I have nothing but gratitude for the Student Government team I had the chance to be a part of this year. It has been a wild ride, and I am glad that I had Sophie, Celia, Issie, and Mrs. Derendorf standing by me. While reflecting upon the school year, there are a few key moments to share.

The first memory comes from when we were filming the theme reveal video last summer. I remember us running around the Montrose parking lot, laughing about the next scene we would film and then acting out far too many takes to count. The best part by far was Celia’s hair. Yes, the hair that disappeared after the first scene. We found a massive yellow foam wig in the school, and Celia decided to wear it as part of her costume for Doc from Back to the Future. She literally had to put the sunroof down because her massive wig could not fit in the car. I remember sitting with her just dying laughing at the fact that her hair would not fit. She ended up taking the wig off so that she could drive safely, hence the disappearing wig. 

Another memory came to be at the Christmas movie night. With so many little children in the school, it was difficult to keep them all settled. I can remember running around the school with Issie, attempting to settle the children and laughing at their craziness. That night was one exciting night to be part of the team! 

And of course, another great moment occurred during quarantine over Zoom. All of a sudden, Sophie started mouthing random things really quickly into the camera. Completely confused, Celia, Issie, and I started laughing at her and began questioning what was happening. She paused for a couple seconds and broke into laughter saying that her neighbors had walked by, and she wanted to seem busy. 

Another key memory took place on the not too far back during virtual Field Day. Issie, Celia, and I drove to Montrose around 3:15 PM to run the victory lap around Miracle Field for the winning team. Being  at Montrose with them was amazing. From Celia’s bloody ankle, dying phone, and burnt legs to my lack of a face mask, that experience was chaotic but memorable. We just stayed after and talked about the school we missed and loved so much, and I felt so proud to be on a team with girls who love Montrose with all their hearts. 

My memories from this year with the Stud Gov are countless. However, what was even more amazing about this team was their ability to stay strong even when times were difficult. Each member worked tirelessly to make the end of year traditions as memorable as possible. Thanks to the ideas and work of all of the team members, the Student Government elections this year ran (almost) smoothly, and the new tradition of the Executive Debate began. Hopefully, this tradition will live on long after us!

Each member of our team made it the team it was. Sophie Kocho, our fearless leader, gave her role as President her whole self this year. Sophie would quickly complete tasks for the school without complaint. She would choose to send emails or prepare CHR when she most definitely had other work to do. Her ability to willingly choose little tasks for Montrose shows how truly Sophie loved our school. Student Government and Montrose, in general, will miss Sophie’s inspiring gentleness and genuine love for our school. 

Celia Roberto, our Vice President, acted with sweetness and determination during the whole school year. Celia would always be ready to ask how everyone was, no matter the amount of work we needed to get done. She came into meetings with a smile and fun ideas that made you leave the meeting with an even bigger smile. Celia worked this year without asking for recognition. For instance, she organized the whole shirt delivery system according to towns without needing praise. Student Government and Montrose will miss Celia’s selfless and hard working nature. 

Issie Russo, our Treasurer, acted with sweetness and care. She always kept us on time and on track. Although Issie was a quieter part of the team, her ideas and actions added immensely to our team. During meetings Issie would nod along to whatever anyone said, showing you that she was listening to each of our ideas. Issie also used her creativity to bring beauty to our fliers and to bring new ideas to our CHRs. Student Government will miss Issie’s sweetness and creativity next year.

Mrs. Deredorf added both wisdom and bold new ideas to our team. Mrs. Derendorf is truly the right person for the job. She reminded us of school ideals, connected us with the faculty and staff, had empathy for our student perspective, and supported and listened to us. From sharing funny stories about getting injured by an Easter decoration to laughing at our crazy ideas, Mrs. Derendorf truly became part of the team. I cannot wait to get to know Mrs. Derendorf better next year! 

All in all, our theme of connection was so fitting for this year. We now joke that we predicted the future because connection is needed now more than ever. We hope this theme lives on and that next year’s student government team strengthens connections throughout Montrose just as our team did.

Each member’s ideas, perspective, and unique character will be missed in the coming year. Nonetheless, Sophie, Celia, and Issie’s examples of leadership and confidence and their actions with love for Montrose truly impacted our school. We will miss our seniors very much, but we thank them for their hard work and example.

Gabriella Bachiochi ’21, Contributing Writer

21gbachiochi@montroseschool.org