Sophomore leadership introduced to Student Government

Though their time at HHS has just begun, these seven sophomores are ready to become leaders for their class.

The fifteen candidates running for Sophomore Representative of Student Government began their campaigns on Sept. 9. On Sept. 11, seven candidates were elected by their peers to represent the class of 2018: Grant Cohen, Hannah Goldfarb, John Otieno, Ian Baxter, Sophia Koritz, Aerin O’Malley, and Zoe Herstig, sophomores.

The representatives will represent their grade by organizing notable events such as Homecoming and Winter Week. Mr. Tyson Crockett, Academic Dean, emphasized the valuable role Sophomore Reps. have in Student Government.

“They give a voice, and certainly a new voice, to the school about how things are working here, the way they feel accepted within the building, and they have just as much right as, say, a senior or junior to vote on things and make change within the school,” Crockett said.

As a newly elected Sophomore Rep., O’Malley’s goal is to make HHS an inclusive place for all students.

“I know that Hopkins is really diverse, so I want to have ideas that include everyone in the school, make it a place where everyone can find something they enjoy, and bring ideas that would represent everybody in the school,” O’Malley said.

Baxter strives to facilitate the requests of the student body. He is looking directly to the sophomore class to provide feedback and ideas.

“I want [the student body] to all come up to me and tell me what [they] want, because this isn’t for myself,” Baxter said. “I’m a representative of all of [them], and I want to know what [they] want.”

Koritz has more specific plans as Sophomore Rep., such as new contributions to Winter Week, one of Student Government’s biggest projects. Koritz believes that the week before Winter Week is a good time to implement spirit and events.

“I’d like to bring some ideas like more stuff before Winter Week, like decorating cookies or raffles, and just adding to the great things we already have,” Koritz said.

In addition to Winter Week, Koritz hopes to help establish a further social media presence by creating a Snapchat “geofilter,” an artistic overlay used in Snapchats at specific locations, specifically for HHS.

Besides planning and organizing events, the Sophomore Reps. will be given experiences in the various fields that Student Government works in, allowing them to plan for the roles they may want in their junior and senior years.

“[The sophomores will be] kind of figuring out who they want to shadow or learn from, whether that’s going to the School Board, whether it’s more of a treasury position, whether it’s more of a presidential position – whatever they find the most [interesting] and where they can make the biggest difference,” Crockett said.

The Sophomore Reps. began their involvement with the current members of Student Government at their meetings before school on Sept. 16.