Voting for Girls Club leadership offices began March 17 and ends on March 19. This year, there are eight candidates running for leadership offices with the Presidential and Senior Class Chair positions running uncontested.
President: Annie Gelwix
Vice President: Charlotte Carmel and Kate Martin
Secretary: Shea Botjer and Avery Ko
Senior Class Chair: Sophia Farina
Junior Class Chair: Everleigh Adams and Anna Wormley
Girls Club is an eighth-period club for female students that fundraises for The New Trier Scholarship Fund and other local organizations. The New Trier News asked the Presidential candidate and the Vice Presidential, Secretary, and Junior Class Chair candidates about their reason for running for office, what they hope to achieve in office, and how they would describe the Girls Club community. Read below to view their comments.
Presidential Candidate
Annie Gelwix (’27)
Why did you choose to run for President?
“I was Junior Class Chair on the board of Girls Club, and it was a really great experience. I’m really glad I put myself out there and ran because it felt great to not only be a part of Girls Club but be a part of the board and that community and really feeling like I was doing something. And seeing Francesca Hlavacek, the President of Girls Club, the way she handled being President and things that she did for the club, really inspired me. And I just have some great ideas of my own, and I really think I could do a great job of representing every girl in Girls Club.”
What do you hope to achieve as President?
“In Girls Club, we have a really tight-knit community. We’re really good at making sure every girl feels included and just that we were all really close and bonded. I would really like to focus more on our fundraisers—we do this thing where girls in Girls Club can [work with] fundraisers that are near and dear to their heart, and we can try and work with them to raise money. So I really want to incorporate that more and just make a lot more fundraising opportunities.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“This sounds kind of cliche, but [Girls Club] truly is a place for everyone. I’m honestly not sure if I would know half of the girls as well as I did if it wasn’t for Girls Club, and it’s just such a collaborative space. And to see all these girls coming together and raising money for a good cause is really cool to see. So I would just describe it as very social but with a mix of service.”
Vice Presidential Candidates
Charlotte Carmel (’27)
Why did you choose to run for Vice President?
“The past two vice presidents have been such great mentors towards me, and I want to do the same for the underclassmen. Along with just Girls Club, the Vice President is collaborating with all the other leaders, and I want to do that to make Girls Club more fun for everyone else.”
What do you hope to achieve as Vice President?
“Since my sophomore year, Girls Club started with 20 kids, and now it’s 40. And we’ve gained almost 20 more sophomores, and because we have 40 girls and we’re so passionate about what we do, we’re able to make money for smaller organizations. We talked about partnering with Pickles, which is a smaller organization, and the impact that we can make is so big for these smaller organizations. [Girls Club is] a safe space for all these girls to go, and it’s somewhere where there’s only girls there, and everyone’s able to trust each other. And I love that aspect.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“[Girls Club is] a warm, welcoming place that’s also able to make such a great impact, and you always leave club feeling good about yourself. You know that you helped other people, and whether that’s talking to someone else, hearing about their days or raising money for the scholarship fund.”
Kate Martin (’27)
Why did you choose to run for Vice President?
“I’ve been part of the Girls Club community for three years now, and I felt like I could contribute more to the club and bring some more ideas in. I went to a leadership meeting last year, and I thought I could bring some of the things I’ve been taught and learn from that into the club.”
What do you hope to achieve as Vice President?
“I would like to do more bonding activities in [Girls Club]. I feel like having a strong community really helps build everything, so we would be working in [Girls Club] to build a strong community and then outside the club to raise more money for scholarship funds because it’s very important to help others.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“I’d describe Girls Club as a big community, more like a family. Everyone’s there if you need help or if you just need to talk. It’s really close. There’s many jokes and lots of fun, but it’s also very fulfilling to know there’s something bigger than you and how whatever you’re doing has a purpose to help the community.”
Secretary Candidates
Shea Botjer (’28)
Why did you choose to run for Secretary?
“Girls Club has done a lot for me, and I really wanted [the Secretary office] to give back to that community and put Girls Club out there in a positive and intentional way through social media. And I also just love making posts and posters and [things] like that. Creativity is like a big passion of mine, so I thought running for Secretary would be a great way to showcase those skills and represent my community.”
What do you hope to achieve as Secretary?
“I really want to put Girls Club out there and make sure every girl at New Trier knows that this club exists and to know that there is a place that everyone would be accepted and belong.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“Girls Club is a very close knit community of girls who uplift each other and support not only each other, but also the larger community of New Trier through the New Trier Scholarship Fund, and we have all built a really close bond that translates into the service and work we do.”
Avery Ko (’28)
Why did you choose to run for Secretary?
“I chose to run for Secretary because I really think it’s a cool way to advertise your leadership skills and what you can bring to the table for whatever you’re a part of, [whether that’s] Student Council, Girls Club, [or] Tri-ship. I chose Secretary because the social media aspect is something I want to do past high school because I want to go into sports marketing, and I think it would be a great opportunity for me to extend my knowledge about that.”
What do you hope to achieve as Secretary?
“I hope to [work on] including everyone because I feel like our bond is super strong, and everyone supports each other. And I just want to keep that going and make sure everyone feels heard and seen.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“If I were to describe it, I’d say just like a big family because I feel like a lot of people join the club as a freshman, hoping to look for new friends coming from middle school and extending or getting outside their comfort zone, meeting new people and just growing their social circle. And I think it’s a really great way to meet new people and make new friends because personally, I’ve met so many new people, and I’ve gotten so much closer to all the girls in the club.”
Junior Class Chair Candidates
Everleigh Adams (’28)
Why did you choose to run for Junior Class Chair?
“I’m just overall really passionate about the board, and I’ve loved it. I started doing it freshman year, and then that year, I was chosen as a leader, and then this year I’ve grown so much closer with everyone there. And the opportunity to do more for the club was just something I really wanted to do.”
What do you hope to achieve as Junior Class Chair?
“Annie [Gelwix] was a really helpful kind of adjusting to the new campus. So kind of being that person for the freshman and then also being able to add our opinions as juniors into discussions.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“It’s a really great community in the kind of team building, but also being able to do things that help our school in general is really amazing.”
Anna Wormley (’28)
Why did you choose to run for Junior Class Chair?
“Girls Club is really important to me, and I really like to put myself out there. And so I thought that Junior Class Chair would be a good opportunity to get more involved in Girls Club because I’m also really interested in being president next year. And I’m also interested in improving the environment, and because I feel I’m very outgoing. And so it’ll be a good role for me to learn to be a better leader and to help all those around me.”
What do you hope to achieve as Junior Class Chair?
“I’m really excited to meet a lot of new people and make new connections, and, like I said earlier, I really want to improve my leadership skills. And I also want to bring some new ideas into the club. I want to kind of just continue to make club better because I’ve seen a lot of improvement as a sophomore and so I want to bring more improvement in the next year.”
How would you describe Girls Club?
“The Girls Club community honestly feels like a big family, and something that I think about a lot when I think about Girls Club is the fact that the person I was at the beginning of the club is totally different from who I was now. The environment has really helped me see a new side of myself and come out of my comfort zone. I think everyone there is really supportive and really uplifting which is what inspired me to run for a leadership position.”