Athena Dieguez (left) and Panayiota Laliotis (right) standing in front of their group at a meet-and-greet with their supporting community at Bounce House Social Eats on Feb. 20.
Courtesy of Athena Dieguez
As another year of student government elections begins, presidential candidate Panayiota (Pon) Laliotis and vice-presidential candidate Athena Dieguez are centering their campaign on transparency, attainability and serving the student community.
Both Laliotis and Dieguez said they have adopted a “go for gold” mentality, built on their mission to push themselves to the highest standard, whether academically, as leaders or as people, to serve the UCF community at the highest level.
Laliotis, junior political science major on the politics and policy track, is from Tampa. She serves as deputy chief of staff for UCF Student Government, where she supports cabinet operations, strengthens collaboration across auxiliary campuses and advances initiatives that foster a united Knight community.
Laliotis previously served as academic affairs coordinator and scholarship committee chair and as a congressional intern for the U.S. House of Representatives. She said she plans to continue her focus on education policy and leadership through a future career in public service.
If elected, Laliotis said serving as student body president would be a dream come true.
“This is a position I’ve sought after truly for the past two years since I started taking this seriously. Thinking about what my platform would look like and building up these ideas,” Laliotis said. “It would mean the world to me that the student body has trusted myself and Athena to take this on and accomplish the ideas we’ve set out to achieve.”
Laliotis said passion for advocacy and campus leadership has shaped much of her collegiate experience, guiding her involvement in initiatives aimed at improving student life and access to resources.
“I love the work of Student Government. I want to work for students and in the education system for the rest of my life — even if higher education, I’d be thrilled. I love the ability to serve students and make impacts in these spaces,” she said.
Her running mate, Dieguez, is a junior political science major on the pre-law track with a minor in legal studies. Born and raised in Satellite Beach, she has been active on campus since her freshman year.
She began her involvement through the Student Government Leadership Council and the Executive Leadership Council. She joined Greek life in 2023 as a member of the panhellenic sorority Zeta Tau Alpha, where she said she quickly showed her commitment to leadership and service.
Dieguez said one word comes to mind if she were elected student body vice president: honored.
“I would be so honored to serve the student body and feeling that they trusted us enough and earned their vote is just an overwhelming sense of accomplishment,” Dieguez said. “That would be my driving force if I ever lack confidence, knowing we earned this position for a reason because the student body saw something in us that we see in each other.”
Now in the heat of the race, with voting set for March 9-11, Laliotis and Dieguez said their bond was not built overnight. They have known each other since freshman year through the Student Government Leadership Council, where they formed a connection that now helps them work together on a bigger stage.
Athena Dieguez (left) and Panayiota Laliotis (right) kick off their platform as they pose together in front of the UCF reflection pond on Dec. 10, 2025.
Courtesy of Athena Dieguez
“We have a great dynamic,” Dieguez said. “She’s very involved within Student Government, so she knows what has been done, what can’t be done, and what should be done. Having that inside approach to her really balances out the yin to my yang. I chose to go more of a student life route rather than student government, having that outside outlook helps me bring more to the table and reach a wider population of students.”
Dieguez said their contrasting paths, one rooted in student government leadership and the other in student life involvement, help them connect with a wider range of students and bring different perspectives to the ticket.
“My drive and my seeking for leadership is something that also makes me the right candidate for this role,” Dieguez said. “It can’t be just because you want to have it on your LinkedIn or when you’re applying to law school or something. This is such a big position with so much responsibility that you have to actually want it and believe in yourself,” she said.
Whether it’s their initiatives to enhance the student experience, diversity, equity and inclusion, or academic and professional development, those platforms highlight their priorities. Their campaign, however, is not based solely on policy points, but also on experience.
“I have built this platform along with Athena, and I’ve used that experience to understand what goals and items on our agenda are attainable and what ideas are not. We’ve seen so many ideas from previous administrations floated that have not gone through,” Laliotis said.
“Once the student body president and vice president take office, you have to trust them to accomplish the goals that they set forth. We’ve seen a lot of ideas floated and not a lot of action taken, and not a lot of actual follow-throughs,” she added.
In an effort to build transparency with students on campus, both Laliotis and Dieguez launched “The Student Perspective,” a series of meetings with students to understand how to serve the student body and gather feedback on their platform.
One student that they met with, 2025 homecoming royalty Jordan Metellus, shared what stood out most about their platform.
“They went straight to students and heard from many different voices across campus to understand concerns and took those grievances students had and worked their initiatives around true change based off what they’ve heard as well as what they’ve seen themselves through their leadership experiences,” Metellus said.
Both Laliotis and Dieguez said they understand that earning students’ trust is hard, which is why Laliotis made it known that she would run for president in the Florida Student Association, which consists of all the student government presidents at universities in Florida, to display her commitment to the role.
“To earn someone’s vote for me means to prove to them that my ideas and Athena’s ideas are the best and most beneficial to the students,” Laliotis said.
Laliotis said she understands the responsibility that comes with asking students for their trust and recognizes the stakes if elected leaders fail to follow through on campaign promises.
“That’s scary for students to trust us to put us in office with the idea we could accomplish nothing,” Laliotis said. “What I hope we translate to students is that we are so passionate and dedicated to getting our ideas done that comes first.”