This year’s Student Council elections run from Feb. 28 to March 8. Students can vote for 10 candidates vying for spots in five leadership positions:
President: Honor Dold, Nathan Heftman
Vice President: Sophie Bloom, William Schellenberg
Secretary: Catherine Ji, Charlotte Crocker
Treasurer: Matthew Slater, Phoebe Welch
School Culture Commissioner: Isabela Ryerson, Jane Harris
Student Council leaders serve as an important conduit between the student body and the administration. Those who are elected will make decisions about issues like student representation, heritage month observances, and the transition from the Northfield to Winnetka campus, among other things. Students can vote by scanning the QR codes posted throughout the school.
The New Trier News sat down with this year’s vice presidential candidates and asked them six questions about their candidacy. Here’s what they had to say:
Presidential candidates
Honor Dold: Junior
How would peers describe you in one word?
I would probably say driven. My peers at school see me at the library a lot, they see me participating in a lot of clubs, [and] obviously see me working hard at Student Council. I take a pretty heavy course load, so I think a lot of people in my classes see me as studious in that sense. I’m also a tutor in the AAC, so, obviously, I’m driven, I have goals, and I want to achieve them.
Why did you choose to run for president?
I was kind of inspired to run for president by past members of Student Council who I knew and respected, especially Shaili [Das] this year, who is our president, and also in the previous year Abby Kirmser and Sadie Grace [2022-2023 candidates]. Even though Sadie Grace lost, she was also a mentor for me in Student Council, and I just really respect them. I really love the group and I think that I’d be a good leader of the group because I love the people who are in it. I really respect what we do, and I think it makes a difference for people at New Trier. Even if not everyone in the school notices what we do, I think that even if we make an impact on a couple students for every movement or Heritage Month display that we do, I think that what we do is important.
What specific goals do you have for your time in office?
These will probably adapt in the new year depending on our sponsors and what they want to do, because obviously I can say things but not everything can really ultimately be achieved unless it’s approved by our sponsors and the school. I do want to help ease the transition for sophomores at the Winnetka campus and kind of partner with upperclassmen and hopefully advisories and advisors to kind of provide some support in addition to Bridge Builders for that first quarter of school for them, as that can be kind of a hard transition. And also, this is a previous idea that I also talked to Sadie Grace about, was to increase resources for students who are applying to college, and how to partner with, not only post high school counselors, which is obviously a huge program at New Trier, but also alumni who have already been through the process of applying to schools from New Trier. It can be super different than other high schools as it’s super competitive. We all have such amazing resources here but everyone is super driven and the competition is high. I think hearing about the processes of other students who have got into a lot of the common universities that are applied to here, like Michigan, Wisconsin, etc., I think that could be helpful.
How have your experiences as a student at New Trier prepared you for this position?
I’ve had a lot of leadership experience at New Trier so far. I’ve been involved in Student Ambassadors, so I’ve given tours to alumni and talked to them about their experience at New Trier and how it’s kind of evolved since then. And I’ve gotten really comfortable with public speaking and working with others. I think New Trier has a really rigorous course load and I think that I’ve been prepared for handling and managing the workload that I know being president will add, and I think I can definitely handle it. And, a lot of other organizations I’m a part of help me to hear about a lot of other people’s concerns about the school and I’ll be able to implement them. I especially love our Advisory Constituency Board. I think we really have an impact; we actually get to talk to Mrs. Dubravec about things and actually have change happen.
In what ways will you continue on or diverge from the path of the current administration if elected?
I really respect our current leadership team and I think that our officers, especially Shaili, does a really good job of not taking over what people are doing but distributing jobs to different people and giving people a chance to be independent and have their own leadership experiences in Student Council, which will then prepare them to have their own leadership positions in the future. I think that they’ve done a really good job with that and I’d love to further that as well. And just going off of that, providing support where it’s needed and just letting people kind of take responsibility for what they’re doing and be creative and bring in new ideas. Personally for myself moving forward, we take care of a lot of the same things every year because a lot of these things kind of fall on us and it’s good to have consistency and be able to do the same things every year. I would also love to encourage more creativity in the group. Currently, one of our vice presidential candidates is working on the centennial of Student Council, as this is the 100th year Student Council has been one of the programs at New Trier. And so they’re going through lots of the archives and yearbooks for that and I just really respect William for doing that. And I think that’s super cool that they just recognize that and are bringing that in and now we’re doing a whole recognition for that. I would love to encourage that creativity from all of our members and hopefully just create more things at New Trier.
What do you say to students who view the elections as a popularity contest?
I understand where they’re coming from, because sometimes that’s what you think, maybe if you’re looking on social media you see a lot of people reposting my flier. There’s a lot of support for [presidential candidate] Nathan [Heftman], but maybe his supporters aren’t using social media. I think that New Trier has such a diverse population of people, in the sense that it’s so big, that you can’t know everyone. It’s impossible. I think it’s important for your peers to see that you’re a good person in the sense that, “Oh, I trust this person is going to do a good job in the role.” But I don’t think necessarily that at this point it’s a popularity contest, because, I mean, a lot of these people who are voting don’t know me or Nathan, and they have never met either of us. They kind of are making their decision based off of our videos and what we’re saying. I just hope that they pick the candidate who they think will be best for the role.
Nathan Heftman: Junior
How would peers describe you in one word?
Helpful would be a good one. First, I always try and help other people with their work. As a Student Council member, I always try and help people with applications or if they need information about what we’re doing. I’m always happy to help there. Moreover, I’m an Eagle Scout and part of the Scout Law is to be helpful to other people at all times. Something I’ve always tried to take to heart is I think that helping other people in service is a big part of what we do, so I try and put myself forth every day.
Why did you choose to run for president?
Last year, I was elected treasurer and I got to learn a lot about how leadership and Student Council works. I’ve had previous experience as a leader. I’ve led different clubs, I’ve led a scout troop, I was helping out in Student Council for a long time, and I think that with my leadership and my understanding of service, I think I’m pretty capable. I think I’m really the best candidate to help lead Student Council and do the best I can.
What specific goals do you have for your time in office?
What I really want to do is make sure that everyone at New Trier has a community that they can find. I mean, for me, that’s been Student Council. I’ve also found a lot of friends in Policy and Debate and other organizations like writing journals. And so I want to make sure that everyone also experiences that because New Trier is unique in that we have the resources to have all these different clubs and I think we should be using that to the fullest. So I’m always trying to make sure that new clubs get approved and they get funded and supported.
How have your experiences as a student at New Trier prepared you for this position?
I’m in Debate and the Political Journal, so I talk a lot about writing, discussing and communicating different ideas and I think that communication is a big part of Student Council. It’s not just writing PA announcements, but it’s also making sure that people understand what we do. The Student Council motto centers around uplifting all student voices to make the New Trier experience the best it can be. And so what I want to make sure is that everyone knows that’s what we’re practicing, and I think that the more efficient we are in communicating that and the more we make sure that everyone is engaged in the Student Council mission, the more successful we’ll be.
In what ways will you continue on or diverge from the path of the current administration if elected?
At the end of the day, Student Council will keep on running, and so no matter who’s in charge of it, we’re still all going to be working together, we’re still all going to be doing service, we’re still going to be continuing our traditions, we’re still going to be making sure that New Trier is the best place it can be. I’ll certainly be continuing all the positive service projects that we’ve done, a lot of the fundraising mechanisms, but I also would be excited implementing new ideas. I have a lot of fundraising experience in other organizations that I’d be interested in implementing and developing more.
What do you say to students who view the elections as a popularity contest?
I think that at the New Trier Student Council, we’ve done a really good job of making sure that it’s focused on making the candidates who are the best [fit for] Student Council [and] who care the most about the school, and I think the reason is because of the community we’ve built both at New Trier and in Student Council. We stress a lot, especially within Student Council when talking to our fellow members, that we don’t endorse any other candidate over another. We provide a united front because we all support everyone in Student Council, we’re all working together as a team, and that community of shared appreciation of the value that everyone brings to the table, I think really has helped make sure that everyone is valued, everyone’s specific skills are recognized, and those skills are built upon and embraced.
Vice Presidential candidates
William Schellenberg: Sophomore
How would peers describe you in one word?
Really outgoing. I’m definitely a people person. I am an actor, so I like to put myself out there. I like to take charge. I like to be a leader.
Why did you choose to run for vice president?
I chose to run for vice president because I feel like I’ve already done so much good work in Student Council that it just feels like the natural progression. I’ve had two major projects that I’ve spearheaded. They’ve been heavily involved with managing groups as well as talking with administration and creating meetings and just creating tangible work. I feel that with my skills as a leader, I think I can do a good job of leading Student Council and helping the student body be heard.
What specific goals do you have for your time in office?
I want to promote diversity and equity. It’s something that’s really important to me. As a people person, I want to make sure everyone feels like they have a space at New Trier. My top priority is finding ways that we can make sure everyone is heard.
How have your experiences as a student at New Trier prepared you for this position?
I feel like I’ve [been] able to meet a lot of different people in different interests and groups. I feel like I have a good sense of the general New Trier student body but I also am able to talk to these specific groups and hear their specific wants and ideas. And that way, I’m able to come together, make sure everyone feels like they’re heard. I also know just the things that everybody feels I feel too, I mean, New Trier is New Trier. So, there’s obviously things that everyone can agree on improving or just making even better because it’s already good, but, you know, we’re New Trier we want to go even better.
In what ways will you continue on or diverge from the path of the current administration if elected?
I’d definitely keep going with the monthly equity observances, with our lunch and learns, and our displays across the school. I think those are just so great. I think that they really just promote curiosity and they promote learning about something you might not know about. I think I would maybe diverge by having even more of a hand in the student body [and] just trying to hear even more people. I just want to make sure New Trier is a place that everyone can feel proud to be a Trevian.
What do you say to students who view the elections as a popularity contest?
I can understand where they’re coming from. I think a lot of high school elections, just historically, are popularity contests. But I think at New Trier the students really do value hard work and work ethic [and] being able to make good of your promises. I think that that’s what all of us candidates strive to do is to make real change and to make good of our promises.