By Alexis Coore 20'
Dunellen High School, like every other school, has a student government known as the Executive Student Council. The seat holders differ from the standard student council members in that not only do they oversee their grade, but all of the other ones as well. The council consists of four spots: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, as well as an advisor for the four. Elections take place at the end of the school year, and all four elected officials this year are members of the class of 2020.
This year’s Executive Student Council President is Ms. Irene Perez. As the highest-ranking member, she must keep the team organized and on task. Unlike the other three members, Ms. Perez has not held a seat in the Student Council before, but that doesn’t necessarily make her “wet behind the ears.”She has been the Art Club Secretary since 2018, is a Co-President of the French Club, and is the current National Honors Society Treasurer.
Though qualified, Ms. Perez did not initially plan on running for her position. She noted that “I decided to run because I wanted to know what it was like to be a part of the group, and I really wanted to change up a couple of our traditions.” One such tradition she decided to replace was the Dizzy-Bat Race DHS usually holds during the pep rallies. Instead of that, Ms. Perez proposed a volleyball tournament, which ended up being quite successful. Ms. Perez does plan on making a few more changes around the school and emphasized that “I just want to help out with more community organizations. I want to follow the NHS’s lead a bit more and arrange more activities to get the grades interacting with each other.”
As Vice President, one is expected to work alongside the President and to take the lead during the President’s absence. For the 2019-2020 school year, that honor goes to Ms. Christina Lowder. Ms. Lowder has played a role in the Student Council since 10th grade and has always been extremely involved in the class. She has won the senior slants for both “Did the Most for DHS” and “School Spirit”. Her duties somewhat revolve around what the President, and she states that “My duties are to help out the president; if she is not there, I will lead the meetings, and I assist with anything the President does.” Though her tasks may sound as if they are to follow the President’s lead, Ms. Lowder tends to take charge of their duties.
When it came to Spirit Week, Ms. Lowder, “said what we should do during the week and got agreements from everyone else, helped suggest the volleyball match, and helped get refs for the volleyball game.” Other than that, Ms. Lowder is in charge of clearly conveying the group’s ideas on the board so that the secretary may take proper notes. Ms. Lowder has a bright outlook on the future, as the team this year is much more connected and eager to work than those she has observed in the past.
Many may believe that the job of a secretary is to take notes and listen to the complaints of others, but Mr. Edwin Samayoa has taken his role to a further level. Of course, he must continue with the rudimentary work of “assisting the rest of the officers and Mr. Boyle in planning,” as he puts it, but Mr. Samayoa has also been aiding the team in every other aspect of the job as well. For example, he helped gather and decorate all of the cars for Homecoming and also encouraged students to participate in Spirit Week and the Pep Rally.
When it comes to holding a position in office, this isn’t Mr. Samayoa’s first rodeo. In 11th grade, Mr. Samayoa was Class President, and he is the current Co-President of the French Club, alongside Ms. Perez.
When it comes to his three other peers, Mr. Samayoa was pleased to note that “It seems like everyone is adjusting well and enjoy their positions. There is definitely dedication for the jobs we were given.” Like the others, Mr. Samayoa was unsure as to whether or not he would be joining the Executive Student Council. “I thought about it, but I wasn’t sure in the end. At first, it was because of my lack of time, but I decided to try and make room for it because I knew I would be successful at my job. If I didn’t run, then I probably would have been spending more time at soccer or taking care of my siblings.” Mr. Samayoa believes this year will be one to remember, and wants the student body to know that, “The council is working hard to make sure that the school year is a good one and that the seniors have a good final year.”
The final official position in the Executive Student Council is the treasurer, a seat held by Mr. Nicholas Christian. As for his duties concerning the Executive Student Council, Mr. Christian is to manage the funds and budget the team’s expenses. He noted that it was easy to prepare for the upcoming year since “luckily we started last year so I could spend the summer planning.” Like the rest, Mr. Christian has held Student Council positions during years prior. He was the treasurer during ninth grade, and in 11th grade, he acted as both secretary and treasurer for the History Club.
Mr. Christian was unsure as to whether or not he would be joining the council. “I planned on joining some sort of student council position, so when the Executive student council opened up, I went for it. I’ve always been good with money and math, so I thought treasurer would fit.” After having been a part of the team for a few months, Mr. Christian does not regret a thing. He believes the four work very well together and may outdo last year’s group, whom he noted as being “one of the most successful ever.” Before this year is over, Mr. Christian would like to see more color and art around the school and for the student body to come to the council with any issues they would like addressed.
Last but not least, we have the advisor for the group: Keith J. Boyle. Mr. Boyle has been working here at DHS as an English teacher for the last 18 years and has been an advisor for the Executive Student Council over the previous 12 years. Mr. Boyle has seen teams come and go, and though he remarked that the class of 19’ did extraordinarily well, he also notes that this year’s bunch has quite a bit of potential. As an advisor, Mr. Boyle feels that his job is not to push them but to stand back and give advice when needed, saying, “I do not direct them in any way or push them to do anything. It is more so up to them.” Luckily, all four seem to agree that they work very well together and have been staying on task and up to date.
While the Fall Sports Pep Rally was a success, the team now needs to focus on the upcoming Spring Sports Pep Rally. A group made up of such dedicated and intelligent individuals is sure to be able to handle anything thrown their way, as long as they keep up the communication and cooperation that they have already displayed. Ms. Perez, Ms. Lowder, Mr. Samayoa, and Mr. Christian will make this next pep rally one for the ages.
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