By Shoshi Fine
On Thursday, October 15, the eager ninth grade held an election for their class representatives. This anticipated election determined who the two class reps are.
There were three candidates, and each of them were required to give a speech to the rest of their peers. Each speech highlighted the many reasons why they were the most qualified for this position. After the speeches, the LREI class of 2024 was sent a google form. They were instructed to pick the two candidates they thought were best fit to represent and lead their class. Later that same day, the winners were announced.
All speeches were advocating for the same thing, but had some differences that may have set the winner’s apart.
The first winner was Kate Deming. She has been going to LREI since fourth grade. She was a middle school representative for three years (5th, 6th, and 8th grade). She wanted to run because she knew that “This year’s been kind of crazy and unpredictable and provided a lot of stress for people.” “[She] wanted to be a resource and someone they could rely on to make sure their voice is being heard and they’re feeling represented.” In her speech she talked about wanting to be someone who can bring people together to unify and amplify their voices. She talked about her experience as an editor of the middle school newspaper for two years, and a leader of Women’s Affinity Group for a year.
The other winner was Zoe Wojnicki. This is her first year at LREI, however, in her old school, All Saints, she had held a leadership position. She said the idea of being a grade representative appealed to her because she thinks “that the role of 9th grade representative really allows you to get connected with your peers. This is important to me for two major reasons. First of all, it would help me get to know my peers and classmates better, especially at a new school. Secondly, we are all in the middle of a pandemic, and I think that leadership among peers is more important than ever right now.” She was also a Girl Scout, which requires leadership skills and problem solving abilities. She wants to make sure everyone’s voices are heard, and vowed to listen, take action, and value each of her classmates.
The experience of running for grade representative in front of a lot of peers one may not know very well can seem taunting, and even frightening. Each of the new representatives described their experience.
Kate said, “It was a nerve-wracking experience at first. It was a different dynamic [than what she had experienced in middle school], and I wanted to win over people I hadn’t known for a while. It was exciting knowing that I was taking a risk, and hoped to create some positive change.”
Zoe had a slightly different experience. She said, “The experience overall was pretty judgment free. Even though people were voting for me and the other candidates, I felt like I could deliver the speech I wanted to with confidence. I also felt a lot of love and support from my advisor, dean, classmates, and others who all supported me along the way and congratulated me at the end.”
It was a close election, but now the ninth graders have Kate and Zoe as their grade representatives. They are both looking forward to leading their peers this year.
https://www.spoteurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Screenshot-2020-06-06-at-17.53.00-1024×287.png
