In a quiet corner of the Meadows Library, tucked inside one of the most artistically vibrant buildings on campus, Jazmin Darjean sits with an ease that feels earned. There is no entourage, no pretense. Just a backpack with an SMU polo folded inside and a presence that, within minutes, reveals why so many students stop to greet her by name.

By the time our conversation ends, a small crowd gathers at the library’s entrance, waving and calling out, “Hey Jazmin!” It is not performative. It is familiarity. It is trust.

And it is history in motion.

Darjean, a junior from Grand Prairie, is the 113th student body president at SMU and the first Black woman to hold the role. Her leadership arrives at the close of Minority Health Month, a time that underscores not only physical well-being, but the emotional and psychological importance of being seen, heard and valued. For students navigating predominantly white institutions, representation is not symbolic. It is survival.

Darjean understands that intimately, even when she does not say it outright.

A Leadership Style Rooted in Presence

“I’m originally from Grand Prairie, Texas,” Darjean says, smiling as she reflects on a journey that did not begin with SMU as a dream destination. “SMU was always pretty close, but it was never my dream school or anything.”

What changed was opportunity. The President’s Scholarship opened doors that allowed her to immerse herself fully in campus life.

“I would not be here without it,” she says. “It has truly paved the way for so much.”

Freed from the immediate financial pressures that often limit student involvement, Darjean leaned into community. She joined organizations, ran for freshman senator and eventually became student body vice president before stepping into the presidency.

Her leadership style is shaped by that access and by a deep awareness of what access can do.

“As president, I’ll have more external facing things,” she explains. “I get to meet with administration more one on one. That’s how I’m better able to represent students.”

But representation, for Darjean, is not about proximity to power. It is about proximity to people.

“My priority is to really try to get diverse views and ensure that not just my opinion is being represented,” she says. “Not just my friends and close friends, but a little bit of everybody that I can.”

What It Means to Be First

There is a pause when the conversation turns to history. Not because Darjean lacks words, but because she chooses them carefully.

“Honestly, it means a lot,” she says of being the first Black female student body president. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to bring a new perspective to the role.”

She does not frame her achievement as a correction of the past, but as an expansion of possibility.

“Sometimes it is just hard to really understand a different experience,” she says. “So having lived that experience, I think that will be super helpful.”

That lived experience carries weight. It carries memory. It carries the quiet knowledge of what it feels like to be overlooked or misunderstood in spaces not built with you in mind.

And yet, Darjean resists the idea of leading for one group alone.

“It will be my job to understand better the experiences of people who don’t look like me,” she adds. “Making sure that I’m representing them as well.”

It is a balancing act. One that reflects the broader conversation happening during Minority Health Month, where equity is not about exclusion, but about inclusion done right.

Guided by Legacy and Faith

Darjean’s understanding of leadership is not shaped in isolation. It is nurtured through community, mentorship and a lineage that connects past to present in meaningful ways.

At the center of that network is Richie Butler, Project Unity Founder and pastor of St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, where Darjean found both spiritual grounding and unexpected connection.

Through the church’s tradition of gathering SMU students for first Sunday brunch, she met David S. Huntley, a trailblazer who made history decades before her.

“I met him my freshman year because we go to the same church,” Darjean recalls. “The pastors would take SMU students out to brunch every first Sunday, and he joined us on one of those.”

At the time, she was just beginning to imagine her place within Student Senate.

“I was like, I know I want to grow in Senate and I want to do something, but I don’t quite know how,” she says.

Huntley became both an example and a guide. As SMU’s first Black student body president and now a leader within the university’s Board of Trustees, his presence offered Darjean something tangible. Not just inspiration, but proximity to possibility.

“He’s been a really great guide,” she says. “Just showing that it can be done, and that we can bring a good perspective to it as African Americans, as Black people.”

Their connection has continued throughout her time at SMU, especially as Darjean now serves as a student representative to the Board of Trustees Student Affairs Committee, where Huntley chairs.

“He’s gotten to help me there and see me grow in that role as well,” she says. “It’s been really great to learn from him, hear his experiences.”

In many ways, Darjean’s presidency is both a continuation and an evolution of that legacy. Where Huntley once opened the door, she now walks through it with intention, carrying with her the voices of a new generation.

And through spaces like church, where conversation and community intersect, she is reminded that leadership is not just about position. It is about purpose, rooted in something deeper than titles.

The Village Behind the Vision

Ask Darjean who inspires her, and the answer comes quickly.

“My mother,” she says. “She is the definition of a strong and resilient woman.”

Raised by a single parent, Darjean speaks of her mother with a reverence that feels grounding.

“She’s been through a lot in her personal life, but she’s never let that bleed onto me,” she says. “She’s always been such a rock.”

There are other influences too, including former student body vice president Faith Bombito, whom Darjean describes as both mentor and sister figure.

“I just looked to her for so many things,” she says. “Seeing how hard she worked in that role was amazing.”

Darjean recalls watching Bombito run for student body president and fall short, yet continue to serve with the same dedication.

“I saw how much she wanted to give back to SMU,” Darjean says. “Even without the title.”

That lesson stayed with her. Leadership, she learned, is not defined by position, but by purpose.

Bridging Campus and City

If Darjean’s presidency has a central theme, it is connection.

“I want to connect SMU more to Dallas,” she says. “Ensuring that when people think of SMU, they think of Dallas and vice versa.”

Her vision includes professional partnerships, collaborations with organizations like the Dallas Chamber of Commerce and creating pipelines that benefit both students and the city.

“It helps students get jobs in Dallas and also helps Dallas get SMU talent,” she says. “Which is great talent.”

She also wants to deepen campus culture, from reviving traditions like Founders Day Weekend to reimagining student engagement around athletics.

“How are we bringing more traditions to spring sports?” she asks. “How are we bringing more people out?”

Then there is governance. The less visible, but equally critical work.

“Students aren’t technically a part of shared governance,” she notes. “But how are we still prioritizing student voices?”

It is here that Darjean’s leadership becomes most poignant. She is not just advocating for inclusion. She is questioning the structures that define it.

Light Moments, Real Joy

For all the seriousness of her role, Darjean is quick to laugh. Ask her about her favorite SMU tradition and she grins.

“Celebration of Lights,” she says. “Basic, I know, but it’s just the best.”

Her favorite spots around the Metroplex offer a glimpse into how she unwinds. Six Flags Over Texas. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Deep Ellum, “for the food.”

When it comes to dining hall debates, she is decisive.

“Umph for breakfast and lunch,” she says. “Arnold for dinner.”

And then there is the fun fact she shares with pride.

“We have the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain in the Meadows Museum.”

Beyond Politics, Toward People

Of course, hearing a resume and depth of character as impressive as Darjean’s, one can’t help but feel a tinge of quiet heartbreak in learning that Darjean does not currently see a future for herself in politics. It’s apparent her candor and kindness could be well appreciated in such a field.

“I’m not super interested in doing U.S. politics,” she says. “That could change, of course.”

Instead, her interests lie in organizational psychology, a field that blends her dual majors in psychology and business management.

“How do you make people happier but more efficient?” she asks. “I’m very much a people person.”

It is a telling answer. Even in contemplating her future, Darjean centers people. Their experiences. Their well-being. Their potential.

Why This Moment Matters

As Minority Health Month comes to a close, Darjean’s story feels especially timely. Health is not only measured in doctor visits and diagnoses. It is measured in belonging. In safety. In the ability to show up fully as yourself.

For Black and Brown students at institutions like SMU, that sense of belonging has not always been guaranteed.

Darjean is part of a generation working to change that.

Not through grand gestures, but through consistent, intentional leadership.

It’s through making sure that the next first-year student who walks into a seemingly-daunting space like the Meadows Building- with its complex exterior and its many grandiose twists and turns- feels a little less alone.

Staying Connected

Darjean encourages students and readers to stay engaged with SMU’s student leadership.

“Our Student Senate Instagram is @smusenate,” she says. “And you can find more on our website.”

It is an open invitation. Not just to follow, but to participate.

“We want to be seen as Dallas’ university,” she drove home for DW.

Because for Darjean, leadership is not about standing above the crowd.

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