Anthony Alfano, the president of the Student Government Association (SGA) drew in a long sip from his water bottle. He twisted his head to the ceiling and closed his brown eyes. For a second, he was silent. Anthony smiled and with confidence said, “I came out on October 4th, 2008, at a freshman retreat called ‘Escape.'”

Alfano is the first openly gay president of SGA at DePaul, a 113-year-old Catholic institution.

“Coming out and being in the position that I am, I think it’s super important that students who either identify that way, or don’t, hear this story,” he said.

As a senior, double majoring in political science and international studies, Alfano described his newly acquired position at SGA as a full-time job.

But being in a position of power for Alfano means leading by example and inspiring the LGBT community in light of its recent spikes in high suicide rates.

“Being that this is a religious-based institution, I think it’s awesome that they offer so much for gay students. I specifically picked DePaul because of its diversity,” he said. “For me, diversity wasn’t just various shades of skin or ethnicities but diversity in a sense that everyone has different experiences than me or even different views on life.”

“You can be in a position of power and people can respect you. You can be an influence in the world and it really does ‘get better.'”

Alfano says he is adamant about improving the conditions of the university when it comes to diversity, awareness and seeking a better environment for individuals who are not allotted the same opportunities as other students.

Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., President of DePaul University, said, “Good for him. Anthony is a fine young man and very effective SGA president. We’re proud that he’s part of the DePaul family.”

Alfano personally sits in on every major committee within the university. He is the only student representation in the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee (SRAC) where nine voting members draw up the year’s budget with students’ tuition dollars.

“We do everything you can think of that’s advocating on students behalf. Whether it’s something with tuition or the budgeting, whether it’s new policy that’s going to be implemented, it’s anything with facilities, anything with the provost resigning; we are in every one of those conversations.”

Alfano is working on behalf of students like sophomore Khloe Battle.

“I don’t feel that DePaul allows the same benefits concerning race,” she said. “Being that I am an African-American, I feel that there should be a stronger sense of community for ‘us,’ but there isn’t. DePaul touches organizations like BSU with a 10-foot pole. I say this to mean (and this is my opinion), that DePaul is mildly interested in our culture.”

Alfano hopes to pass an initiative that would allow him to implement a health and wellness office that would be a haven that would serve a wide variety of students’ concerns while promoting education and access to resources.

“I think a year definitely gives me a chance to really start a huge conversation around issues that the university may be afraid of taking,” he said.

“I work for students, so I can’t get fired. If you don’t like something at your school that you’re paying all this money for, let us know, because we can try and help change that for you.”