The lack of females in elected leadership roles trickles down to colleges and universities’ student governance (American Student Government Association, 2016). As a way of understanding the experiences of these female student leaders specifically at public research institutions in the Southeast, I used a narrative inquiry approach focusing on how these women define and make meaning of their experiences as female student government association presidents. These two research questions served as the foundation to understanding their experiences: (1) What are the experiences of these female student leaders prior to being elected to serve as their student government association president at their public research institution in the Southeast? and (2) What are the experiences of female college student leaders who serve as student government association presidents at public research institutions in the Southeast? Seven participants who met the requirements of being female and serving as student government president at public institutions in the Southeast were interviewed. The data collected through the in-depth semi-structured three interview series process (Seidman, 2006) was formed into individual narratives focusing on context and meaningmaking for each participant. Five significant themes emerged from the data analysis process: (1) precollege experiences, (2) pre-president experiences, (3) the “chilly climate,” (4) combatting the “chilly climate,” and (5) their identity and presidency. Implications for student affairs professionals include recruiting women early for student government involvement, helping women develop strong relationships with mentors and breakdown. Keywords: leadership, women, female, narrative inquiry, government