororities at FIU. Her role as an SGA senator for the College of Engineering and Computing primed her to become the voice of FIU’s 56,000-plus students as president of the Student Government Association (SGA). And the combination of her background in student government and engineering made her an ideal representative to meet with legislators on Capitol Hill last year about FIU’s research and innovation in resilient infrastructure and technology.

“Francesca is respected by her peers and is always willing to listen. She wants to do what is best for the student body and for the university,” says Michelle Castro, director of Student Experience and Impact at FIU in Washington, D.C., who was advisor to SGA when she met Casanova.

“She is a hard worker, and I am always amazed how she can balance her coursework as an engineering major, her sorority life, her Panhellenic e-board involvement and serving as SGA president.”

While her love of engineering grew as she attended Coral Reef High School’s engineering program, Casanova never took part in student government until her sophomore year at FIU, when she served as senator for the College of Engineering and Computing. At first, she felt overwhelmed by the size of the organization. But as she learned how SGA worked, she also saw there were opportunities to improve student life.

“We must hear the concerns of our students and be student-focused,” she says. “We just can’t sit in our offices. I want to see students having an interest and being engaged on campus. Be eager to genuinely enjoy your college experience. Have fun, join clubs, go to football games, build your network for jobs and career.”

Casanova’s love of putting things together to make a greater, larger product has translated well into her leadership role. One of the projects she is launching as SGA president is 100 Orgs in 100 Days, which has SGA representatives meeting with organizations on campus to better connect the two and discover how student government can help support each group’s efforts. For Casanova, working as a team is essential to ensure that current initiatives continue past her graduation.

As SGA president, she is part of the FIU Board of Trustees, which is responsible for developing cost-effective policies, implementing and maintaining education programs, conducting performance evaluations and assuring the university meets state policy, budgeting and standards.

“One of the things that has most impressed me about the Board is how much they care about the success of our students,” she says. “They want to know what students need, and they want to improve where we are lacking. They are very much focused on the students.”

At 22, Casanova isn’t sure where she is headed next. “The engineering program is incredible. I’ve had amazing professors all four years. I’m thinking about construction management. But I also now see that being involved in student government and in sorority life has opened doors for me.”

No matter what Casanova takes on next, Castro is sure she will succeed.

“She looks at things like an engineer with logic and lots of thought. She works hard as a woman in engineering and is a role model to others,” Castro says. “She embodies Panther Pride and bleeds ‘Blue and Gold.’”