It’s that time of the year: Montrosians will decide the new Executive Student Government team for the new year! 

The candidates for the 2020-2021 school year:

• Maevis Fahey ‘21 for President!
• Gabriella Bachiochi ‘21 and Faith Chen ‘22 for Vice President!
• Kasey Corra ‘22, Grace Marino ‘22, Ally Noriega ‘21, and Neha Sunkara ‘21 for Secretary!
• And Catherine Olohan ‘22 for Treasurer!

With the uniqueness of the circumstances while everyone is at home and participating in online learning, one could (and should) expect that the virtual campaigns would be unique and interesting. (Spoiler alert: they were)

We were not disappointed. This week started off with great excitement!

On Wednesday morning, we all received our first promotional emails from the campaigners. Each of these videos was so incredibly creative and they did such a great job giving everyone a good laugh.

On Friday afternoon, we all gathered (over Zoom, not in the A&A) to watch the candidates in the first ever Executive Debate (watch here!). The event was moderated by members of the current Exec Team who are not running again. They asking candidates five questions concerning community, connection, and their goals as a student executive. Each of the girls gave us wonderful answers to great questions. In case you missed it, we put together a recap of the debate that happened on Friday and the answers were given:

What motivates you to run for Exec?

Maevis for President: The PEOPLE

Maevis began by saying: “I miss the people.” She cited the Montrose community as her motivation for running for president. “The community really inspires me. So many people from Student Government have inspired me since I came to Montrose and I can’t wait to be a part of that too.” Maevis highlighted both tradition and creativity as two Montrose values that she hopes to harness in her role as president.

Gabriella for VP: To GIVE BACK

Gabriella talked about how she “loved being in Student Government this year.” She says that it helped her realize how much she loves this school and wants to give back to the community by changing Montrose for the better during her remaining time at the school.

Faith for VP: To spread the POSITIVITY she has learned at Montrose

Faith recognized Montrose as the reason she has been able to grow a lot “mentally, physically, and cognitively” in the past couple of years. The environment has helped her love herself and find confidence, and she wants to share it with others through an Executive Student Government position.

Ally for Secretary: To represent the WANTS and NEEDS of the student body

Ally says that she wants to “give back because Montrose has given her so much as a whole.” By running for office she believes that she can bring a lot of good ideas to the table on how to improve the school.

Neha for Secretary: To BETTER the school, like she was bettered

“Montrose is my second home. I [feel] that feeling where you know where you’re at home. I was a shy person and now I’m running for Exec — that’s just a big change in my life. I want people to be able to be impacted like I was.” 

Kasey for Secretary: To STRENGTHEN the Montrose Community

“I love the people here! I love school so much. I love being a part of the community… and I want to give more. I just want more of that and I want to be able to reach out to more girls.”

Grace Marino for Secretary: To set an EXAMPLE

Grace discussed how she feels inspired by her many sisters who are all unique individuals that make up the community. She said “I want this for you” and that she knows what it feels like to not feel like you fit in. She also said that we all have something to contribute to our community.

Catherine Olohan for Treasurer: To maintain SCHOOL SPIRIT

Catherine has been class president for three years and holds first-hand experience of how to lead and how a team works. Since middle school, she has wanted to do this to “be able to give back and make Montrose better.”

What do you think is the most important role of student government at the school? And what role should Student Government play to advocate for student needs?

Maevis for President: To keep people LAUGHING

Maevis stated that “keeping people laughing and letting people know that it’s okay to show what you love” is the most important function of an executive.

Gabriella for VP: CONNECTION

Gabriella believes that “connection” is the most important role of student government. She believes that as an executive, she should connect students between different grades and facilitate relationships between the students and faculty.

Faith for VP: Being both a DOER and a LISTENER

Faith says that people that are listeners and doers understand what is going on with the student body and will be there for them. She said: “I believe I am a speaker, listener, and a doer.”

Ally for Secretary: CONNECTION

Ally believes that connecting high school, middle school, and the faculty is a great job for the student government. With the student government as the middle ground, people know that they will be listened to.

Neha for Secretary: COMMUNITY

Neha believes that student government should foster and encourage the Montrose community, especially in shared experiences such as Common Homeroom. She said: “Student Government is of the Montrosians, by the Montrosians, and for the Montrosians.”

Kasey for Secretary: To be FUN and be a VOICE

Kasey thinks that it is important to be “funny and goofy” while at the same time “being motivated and willing to do great things for the school.” Kasey believes this fits her personality. A job for the Student Government, she said, is to be a “voice for the community” and “represent girls in a serious way to faculty.”

Grace for Secretary: To LEAD and LISTEN

Grace believes that as a Student leader, she would act as a role model for the student body and take the input of others seriously as she worked to improve the school. She said that “spotting areas that need improvement” and “speaking with both students and faculty” are her strong suits.

Catherine for Treasurer: Keeping ENTHUSIASM and being a VOICE for the school

Catherine thinks it’s important to “keep students passionate and excited for returning to school.” She wants the enthusiasm we have on Field Day to be constant. She believes being part of Stud Gov would mean being the mouthpiece to represent the student body to faculty, our job to make everybody feel like they have a voice.

What would you do to “build back” and connect the school once we return? In addition, what are your ideas to make Montrose a better place? How do you expect to achieve these things?

Maevis for President : Keep the CREATIVITY and to Keep the Red/White SPIRIT thriving

Maevis said: “I don’t think we’ll have to build back our school spirit… Our school is already just so creative and a community… If we take everything that we already love about Montrose, we’ll be able to hit the ground running!” Maevis was the first of a few candidates to express a wish to increase Red/White competition by making the Team Points public on the Student Government bulletin board in the cafeteria.

Gabriella for VP: HYPE up RED/WHITE TEAMS

Gabriella’s ideas included introducing Camp Mattakeesett traditions such as the counselor (or Red/White team captains) hunt and wanting to bring Red and White teams out of just the CHR block. She hopes to introduce optional Red and White monthly challenges and hopes to bring school spirit into daily life at Montrose.

Faith for VP: GAMES and MENTAL HEALTH BUDDIES

Faith says that she will create better incentives for the games we play (capture the flag, polls for what games you want to play, suggestions). She also says that Montrose could do some good keeping a mental health buddy. Like Maevis, Faith hopes to encourage school spirit by making Red and White points public throughout the entire year.

Ally for Secretary: HOMECOMING and BELLS 

Ally said that she wants to keep enhancing Homecoming. She says that by “taking that energy and bringing it into everyday school life, I think that would be incredible and I hope I can help make that happen.” Ally also thinks that having a bell that rings at the end of classes would help everyone at school.

Neha for Secretary: FIELD DAY and PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS

Even though we still have some semblance of connection through online tools, Neha suggested moving Field Day to the beginning of the year for this upcoming school year and possibly combining Field Day with Homecoming in order to reconnect and celebrate as a community. She also came up with the idea of bringing the student body together by having a competition for a school song. On the topic of bettering Montrose, Neha had the idea of bringing pads and tampons to the school bathrooms and agreed with Ally about the school bell.

Kasey for Secretary: INCREASE SCHOOL SPIRIT and the BLS MESSAGE BOARD

Kasey said that it will definitely be hard to get back to school, and that it’s important to hype up school spirit and remind people why they love Montrose. She suggests that having conversations with each other about struggling to come back could be a great step in the right direction. Kasey also hopes to revive the Big and Little Sister Message Board as a means of connection for the entire school.

Grace for Secretary: Build back the SENSE OF COMMUNITY and MENTAL HEALTH 

Grace said Montrose has done a good job keeping us connected but said the community has declined because we’re no longer seeing each other in person. She wants to bring back enthusiasm with more competitions between Red and White teams, Upper and Middle school, and by grade. Grace also believes that the school needs to bring a better attention to the mental health of each student. 

Catherine for Treasurer: ADJUSTMENT and COMPETITION

Catherine believes that when students return to school, everybody will need to adjust and take time for their schedules to return to normal. Because of this, she said, it is important to keep enthusiasm alive throughout the entire year, which she plans to do by instituting more friendly competitions during CHR and encouraging bonding experiences between grades. Catherine, like Maevis and Faith, mentioned turning a portion of the Student Government bulletin board into rankings for Red and White teams.

How can we make greater connections between the Middle and Upper School?

Maevis, Gabriella, Faith, Neha, Ally, Kasey, Grace, and Catherine all agreed that it would be beneficial to bring more of an emphasis on traditions, especially for the students who are not a part of clubs and sports teams. 

Be sure to tune in to the candidates’ speeches during Enrichment this Wednesday! 

Jenn Uche ‘22, Opinions Editor and Tess Farr ‘22, Asst. Copy Editor

22juche@montroseschool.org and 22tfarr@montroseschool.org