'If it's meant to happen, it's going to'
It was 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night, and Emily Saleeby's phone was ringing.
She answered it with trepidation, and on the other line was then-Student Body Vice President Katie Thompson, confirming rumors Saleeby had already heard.
"I'm resigning," Thompson told her.
It wasn't a major shock to Saleeby; several students and administrators raised eyebrows over Thompson's actions to support USC's fraternities against the university's suspension of their recruitment due to alcohol violations.
But still, the implications for Saleeby, then a sophomore, were mind-blowing.
The Florence native, who had only moved into her post as president pro tempore three days prior, was next in line for the vice presidency of the student body.
"I had less than 24 hours' notice that I'd be representing 28,000 students the next morning," Saleeby said. "I didn't know how to respond. I never thought I'd be vice president."
The thought kept her up all night, but the following day, Saleeby opened the glass door of the Student Life office on the second floor of the Russell House and felt her anxieties suddenly evaporate.
"When I stepped through that door, I was ready to go," she said. "I knew people wouldn't take me seriously if I even looked like didn't know what I was doing. I was focused on making it the smoothest transition possible."
Now in her third year at USC, Saleeby, a management and marketing student, remembers the situation and initially being uneasy in her new role. But soon she was presiding over the Senate, representing the university and SG, and feeling like a vice president.
"(Student Body Treasurer) Emily (Supil) and (Student Body President) Joe (Wright) helped a lot," Saleeby said. "Meeting with Jerry (Brewer, longtime associate vice president for student affairs), starting to know (USC President Harris) Pastides — developing those relationships made it real. It really sunk in. I started seeing the university from a whole different perspective."
Supil said Saleeby transitioned extremely well. "She'd met with Katie the day after. From there it was basically talking to every senate chair. She was really proactive in interacting with all of the senators."
Wright lauded Saleeby's poise in taking on the vice presidency and said the experience will help her, should she win the election. "She brought a new breath of excitement to Student Government. It's given her a lot of executive experience. A lot of people don't fully understand what these positions entail. She's worked with the president and the treasurer, and she fully understands what it take to be successful."
Saleeby hopes to bring that experience and those relationships into the role of student body president. She points to initiatives she's helped to move forward that she would continue as president: a fraternity life task force, improving student ticketing and an African-American history wall to name a few.
Saleeby, who served her freshman year in the Residence Hall Association before becoming a resident mentor and joining the Senate last year, acknowledges that she hasn't earned her positions in SG so far. She was appointed to pro tempore after the one before her, Eeshwar Chandrasekar, stepped down to study abroad. Then, Thompson's resignation handed her the vice presidency. But she contends it's not about how you get to a position that matters; it's what you do there.
And besides, she believes things happen for a reason.
"There's a reason Eeshwar resigned," Saleeby said. "There's a reason Katie resigned. If it's meant to happen, it's going to happen."
She remembers walking through Russell House freshman year, seeing a plaque with names of former student body presidents and thinking fleetingly, "What if I ran?"
Saleeby will soon know the answer. This time, she's confident. After all, she's been planning her campaign for months — decades, to a candidate who's stepped up before in less than a day.