Saint Louis University hosted the 2025 National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference (NJSLC) July 22-26. The event brought together student government leaders from Jesuit colleges and universities to learn together.

NJSLC began in 1997 as an effort to bring together students from Jesuit colleges and universities to improve the student governments at their universities. Now the conference includes community service leaders, orientation staff, club leaders and others. The conference is held annually each summer. This is SLU’s first year hosting.

Grace LoPiccolo, incoming SGA president at Saint Louis University, said she was empowered by attending previous conferences and wanted to bring that experience to SLU.

“We came back last year and were really thinking about what we wanted to see this year,” she said. “There was an opportunity to host. We sat down together to discern through the planning and whether we would have the bandwidth to pull this off. Once we decided we wanted to try, the University gave us a ton of support.”

LoPiccolo said NJSLC offers student leaders bonding time with their teams ahead of the school year and an opportunity to gain experience from other leaders and to bring that knowledge back to their own campuses.

“This is my third conference,” she said. “The first year I went, I was able to present on what SLU was doing around student advocacy. I was going into my sophomore year. Being part of the conference really instilled confidence in me. I saw that I could be my age and still be a leader.”

She noted that the time spent together meeting other student leaders is the best part of the conference.

“Being in a group with students who care so deeply is so important,” LoPiccolo said. “We all do a lot of work. It is great to have a chance to brag on our schools and talk to people in similar situations.”

Attending previous NJSLCs at John Carroll and Holy Cross gave LoPiccolo a road map for what she wanted to offer to participants coming to SLU this summer.

“We always have great sessions,” she said. “I really wanted our breakout sessions this year to be guided by Jesuit principles and for us to be intentional about what everyone would be able to take back to their campuses.”

Richa Kulkarni, SGA vice president of finance, said NJSLC offers student leaders a chance to discern the difference between leadership and Jesuit leadership.

“Jesuit leadership to me means purpose and working together,” she said. “We need to keep in mind always that we should be doing the best we can for the least  among us.”

The week kicked off with a welcoming Mass on Tuesday afternoon. There were educational sessions, keynote speeches and Masses later in the week at St. Francis Xavier College Church and the Cathedral Basilica.

Legend McGrath, the student body president at LaMoyne, said coming together highlighted the joy that leadership roles could offer.

“It’s the connection that I get from being with other student leaders that makes this time so valuable,” he said. “It is helpful to hear of other struggles and successes.”

Julianne Browne, the incoming student government president at Marquette University, said her goal for the week was to learn from others as she entered her first year in student government.

“I’m brand new to this,” she said. “I have a great team and I’m excited to learn from everyone here.”

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 15,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.