Q&A with Nick Smith, United Students Government President

During Nick Smith’s first week as a Buffalo State student, he saw an ad for United Students Government (USG)—a student-led organization that has served as the voice of the student body for more than fifty years—and decided to apply.

“I’ve always been super interested in politics,” said Smith, who is currently pursuing a major in political science with minors in math and writing. “It was an instant fit.”

Smith first became a USG senator. He was then elected speaker pro tempore—a position akin to the United States’ speaker of the house—a position he only held for a week before making history by moving into the recently vacated vice president role, making him the first freshman to ever serve in the position. Not long after, the former president stepped down, and Smith became the first-ever freshman USG president. In Fall 2025, Smith officially ran for USG president and was re-elected. 

The life of the USG president is a busy one—when he isn’t in class, Smith is leading meetings and attending events held by USG organizations—but he granted us a few moments of his time to share some of his experiences and what he loves about Buffalo State.

Buffalo State University: What drew you to Buffalo State?
I picked Buffalo State for two main reasons. The location—it’s so different than any of the other SUNY schools; they’re in college towns where the school is the biggest thing, whereas we have Elmwood, Delaware, and Hertel. I’m a huge runner; I love the parks, and we’re right next to two huge art museums. The second reason is Buffalo State is the only minority majority college in the SUNY system, which is incredible. We have such a large population of international students—it’s awesome.

BSU: What was your top priority when you stepped into the president position? 
NS: My number one priority is working with all the USG organizations and other organizations on campus that aren’t USG recognized. My goal for the end of this academic year is to have attended an event with all 30 USG organizations. I go to events every week and weekend. I want people to view us as a collaborator and friend to the organizations.

BSU: Have you seen progress toward those goals?
NS: It’s been a super positive shift. It’s nice walking around campus and seeing that people know who I am and that I’m the USG president. Now that I have a better relationship with the presidents and vice presidents of organizations, it helps me get a better sense of the pulse of the campus. I can speak not only as USG president, but as the representative of everyone I’ve talked to. Those are connections that wouldn’t have been made if I didn’t take those steps and do that outreach.

BSU: What goals do you hope to accomplish before the end of your term?
NS: I want to expand the membership of USG. When I joined, we had about 10-15 members; toward the end of last year, it got closer to 10. We are up to 25 members right now, which is great, but I’d love to keep filling the room. I'm also really focusing on creating memorable experiences for students through more inclusive and fun large-scale events. I want to do this not only through USG events, but also by helping student groups put on their own unforgettable events. If I can do that, then I'm doing my job. That’s what it’s all about.

BSU: What are the most challenging parts of being USG president?
NS: Definitely the time that it takes; it’s very hard to balance. I’m going to events every week and weekend. And when you’re USG president, you’re “on” all day. I always wear a nice outfit; I don’t walk around with headphones on because I want to say to hi to people when I’m walking by. I don’t want to show people that the USG president walks around with his head down because he doesn’t want to talk to anyone, because I love having all those connections. There are more hard times than good times, but those moments where you feel you’ve accomplished something positive is worth everything else.

BSU: Tell us about some of those moments. 
NS: We had our big corporate meeting in November. After the meeting, organization representatives were asking me questions, and I was able to help them. The second everyone left I thought, “I did it.” I worked for nine straight hours that day preparing for the corporate meeting, but those five minutes after and seeing what I accomplished is what got me to wake up the next day. We also did an arts and sciences fair this semester; it was so cool talking to these students, the way they see the world through art, through psychology.  I went to an NAACP event in December; the show they put on was incredible. In November, I went to the Casting Hall theater production; they said it was the first time a USG president had come. Seeing the creativity and effort of the students…that’s my favorite part of USG. That’s the reward.

BSU: What advice would you give to students interested in leadership or campus involvement?
NS: My mom always says, “Life is a river. It’s dangerous if you’re out there by yourself. Finding your community, club, or organization is like finding your boat. It’s okay to test out a couple, but it’s important to find your purpose, find your way.” At Buff State, there are so many opportunities to get involved. People may think of USG as not a lot of fun because there’s so many meetings, but we do have a lot of fun. Take some chances, even on clubs you may think you don’t want to join. Try to find that boat.

Photo by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.