The hallways of EABH were filled with excitement as students prepared to exercise their democratic right to elect representatives in the 2023-24 Student Council Elections. Today, May 31st, the student body gathered in the gym to hear candidates' proposals before casting their ballots. A day before the event, The Daily Hawk conducted a press conference where students anonymously submitted questions to the running candidates. The present students also got to directly and moderately inquire the runners on their concerns. Today's speeches included all of the positions of the Student Council, including the vice president and reporter, which had been previously elected due to a lack of contenders. This year's elections were different from the ones in past years because students no longer need to have a certain amount of experience in the club to run for an officer position, and now need teacher recommendation signatures to demonstrate that their candidacy is valid and backed by teachers who recognize character, academics, and more.
The elections began with Upper School Principal, Kerry Timmerman, giving a speech acknowledging the challenges of running for office in any democratic system. In his words: “Someone is going to win; someone is going to lose. Win graciously, and lose graciously; congratulate your opponents.” Applauses to cheer up the candidates followed the principal's speech. The floor was given to Lucas Chen of this year’s graduating class to moderate the event in the place of StuCo's current president, Marcela Borlido, who could not attend the elections. He introduced each candidate to the audience.
Laura Prates, a rising freshman, rose to confidently speak to her audience about her qualifications and gratitude for having already been given the position of StuCo's reporter. She said she honors her education in traditional Brazilian schools and the American school system and how she will do well for the club.
Candidates running for treasurer were brought up, starting with Chase Mason, also a rising freshman, who talked about his 2-year experience in the Student Council and his drive to commit to his officer position if elected. He spoke of skills in financial and asset management that could benefit the club’s organization of funds and events. After a roaring applause, Pedro Rocholli, a rising senior, gave a speech on his experience and deep interest in economics, which have credentials from taking the college-level courses of AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics, and his upcoming summer program at Bentley, also on economics. He concluded his speech by emphasizing the importance of understanding finance to fulfill his job as treasurer, making the audience clap for his qualifications and character. The final candidate running for treasurer was Tiago Loures, a rising junior. He started by requesting that the audience listens to all the candidates despite the election's reputation of being a popularity contest. He said he would organize transactions, referring to his question in yesterday’s press conference regarding how fast StuCo’s financial contributions to other clubs should be done. Once he concluded his speech, Tiago’s words on how this position requires a lot of dedication, made the audience loudly applaud, ready to hear the speeches of the other candidates.
Running for secretary, Giovana Muzzi, a rising junior, was introduced first, where she went up and gave her well written-speech on her credentials and the value she’d bring to the club. According to her, being a good social and academic communicator contributed to her persistence and gathered experience of being in a traditional Brazilian school and facing drastic change when moving to EABH. The election proceeded to the rising freshman, Massimiliano Vicintin, who said he’d prove his values and foster a “good environment where students feel valued and heard.” He promised the audience that he would be a dedicated member and that he feels honored to represent the student body.
The position of Vice president is already determined with Larissa Ragonessi, a rising junior, taking the position. Regardless, she read a speech that showed everyone her intentions and values. She says she is proactive and takes action to improve efficiency and impact in the community, which she has already been capable of doing in her 1 year of previous experience in StuCo. She then went on about her participation in other clubs and her passion to make a difference.
To conclude the elections, the most awaited position was saved for last. Presidential candidates presented their longer speeches to the audience, where students were more intrigued and invested in what they had to say, as they would be the next leaders of the student body. Cauã Magalhães went up first in his suit and tie — dressed for the occasion. He had lots of cheers the second he stood up on stage and spoke impactful first words: “There is a fire burning in my heart.” Genuinely caring for each and every one of the students, who are “more than just faces, but aspirations and dreams,” according to him, he plans to be strategic with collaboration and make sure that there is diversity in ideas that accurately depict the needs of the students. Roaring off the stage, Julia Ribeiro was also brought up with cheers from all her supporters in the audience. She spoke on her experience as a class representative, an officer in StuCo, and what she believes is necessary to fulfill the duty of Student Council President. She said that she will fulfill the needs of students with the skills she’s collected in the National Junior Honor Society, Model United Nations, and StuCo itself. She wants the students’ voices to be heard after being a student herself for 10 years at EABH.
Concluding the elections, Lucas Chen was brought back up to thank the audience for their undivided attention and announced that the voting form was submitted to everyone. Closed at 3:00 pm, the Student Council published the winners on the dot. The school highly expresses gratitude to all the candidates who demonstrated their will to be a risk taker and will to represent the student body. Congratulations to Laura Prates for her immediate position as a reporter, Chase Mason for his elected position as treasurer, Massimiliano Vicintin being elected for secretary, Larissa Ragonessi’s immediate position as Vice President, and finally, Julia Ribeiro for her elected position as the Student Council’s president. Just as Mr.Kerry said, “Win graciously, and lose graciously; congratulate your opponents.” Congratulations to all!