A sit down with the new student body president and vice president

Daniel (Danny) Martin and Kirsten Osteboe celebrated their new roles as Student Body President and Vice President respectively over spring break this year.

The pair won in the March election against Gracie Grady and Nya Hodge in the closest race in a decade, having just an 83-point difference between the two.

Martin, a junior diplomacy and global politics and history double major, said his first reaction to winning was excitement with a touch of heartache, because his win meant close friends and opponents Grady and Hodge lost.

“When we won, it was this kind of surreal experience, because you run and you kind of brace yourself for the worst,” Martin said. “You don't let yourself get too caught up in it. You don't want to give yourself false hope ... So [the win] was happy and exciting, and then also, like, just a tinge of heartfeltness.”

Osteboe, a junior diplomacy and global politics major, said she agreed with Martin’s sentiments saying she was overwhelmed at first, but it slowly turned into giddiness.

“I was proud of myself, and I was tired,” Osteboe said. “Immediately after [winning] all the adrenaline from the past three weeks had just kind of caught up to me, and I was kind of in a state of I knew we could do this, and then to have actually accomplished it, it was rewarding.”

Martin said when May rolls around and their term officially starts, their first goal is to organize RedHawk Day of Service, an initiative originated by his predecessor, Nyah Smith, and former Vice President Jules Jefferson in 2023.

“I think it's a great way to kind of connect the Oxford and Miami communities,” Martin said. “I would also love for it to [become a] precedent that the student body president and vice president every year works as like their first mini initiative to get this plan started, and work with Nyah to make it happen.”

The pair also plans on implementing their four pillars as they transfer into office. Osteboe said their first pillar is civic engagement, which involves collaborations with Oxford City Council and the mayor. Pillar two is community building. Osteboe highlighted their philanthropy fest planned for spring of 2026 and their newsletter, which is part of pillar three: transparency. Their final pillar is leading from behind, which Osteboe said was their main value when running.

“We've already been able to meet with a lot of different students and it's kind of just experiencing all the people on campus,” Osteboe said. “And, you know, it's random because someone will come up to me and be like you’re the vice president [which is rewarding.]”

But up until their start date, the pair intends on continuing the transition period and learning as much as possible from outgoing President Will Brinley and Vice President Babs Dwyer.

“It's a lot of transition stuff with Will and Babs, kind of looking at where their initiatives are at and how we can pick those up and support them in completing those in the coming year,” Osteboe said, “and then also really figuring out how to start progressing forward. There's a lot of changes coming to campus next year, and we really know that we can make sure that every student feels heard in those changes.”

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Overall, Martin said he’s grateful for the opportunity the Miami community gave him, and that their door is always open.

“Miami has given us this chance to lead and be a leader, but also do what we said in our campaign and be that friend, right, and support everyone, be that listening ear and that support system that a good friend would be and know that we care deeply about each and every student,” Martin said. “That's something that we're really excited to implement.”

stumbata@miamioh.edu