By Christina Wilson
The student council for the 2021-2022 school year has finally been announced. Students voted for their council representatives by watching campaign videos on Flipgrid and voted for the individual they liked best on a Google Form.
Q. What was your initial reaction after seeing that you won your category?
Gregory Marzano: It took me a few seconds to process it, but once I realized I had won, I was thrilled. I had zero expectations going into the application process. I had tried my best while campaigning. I am so excited to start working with the rest of the officers.
Maximillian O’Connor: On my mother and father, the sensation I felt was simply and undeniably fantastic. My initial reaction was complete euphoria. I was so happy to have won and felt immense gratitude towards my friends who aided me in my campaign.
Mohammed Adam: I tried remaining steady and calm but deep down, I couldn’t wait another second. The results were scheduled to come out Tuesday after 3 pm. As the final bell rang, I opened my iPad and there was a notification from the Student Council Google Classroom. As I opened it, I found all the winners listed, including myself for first vice president. I felt so relieved and grateful. Everything I did — campaigning, rapping my flip-grid video, asking people to vote for me — felt so worthwhile. I also remember feeling much gratitude to the student body for giving me their trust to serve as their vice president.
Natalie Bak: When I first found out I won second vice president, I was very proud of myself. I wasn’t sure if I would get the position because I’ve never been a part of the student council before. I really want to show everyone that I will take this position seriously and make our school a comfortable and positive environment for everyone. I’m glad that I got my message across!
Anthony LaSala: When I initially saw that I had won the position of treasurer, I was so grateful and excited. The hard work I put in had paid off.
Ishita Bansal: I first heard that I won secretary from a friend of mine while we were at a play rehearsal. My first instinct was to spin in circles and cheer in glee and I did just that. I’m sure the security cameras got a great take of that happening. I am ecstatic and am so excited to experience this incredible position, and try to learn new things.
Ryan Bell: I was surprised and excited, but I was also expecting a good result because many people said that they voted for me.
Caley Caleca: I was so excited when I saw I won a position!
Darsh Mirchandani: I was excited to begin my position as historian and was determined to make a difference.
Ava Iskhakov: My reaction was OMG!
Q. What can we expect from you this year?
GM: After a year of so many activities being cancelled, I am so excited for more and more events to start back up. I’m looking forward to helping to plan and prepare for events, so that the student body can thoroughly enjoy them, after a year of missing out. Along with the rest of the officers, I want to be able to make this year as fun as possible and hope to incorporate all the new ideas that we may come up with.
MO: You can expect your opinion to be valued and heard by me. I plan on creating some sort of school event every month, at the very least, to make sure all of the students at NHP know that the student council is here for them.
Source by Anna Detke
Presidents Max O'Connor and Gregory Marzano prepare to lead a year filled with hard work and positivity.
MA: When I decided to run for vice president, I laid out everything anyone needed to know about me. I am not afraid to step outside of the box and do things differently, and that’s exactly what you can expect from me. You can expect a lot of fun and a lot of risks to be taken. But you can also anticipate a lot of mistakes to be made. I’m sure that along the journey there will be ups and downs, but we have to embrace and learn from both. I can only do so much as a junior in high school; however, you can expect me to always live up to the commitments I made when I ran for vice president: to always help people, be a good person, and try new things.
NB: You can definitely expect my hard work and determination to make this year unforgettable! I have lots of creative ideas to pitch on how we can make this school a better environment for all students. Everyone in this school matters, and I will make it my goal to accommodate and take in ideas from all. So you can expect a very fun and productive year.
AL: You can expect a leader that’ll take peoples opinions and bring them back to the student council so that everyone’s thoughts and ideas are heard.
IB: You can definitely expect me to be asking a lot of questions, trying to initiate new ideas on a case-by-case basis and constantly improving, or trying to, in how I approach things. I want to remain as connected to the student body as possible so that I can represent you guys to the best of my abilities. I love the feeling of being part of a collective body and generating waves of change. I’ll continue to use my connections with you guys to cultivate this.
RB: I can expect in my position this year to work with my counterpart Caley Caleca, encourage as much turnout as possible and to set up school events in order to make the NHP experience as fun and exciting as possible.
CC: This year I want to create new fundraisers to raise money for more activities and help boost our school spirit with new events!
DM: The students of New Hyde Park Memorial High School can expect that I will give every task my all, whether big or small. They can also expect that I will work my hardest to fulfill the duties of my position, and strive to surpass the expectations of the students, staff and administrators of New Hyde Park Memorial High School.
AI: Well, I do want to do my best to listen to everyone’s ideas and make this school an even better place. I do want to surprise our school with my ideas, but the overall idea is to be the students’ creative and fun activity coordinator.
Q. What encouraged you to run for your given position?
GM: Ever since freshman year or so, I’ve wanted to run for president. However, I never really thought that I would actually go through with it. I was on the fence about actually running for a position, after the applications were opened. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself to win, but I decided to give it a shot and campaign. I can’t wait to help make NHP an even better community.
MO: I am not afraid of failure, but I am afraid of not trying. I always encourage and help my friends to overcome their anxiety and just “do the thing” because it is the way I live. I also feel as though it will have a positive impact on them.
MA: When I decided to run for vice president, I laid out everything you need to know about me. I will not be afraid to step outside of the box and do things differently. You can expect a lot of fun and expect a lot of risks to be taken. But you can also anticipate a lot of mistakes to be made. I’m sure that along the journey there will be ups and downs, but we have to embrace and learn from both. I can only do so much as a junior in high school but expect me to always live up to the commitments I made when I ran for vice president: to always help people, be a good person, and try new things.
NB: What encouraged me to run was the fact that I thought taking on this role would be my chance to genuinely make a change in our school. I always want to make people as happy and comfortable as possible. Running for second vice president really captured my attention because I felt that it would allow me to be involved and take initiative in making our school the best it can possibly be.
AL: I was encouraged since I had been a part of my elementary school’s student council since fourth grade. Each and every year makes me a better person.
IB: I didn't run for student council positions because I was always afraid that I’d lose. I definitely questioned how this election would go until the very end, but this year I decided to go big or go home. Positions like the ones on student congress always bring me immense joy in knowing I can help people more practically and on a larger level than if I could one-on-one. Taking up the Secretary position felt right up my alley, and I got over my fear of not being elected or being disappointed. I’m so grateful my mildly sleep deprived brain told me, “Just go for it,” and my more conscious brain the next morning followed through.
RB: I got encouraged to run for publicity coordinator because I want to encourage as much turnout to school events as possible and to rile up the students, teachers, and staff. I also wanted to make school and after-school as fun as possible.
CC: I wanted to run for the position of publicity coordinator because I have been the publicity coordinator for the class of 2023 and for the Italian club and enjoyed working with the other officers and the role of publicity coordinator so much!
DM: My desire to help and represent the students of New Hyde Park Memorial are two of the many reasons I ran for office. I also wanted to inspire students to get excited about school after many months of learning affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AI: The main reason that encouraged me to run for this position was to be more part of this amazing school. I wanted to make a difference and I believe that I am fit for this position. The amazing thing that I noticed was the fact that I am given a wonderful team to work with through the school year.
Q. What characteristics/traits do you think can set you apart from your fellow officers?
GM: Although I don’t know many of my fellow officers personally, I believe we are all hard workers and all hope to make NHP even better. I usually take a creative approach to solve problems or complete a task since I love seeing smiles on peoples’ faces. I hope to incorporate that into many of the things that I, as well as my fellow officers, will do. I hope to be able to include everyone's ideas and add my ideas to them as well.
MO: I very much consider myself a Renaissance man because of how multifaceted I am. The diversity of my personality allows me to connect with so many different people, which I feel definitely sets me apart from my fellow officers and makes me a good leader.
MA: Every single candidate who stepped up and decided to run for student council deserves a round of applause whether they won or lost. Losing this election is not an indication of failure. The fact that you were so passionate and decided to run to help make this school better is an indication of your character and strength. As far as my fellow student council officers, I am definitely excited to work with them. We have a rather unique conundrum because for the first time, there are two presidents which is going to be fun and interesting. Max and Gregory will both be great partners, and I’m thrilled that I will be serving alongside them as their vice president. I’m also excited to be working with Natalie, as we are both vice presidents, which is funny because I guess each president has one vice president. This school year -- with the help of the entire cabinet including Anthony, Ishita, Ryan, Caley, Darsh and Ava -- will be one of the most fun, rigorous and exceptional years of all time.
NB: I have an extremely creative way of thinking and a strong drive for accomplishment. I also love making people laugh and happy with my positive attitude. I am very open-minded and always willing to take in suggestions and ideas from anyone. I believe with these traits, I will be able to make a big change in our school for the better. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make everyone satisfied.
AL: I think I am different from other officers since I’m loud and have no fear in stating my opinion or others’ opinions. I want what is best for the school as a whole rather than just myself.
IB: Regardless of anyone’s age, I love the feeling of being interconnected with the student body. I can confidently say I have friends in all the grades here at NHP. Therefore, this allows me to be sure in getting honest opinions and not just representing a specific demographic of students. Beyond just my current friendships, I’m always willing to get to know anyone who I’m not yet totally familiar with, and I want to recognize new viewpoints or possibilities I might not have seen without the help of others. I won’t be stuck in one place trying only one path to reach success, and I’ll implore my fellow officers to do the same.
RB: Some traits that distinguish me from other officers is that I love history and basketball. Like the other officers, I am nice, loving, caring, compassionate, empathic, funny, selfless, strong, tough, persevered, motivated, resilient, deeply caring, loving and supportive for my community, family and friends.
CC: Some traits of mine that I think set me apart from my other officers is the ability to work with others. I love collaborating with my peers and officers to create new ideas! I’m also really friendly and really easy to talk to!
DM: One characteristic that sets me apart from my fellow officers is that I was introduced to this school completely in the middle of the pandemic. In fact, my first day in this school was via Google Meet. I feel like that will bring a unique perspective to meetings of the student council.
AI: I am very detail oriented, dependable, organized and strongly capable of planning activities.
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