It is at this time of the year when the school is arguably the most aware of class representatives; election season. But who are our class representatives, and what do they do to serve the Wilmington Friends School community? Each year, Ildiko Miller and our senior
business team work together to officiate and organize the elections. This year, the student body can congratulate Victoria Gasta-Dominguez and Will Vandruff as freshman representatives, Cooper Miller and Cael McDonnell as sophomore representatives, Gabrielle Hamilton and Justin Hutchful as junior representatives, and Izzy Winchell and Lilah Pauley as senior representatives.
Candidates campaigned over the first few weeks of school, and gave speeches on Friday, September 19. The student body then voted on the candidates that they think would best represent the members of their grade.
Since the winners of the student representative elections had been announced, they have been open to interviews about their campaigns, responsibilities, and motives as class representatives. Some candidates were asked why they decided to run for class rep this year. Justin Hutchful ‘27 says “I wanted to make it easier for people to communicate with the business team, and encourage more student budget proposals.”
Some of our class representatives chose to try out for this leadership role because they work well as leaders. When asked the same question, Victoria Gasta-Dominguez ‘29, who was a business meeting clerk in eighth grade, says “Since middle school, I have liked to take on big leadership roles. I often assume the leadership role, because leading comes naturally to me.”
Izzy Winchell ‘26 and Lilah Pauley ‘26 experienced a unique campaign process, where they were the only 2 candidates running in their grade. When asked why they chose to run, Izzy explains that she wanted to take the initiative to represent her grade when not many
others were considering campaigning. Lilah says “I ran because our grade didn’t feel represented, and I wanted
to change that.”
When candidates were asked about their responsibilities and duties as a class representative, Gasta-Dominguez ‘29 discusses the process of representing an individual student’s idea or proposal. Gasta-Dominguez ‘29 says, “We create a form, a student would state their name, grade, and any complications or concerns they may have, and we take this to Agenda Meeting. We are then able to consider the importance of the proposal, and discuss how we can best fulfill the needs or requests of the student. An example of some-
thing we discussed at the most recent meeting was a proposal from a student about making the water in our
school colder, and how we would be able to do that.” When asked about his main responsibilities as a junior class representative, Hutchful ‘27 says, “Our job is to make it easier for the juniors to communicate with the business team. At Agenda Meeting, we go over
the proposals that have been brought to us, and discuss them. All of the class representatives attend as well as Mrs. Miller, the business team, and anyone else who wants to join us.”
Finally, when asked about their campaign strategies, Gasta-Dominguez ‘29 says “When creating a speech, I thought about the image I wanted to present myself as, and how I would be received by my classmates. I want to allow students to feel comfortable coming to me with their ideas and proposals.” Hutchful ‘27 says “I wanted to come across as approachable and
excited to make change.”
If a student has a proposal for how to best use the collective budget, or if they have an idea that will benefit the student body, they have an excellent team of representatives in their grade who are ready to take on any requests and work with students to make our community as successful as it can be. With that, congratulations to the new class representatives!
