private int getUserID(String username) throws SQLException{
        
        String query = String.format("SELECT uid FROM account_information where '%s' = username;",username);
        ResultSet rs = this.dbConnection.execute(query);
        int uid = 0;
        rs.next();
        if(rs.isLast()){
            uid = rs.getInt("uid");
        }else{
            rs.close();
            throw new SQLException("Non-unique username. Contact a DBA to investigate this issue.");
        } 
        rs.close();
       
        return uid;
    }