With recent literature documenting the benefits of diversifying senior leadership teams (Madsen, 2015) and leadership development a desired outcome of the higher education experience (Komives et al., 2013), understanding ways to increase the pipeline of diverse leaders merits research attention. The findings of this qualitative study regarding the motivators for women to aspire to--and advance into--the top-most student government leadership position are therefore potentially significant for higher education practitioners. Constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014) methodology was used to investigate the question: "According to top elected women student government leaders, what internal and external factors have promoted a desire to lead?" Given that past models for leadership development have not proven to be particularly effective for increasing the number of women into senior-level leadership roles (Kellerman & Rhode, 2014) and virtually no research to date has focused on women student leaders' advancement into the top-most student government role, the findings from this study represent a contribution to the literature. This study involved face-to-face interviews with 10 women students who were serving as president of the student government in public universities of over 3,500 students. Data analysis confirmed the motivation to lead could be traced to contributors very early in the university career. Although these women began their college experience knowing few or no individuals on campus, the support system and friendships that were soon formed were significant in contributing to subsequent leadership aspirations. Several of these colleagues also offered encouragement, expanded leadership opportunities, or even joined their presidential campaign team in subsequent years. Participants identified specific ideals (e.g., access, inclusion, concern over tuition increases) that would form the core of their presidential campaign. The theory and model that emerged from the analysis of data, termed the M2L (Motivation to Lead) model, illustrates that as participants' sense of leadership efficacy increased, so did their motivation for greater leadership. Implications for practice include more recognizing and supporting the kinds of experiences that influence students' motivation for leadership and targeted training for university students and employees. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]