The Student Government Association at Illinois Valley Community College works to provide and promote the welfare of college students. Emily Walker is a 2020 graduate of Ottawa Township High School. She is on schedule to graduate this spring at IVCC.

Walker is a member of the SGA here at the college. She also volunteers for the local food pantry. Walker has lived in Ottawa with her family her whole life. She lives with her mom and dad and her brother, Andrew.

During her time in high school, she played tennis, served on student council, and was also part of the track team. Therefore, she knows how it feels to be a multi-sport athlete while attending school.

Walker was elected to the SGA in the 2020 spring semester. She fulfilled the project board position last fall. Walker made the decision to run for the SGA because she “wanted to help the students who were struggling with online classes and help students make a successful transition back to in-person classes.”

Walker is majoring in the business field. Her dream is to one day open her own business. For many, being a business major is difficult; however, learning from her experience in high school, Walker has been able to learn to take the time to balance out work, studying, homework, and free time. She has maintained a grade point average of over 4.0 during her time at IVCC.

She plans on attending Bradley University in Peoria in the fall. Walker chose to go to Bradley University because the campus has a “much bigger atmosphere and has much more going on compared to IVCC.” Walker is looking forward to entering her new business building on Bradley’s campus.

Walker and the SGA have setup a spikeball tournament in the spring. She says that she is “looking forward to the tournament and it will be a good way to kick off the nice weather.” The game of spikeball is similar to volleyball, but it is played on a smaller court.

Some of Walker’s hobbies include playing tennis, working out, and hanging out with friends. IVCC has allowed her to save money and complete her general education courses before transferring to a university.

Fellow IVCC SGA member Madison Miranda says, “Emily works really hard at what she does and gives student council a positive atmosphere.” Walker says, “She is happy with the people she got to know and make friends with at IVCC.”

Walker’s older brother, Andrew, graduated from IVCC in spring of 2021 and he is now in his final semester of college at Northern Illinois University majoring in engineering

During the summer, Walker worked as an intern for the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp baseball team’s mascot. She enjoyed entertaining the fans and players and taking pictures with them.

Additionally, Walker was one of the Merit winners last fall for the 21st Century Scholars Society which was awarded to students who maintained grade point averages of 3.5 or higher while also being involved in the college’s clubs and community service.

The SGA office is located in E201B across from the college game room and Walker’s office hours are on Mondays from 10-11 a.m. “I am always up for people to stop in to play me in ping pong too,” says Walker.