Freshman Class Candidates 2016-2017
September 19, 2016
Name: Billy O’Brien
Freshman Class Presidential Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
I feel as I have a good connection of and understanding to all the groups of students of the 9th grade.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
I served as one of three class representatives last year on Community Council. I also worked on the Lego robotics team and we went to the second round and almost the third.
What are your goals if elected?
My main goal would be to get an understanding of community council and do what would benefit everyone of the ninth grade.
Name: Taylor Robin
Freshman Class Presidential Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
I would be a good candidate because I have strong leadership roles and take any situation head on. I love helping others and working with a team and I think those are both very important traits that a president must have.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
I have done years of community service and I am a Hackley Ambassador. While I have never been a class representative or president, I have helped those who have been and would love to be the one creating ideas.
What are your goals if elected?
I would love to start some community service projects to bring students in the 9th grade together. Like Mr. King said, I would also like to create an environment based on civility. Lastly I will be a president that works well with people and listen to any ideas presented to me and make this grade a closeknit community.
Name: Max Rosenbaum
Freshman Class Presidential Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
I would be a good candidate for this position because of my goals, my personal characteristics, my qualifications, and my commitment. Freshmen, in all high schools, have some sort of reputation, which goes something along these lines: “Oh, the freshmen are soooo annoying.” “A freshman cannot do that.” “Ughhh, the dumb freshmen, they don’t know anything.” My number one goal is to change this reputation, for our grade specifically, and to make the Class of 2020 the best freshman class Hackley has ever seen. To do this, I have three smaller goals, which I will explain in the third prompt. But, for someone to do this, they must have some certain characteristics and qualifications. In my case, I am the most responsible and most organized person I know, and while some of this may be attributed to my OCD, these are still some of my top personal priorities. A President should also know the school very well, and I have known Hackley since I was 4 years old, as I first started Hackley in Kindergarten. A president should also be a leader, and be able to get stuff done. I was elected to Community Council in 6th grade, and this was the year of middle school in which the most was accomplished in council (the same year when I was a representative). Since 2014, I have raised thousands of dollars for underprivileged children in Haiti, clearly proving I can get stuff done. I am also a leader, as I was chosen as one of five middle school students to attend the Young Round Square conference in India, which hones in on certain IDEALS, one of which is leadership. Lastly, I am deeply committed to Hackley, and will be deeply committed to the student council and student body of the Class of 2020 if elected.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
As 6th Grade Representative of the Class of 2020, I helped recreate a sense of community withing the grade, which was experiencing some social conflicts at the time, and helped create and constitue the best evening activity Hackley Middle School has, Chopped. This idea is now used for every grade once they enter 6th grade, and has gotten the best reviews of any evening activity. Besides my time serving as Class Representative, I have also helped Hackley obtain the title of “the school to beat” in the Middle School Public Debate League, throughout my four years of debating experience. I have also done my best to be a friend and familiar face to any new student entering our grade, no matter the year. I have proudly represented Hackley at YRS in India, as well. Lastly, for High School Credentials, I am part of the Ambassador Program, and Upper School Debate Program, and am apart of many of Hackley’s clubs.
What are your goals if elected?
If elected, my three main goals are to make sure that every student has the most fun/enjoyable, most educational, and most fair and equal year possible. By this, I mean that I want my classmates to have the most fun they can, for them to enjoy a productive learning environment and get good grades, and for them to have similar opportunities as the upperclassmen that are sometimes undermined, being freshman. If elected, some of my fun ideas include a tailgate party at football games, Freshman Amazing Race, Freshy of the month, community service contests and opportunities, new evening activites, a dance for underclassmen, and more. I aim for my classmates to receive the best grades they can, by helping them to get the extra help and information about assignments that they need. Lastly, I want my classmates to have the same opportunities as the Upperclassmen, within a certain boundary. I want my peers to be well-liked, equal, and will fight and use my power in council to do so.
Name: Emmy Wenstrup
Freshman Class Presidential Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
I would be a good candidate for Class President because I have served on middle school Community Council since 6th grade. I have experience in leadership positions and I am able to work with a group of people in council meetings. I am dedicated to making the grade better by having activities that everyone will enjoy. Not only have I served on council for 3 years, but I have had numerous successes each year. In 6th grade, I planned and organized our “chopped” activity night, which was a huge success. I am a pretty charismatic and friendly person, which makes me easy to work with. Even in times of awkwardness, I like to crack a joke to relieve the tension. I’m also extremely passionate about my school. Since I’ve been here since kindergarten and so has my brother, I feel like Hackley is my second home. I’m very spirited, as one can see in the night games I’ve attended, where I can be seen jumping on the bleachers. I’m also an honest person, and I value the truth a lot. That’s important in community council because if I have an idea that really isn’t so great, I want to hear that. Overall, I’m a good candidate for Class President because I’m creative, passionate, I have school spirit, and I’m honest.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
In 6th grade, in my 1st year of Council, I organized and executed Hackley’s first “chopped” activity night, which was a huge success. Over 45 kids were in attendance, breaking our previous activity night records. Kids had such a great time that they were very excited for the same night the next year. Last year, our 8th grade community council took on the project of changing the after-school snacks in the middle school and that was also a success. Before we took the project on, students could eat veggie chips. After our several meetings, cheese puffs were soon a popular hit among middle school students. Lastly, as stated above, I’ve also attended many school night games, where I cheer our varsity athletes to victory.
What are your goals if elected?
If elected, I’d like to continue making the grade better by having more activity nights. For example, I think having school bonfires after sports games is a good idea because it brings every one together, whether the game was a win or a loss. I also think it would be cool to have a nighttime scavenger hunt of the upper school for the freshmen to get everyone even more acquainted with the large building we navigate every day. I think it’d be really fun if we had a “runners v. zombies” run, in which one team is the runners and the other team is the zombies that chase the runners. For fundraising, we could sell roses for the Snowball dance. If someone wanted to ask someone to Snowball, they could buy a rose and we could charge more for a personalized sign.
Name: Sofia Graziano
Freshman Class Representative Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
I would be a good candidate for the position of representative because I am well qualified, I care about the community, and I’m willing to put in the time for a change. I was rep in 6th and 7th grade, and I organized many events, and helped change many things. I really love helping my community, and I feel like this is a perfect way to do so.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
I’ve been at Hackley since Kindergarten, I’m an active ambassador, I play 3 sports, and I made new events (Chopped) in the middle school.
What are your goals if elected?
My goals if elected are to create new opportunities for students to bond, to create events so students can have fun and relax, and to make events that already were created better and more enjoyable for students.
Name: Alex Evangelidis
Freshman Class Representative Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
First of all, I love Hackley, it’s teachers and students, and I absolutely loved representing the class of 2020. I want to make the high school experience even more fun and memorable for students than it already is. Second, I have experience planning events for my grade because I served as a community council representative last year. Third, I was consistent in my attendance and I never missed a meeting, and I intend to never miss a meeting. Lastly, I care about what my peers have to say and would be honored to be their voice.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
Last year, I served as a Community Council representative, and represented my grade and its interests in meetings with teachers, administrators, and Mr. Wirtz. I planned many field trips, activity nights and games from going to Bounce, to Movie nights, to jeopardy during community time. I also created and handed out many surveys, which allowed my peers to make their opinions heard.
What are your goals if elected?
To the freshman class more involved with school wide activities. Also I would like to meet with the dining hall staff to discuss more variety among the salad bar.
Name: Madeline Zuckerman
Freshman Class Representative Candidate
Why would you be a good candidate for this position?
The job of a class representative is to represent the views and ideas of our grade. As a student who has been at Hackley since 4th grade, I have seen what happens when our views have been represented and, unfortunately, when they haven’t. I believe that I can be a spokesperson for our grade and help organize events that we will like. I would regularly talk to students in our grade about what they feel is good about the 9th grade and what needs improvement.
In my time at Hackley, I have admired the impact that the council can have and believe I have developed the necessary skills and relationships to serve. I have a very strong work ethic and will push ideas tirelessly until what we want is what we have. Through doing debate team in middle school, I have learned the importance of working together and focusing on each others strengths until we succeed. We might be freshmen and new to the Upper School, but we don’t need to be treated like freshmen. I will make sure our voices are heard.
What have you done for the Hackley community?
I have participated in the ambassador program and was a helper on this Parents Day for the Upper School. I have started to show around prospective new students and parents around the Upper School. I have participated in debate from 5th through 8th grades in which I have represented the Hackley School across many tournaments. Early on, I participated in the Homework Helper program in which I helped younger Hackley students with their homework.
What are your goals if elected?
My overall goal is to speak with our grade and check in with our classmates to see what ideas we have for the future:
For example, I have talked with some students in the grade already. Some ideas students in our grade have is:
More Fun Food: for example, more pizza days and an ice sundae bar day. More Social Activities: for example, a grade wide dance, one student even suggested a glow-in-the-dark 9th grade dance. As well as this, the same student suggested an 80s themed dance. Many students that I have asked stated that they greatly enjoyed the 7th and 8th grade bar/bat mitzvahs. This led them to suggest dances for 9th grade. More Free Periods: Lessening the amount of study halls we have.
Beyond these individual goals, my hope is to create a spirit of transparency and trust within the 9th grade and between the 9th grade and the Community Council. I want to create an atmosphere in which students feel that their voices are heard.
