Freshman Isabella Gil was born to be a leader and realized it in her middle school days. Gil was elected class president at her middle school, Lincoln Hall, and recently earned her spot as the Freshman class president here at Niles West. But that’s not where Gil’s aspirations end. She wants to be the President of the United States. The NWN sat down with Gil and discussed her dream.

NWN: What made you realize that you wanted to become president at your middle school and later, at Niles West?

Gil: In my 8th grade social studies class, we were working on a project on what we wanted to be when we were older. And I said the President of the United States since from what I learned in my Social Studies class is that most of the world leaders were corrupt and i believe that I could fix those things.

NWN: How did you earn the spot of the president at Lincoln Hall?

Gil: Well at Lincoln Hall, at first it was a very unofficial thing that was decided by my social studies teacher, Mr. Dupriest. Later it just became a legit thing and all my teachers and even the school principal knew that I was the president.

NWN: How did you earn the spot of 2019’s class president here at Niles West?

Gil: An email was sent to all of the freshman to vote for a president and I was one of the candidates and I ended up winning.

NWN: Why do you want to become President of the United States?

Gil: I believe there are a lot of problems in this world that need new people to look at them. The world has become very corrupt and someone needs to change that.

NWN: Why not elect someone else that’s good for the job? Why do you feel the need to do it?

Gil: I’m really good with crowds and I’m not the type of person to be embarrassed when speaking to a large group of people. I can capture people’s attention and get their vote because I would pay attention to their needs and fix the little things. I know what the people need because I live in the shoes of a middle class family and I’ve seen these problems take place.

NWN: What have previous presidents done wrong that you would do differently?

Gil: They haven’t listened to the people’s voice they just took action without knowing what to do. Like they never did anything about the immigration problem that started to become a bigger issue now. They should’ve fixed the real problems in America before going to other countries. We need to make our country strong first and then help other countries be strong with us.

NWN: What are some serious problems in the world that you think need more attention?

Gil: Immigration laws for sure. Equality laws are also a big issue, because even though they have marriage rights, they need to be treated equally as well. Women rights are a big focus to me as well.

NWN: What led you to become interested in this dream of becoming the president?

Gil: I become interested after my 8th grade year when I began to notice the problems going on that people weren’t focusing on as much as they should be. As I saw these problems I wanted to find a way to change them and the way that I thought I could change them myself, was to become president.

NWN: Why are immigration laws important?

Gil: I have a certain connection to immigrants because my parents are Hispanic and they were the first generation of immigrants to be here. I feel like there are so many people who want to come to the U.S. but can’t because of the strict laws about jumping borders. All immigrants should have a chance to live in the U.S. and not be shut down right away. They should be able to get papers and live a better life here.

NWN: Why are women rights a big focus for you?

Gil: I believe that women are as equal as men and that we both should have the same rights and there shouldn’t be a superior sex. Men and women should be equal in each others eyes and women shouldn’t be looked at as being less than men. They both deserve equal opportunities and rights.

NWN: What makes your dream of being president different than others dreams?

Gil: I actually want to make a big change in the world and I want things viewed in different levels and at different perspectives. I’m not going to base things off of something like religion or personal affairs.

NWN: How would being president make you feel?

Gil: It would make me feel amazing to know that people trust me to change the world, and I would feel honored. It’s not like I bought my way into it, people actually believed in me and supported me to do it.

NWN: How does your family feel about your plan to become president?

Gil: My family thinks it’s a good idea and if I really want to do it, I should take classes in government and politics and they support me very much. They tell me to reach for the stars because if you have a passion for it, you’re going to excel and want to do your very best in order to succeed. I was told to make sure my job wasn’t something that I wasn’t proud of or didn’t look forward to, it should be something I like to do.

Jackie Bajric contributed to this story.