At Summit, students who participate in Student Council help facilitate assemblies and community service events, select themes for sports events and spirit weeks as well as represent the student body to the administration.
On May 23, Summit students piled into the gymnasium for Student Council elections to hear campaign speeches. The winners were announced May 24, read on to discover more about the chosen candidates’ visions for their roles next year.
Spirit Commissioners – Nick Leary and Rooks Maxwell
Not only is school spirit a vital aspect of fostering an inclusive and exciting school environment, but studies, such as one from The Connecticut Association of Schools, have found that students who show support for their school will perform better academically, socially and civically.
As Spirit Commissioners, Nick Leary and Rooks Maxwell aim to improve Summit’s spirit by selecting themes for sports games and working to improve student involvement in school events.
“I joined because I thought it would be really fun and super cool to get involved with the school and try to make Summit a better and more involved place,” said Maxwell.
If Leary and Maxwell can manage to bring Summit together, the entire attitude of its students may change. Many forget to appreciate or value this building and its staff. By shaping a student body that believes in its school, they hope to be able to make events and fundraisers more impactful and strengthen the school as a whole.
Assembly Coordinators – Kate Swigert and Foster Kettering
Kate Swigert and Foster Kettering were selected as the 2024–25 Assembly Coordinators. This will be both Swigert and Kettering’s first year on Student Council.
In the past, Summit students have expressed disinterest in assemblies, but Swigert and Kettering are looking for ways to make them more exciting for the student body, increase attendance and develop school spirit.
“[I]f the assemblies are more fun, more entertaining, more involv[ed], then people will want to come and be involved with our school and our community,” said Kettering.
If Kettering accomplishes his goal, the result would be incredibly beneficial to all. Although, neither Swigert or Kettering provided any insight regarding how they planned to achieve this.
“[Assemblies are] not only a reason to skip class, [they are] a reason to have fun with your peers,” said Swigert.
Although community is an important part of assemblies, they serve a greater purpose than for idle entertainment. When the whole school is in one place there is a unique opportunity to build student-staff relationships, school spirit and recognize academic and sport achievements. If Swigert and Kettering want to improve assembly attendance and enjoyment, they will have to understand the balance between having fun, responsibility and building community.
Vice President – Cutler Hobin
Cutler Hobin was elected as next year’s Vice President and he hopes to connect with the freshman class to help make the transition from middle to high school more comfortable and address issues such as parking space for upperclassmen.
“[By being] stricter on parking passes for underclassmen [I want to make] sure that seniors and juniors can get spots before them, [that] just seems more important,” said Hobin.
Though many older students share this sentiment, creating enough space for upperclassmen cannot be done by simply penalizing those without a pass. Many upperclassmen have the opportunity to have a free period, and some may not have class until after lunch. This difference in arrival time between grades makes ensuring parking space incredibly challenging.
Student Body President – Alicia Watson
Alicia Watson has been involved in Student Council since her freshman year and served as the vice president this past year. As the student body president, Watson represents student opinion and serves as a bridge connecting administration and students. One of Watson’s primary goals is to reinforce this bridge and help bring the two closer together.
“I feel like we make decisions as a student population, and [administrators] make decisions as a higher school board and it never really ends up meshing,” said Watson. “[W]e both want different things, and I’m hoping that with this new principal, we can really work on narrowing down the things that we want and accomplishing them.”
By improving the relationship between students, staff and administration, not only will Summit’s academics and attitude improve, but school spirit as well.
“I feel like people think that being involved with the school is not cool, or that doing spirit week is not cool. I came from a really small middle school where everyone dressed up, and now I come to school and I’m the only one dressed up,” said Watson, “I really want to make sure everyone thinks [spirit week] is fun, because it’s not embarrassing if everyone does it, it’s only embarrassing if you’re the only one.”
Watson also wants to work on integrating a senior project, such as a senior gift or community project, to help leave the school a better place than when they first walked in. Graduating high school is a landmark in many lives, and all the lessons they have learned—whether from class, sports or mistakes—deserve to be remembered. By not passing on this knowledge or by simply reassuring and uplifting underclassmen, seniors are missing out on a way to positively influence others.
As student body president, Watson is hoping to be part of that influence and encourage students to speak up for what they need.
“I’m super excited to be in this position, I’m super grateful that I was elected. I’m not scary, and I’m very approachable. If you have something that you want to change, I actually need to hear it because if I don’t know then I can’t do anything,” said Watson.
As Student Body President, Watson is responsible for unifying the Student Council and helping each member achieve the goals of the group. From cultivating school spirit to improving administration communication, Summit’s atmosphere has the potential to change for the better.
Looking Forward
Student Council plays a crucial role in providing students with opportunities to develop leadership, public speaking and organization skills while ensuring that students have a meaningful voice in the decisions that impact their daily lives at school. When students are active in their community, whether it’s through student council or otherwise, they will be provided with a unique ability to improve the flaws they see in their environment.
The members of Summit’s Student Council carry a responsibility that has been underdeveloped in past years. Summit lacks school spirit and with it a sense of community. As the 2022–23 school year comes to an end, it is important that we acknowledge our faults. It is only when we want to change, that anything will.
