Class representative elections are being held this week. the following candidates are running:

Peyton Hull, Keaton Smith, Andrew Leatherman, Elijah Diller, Evan Wienecke, Gabby Trinter, Ian Joyce, Kristi Tringwald, Lexi Juday, Lily Mayfield, Madison Naman, Mitchell Kazmierzak, Mylia Vigue, and Liam Mayfield.

The following students did not wish to publicly share their responses:  Elijah Diller, Evan Wieneke and Mylia Vigue.

Peyton Hull

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class?

I want to hold a position because I know that this school needs tweaks and I feel that I can help use my voice to make those tweaks. I have previously been elected and have served on student council before proving that I can be a good role model. 

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team?

I think a officer should be someone who has a strong voice and opinion but has the ability to take constructive criticism and be open to other people’s ideas as well.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges?

I think that especially with covid, and even prior to that, one of the biggest challenges that I have seen and experienced at Saint Joe is a feeling of community. When I came to Saint Joe no one really advocated for any of us to come here, it was kind of just expected that they would get students, there was no incoming freshman activities and so that kind of community and welcomeness aspect has been missing for me for a while. And then with Covid coming in it has been even harder to feel that sense of community (not the schools fault that was just situational). I believe that it is important that in order to build a strong foundation of future Indians coming in we need to figure out a way to make this environment more of a tight-knit community rather than just saying we are. (actions>promises).

Keaton Smith

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class?

I want to be part of the student council because it feels like we are held hostage to random decisions made by anonymous people. I feel that the school is struggling to properly communicate with its own students. I want to be part of the student council because clearly the communication that student council is supposed to serve is not covering all the aspects it needs to. We as students feel like this is a game of survival of the fittest. Many students in our own community don’t even know if they’re welcome here. This is not a call for anarchy, but a call for mending the fracture separating our student body and our school’s staff.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team?

The officer’s or representative’s role for student council is to help serve as a bridge. They are to serve as a bridge between the thoughts and concerns of the students and the staff at our school. An officer/representative must put the needs of the student body first so that the student body will have a stable way of communicating with our school’s staff. I see myself helping to fulfill this role by serving as one of the supports for this bridge. One day, if I am fortunate enough to be elected to represent my classmates in the student council, I would like to implement online polling. The only way a person’s voice can be heard is if the system provides available access to communicate to the council.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges?

As it has been for a long time, mental health has been a very big issue among students. This is a very complex problem and sadly there is no quick solution. However, we are in the digital age and there are much fewer limitations to what is possible. A possible measure is the recommendation of A.I. counseling apps which offer availability to talk about mental health regardless of time. Another issue is that the firewall is far too strict. I am aware the Diocese oversees the firewall, but the current security levels makes completing assignments much harder to do. For finding pictures online for class, it is nearly impossible since just about every stock image site and others are blocked.

Andrew Letherman

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I would like to be a representative of my class for a few reasons. First of all, I think I am very well connected with my peers, and will be able to bring their ideas to the Council along with my own. I think that bringing these kinds of ideas, from people outside the immediate student Council, is an important part of being a representation. I believe I can bring such connections to the table. Secondly, I think I am a good leader who can help make advantageous changes to the way we do things at Saint Joe. Finally, I would like to represent my class on the council because I would like to see more progress out of the Council. It seems to not be making many big decisions within the school, and I feel like I can help turn that around. I am hopeful that I can attain this position, and get the job done.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think we should be actively looking for ways to improve Saint Joe, and asking our peers for their input on topics being discussed by council members. At the end of the day, a Student Council Rep. should be acting as a link between the student body and the Council.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I think Covid is the biggest challenge facing the school, particularly pertaining to the social atmosphere of the school. The freshmen haven’t had any sort of high school experience because of covid.

Gabby Trinter

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I want to be a representative because I feel that I can adequately represent and speak for my school class, Class of 23. I also feel that I can bring a new perspective when discussing plans for the school, which will be very insightful.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think that the role of a representative at Saint Joe should be respectful of their peers’ and teachers’ opinions, strong-willed, unbiased, just, well outspoken, and friendly.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I believe that a large challenge that students are facing at school today is a disengagement in class, and potentially feeling a sense of alienation from their classmates. Students are certainly feeling disengaged in class due to the coronavirus, which is unsurprising. Accordingly, the school year ultimately began all online, which caused students to form bad habits of laziness, and minimum effort, which are now being reflected in their attention and engagement being put into class. Additionally, many online students may be feeling alienated since they are not present in class, and if they do decide to come back in person, it may be a difficult transition. I will help these students face these challenges by promoting strong work ethic and engagement in classroom settings through setting examples. I also believe that it is beneficial if teachers offer more group-work activities, especially with new students, however, this is not necessary. I believe that online students can feel less alienated if they are included with these group-work activities, rather than being put into a breakout room with other online students.

Ian Joyce

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I want to be a representative of my class because I have done it in the past and I find it to be a lot of fun. I think it is interesting to see how Student Government works and how they make decisions. I want to be a part of those decisions that are made.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think that role of a representative, as well as officer, should be a student that works hard, and has good morals. This includes not cheating or stealing, and not promoting “destructive decisions” outside of school. I see myself contributing to this leadership team because I can be a positive image inside and outside of school as I am hard working and always try to do what is right.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I think the biggest challenge facing our students today is that many lack the motivation to learn and engage in the content. I think we need to implement some sort of incentive to make people want to learn and work harder. This could be praise when the students do well, teachers can congratulate them more on a personal level or one-on-one. This means the students will do better in the teachers classes as they are incentivized by feeling better about their skills.

Kristi Tingwald

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

My answer today is somewhat similar to how I responded to this question when asked while running as a representative my sophomore year. Specifically, I believe it is extremely important to have a variety of voices reflected in a student council. This feeling has only been reinforced this past year when given the honor of serving as a sophomore class representative. While sometimes the meeting topics understandably centered on upper class issues such as prom and graduation, I nevertheless felt that input from all classes – including freshman and sophomores – served as an important voice in the planning and execution of critical school issues and activities. As a junior class representative, I hope to help the underclassmen use their voices so they, too, feel that everyone is represented. Therefore, I am excited to have even more opportunities to further assist the students of Saint Joseph High School while being a junior representative.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I believe the representative role is consistent with what the name suggests – and that is doing my best to fully represent all my peers in the Class of ‘23 as well as help my fellow representatives assist their classes. This includes serving those who are perhaps close friends as well as those I may not know very well in my class. Essentially, my voice is reflective of my entire class and it is a role I would continue to take very seriously by constantly listening to my classmates and, as necessary, taking such insights to school administrators to be addressed. As a lifelong student of Catholic school education, I am confident I can convert such experiences into expanded leadership roles at Saint Joe. 

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

The biggest challenge I believe all of us will face is transitioning back in some way to what a “normal” high school environment felt like in 2019 while also maintaining the high level of health and safety standards needed to instill confidence in students, teachers, and parents who may still be uneasy about such a return to normalcy. We have to remember that, one, the pandemic isn’t over yet and, two, everyone is at different emotional stages in dealing with the impact of such a traumatic time in our lives. As such we must show empathy to all and not expect everyone to be on the same page as to what a typical school day should look like in the fall of ’21. This is where leadership comes in. I believe I can help during this important transitional time by bridging possible divides that might exist among classmates in how they perceive their evolving high school experience.

Lexi Juday

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I would like to be a representative of my class because I want to have a chance to represent the needs and values of my classmates. As a student myself, I feel like I could provide valuable insight to the issues currently affecting the students at Saint Joe. I think it is important for students’ voices to be heard because it provides a sense of ownership for everyone. This sense of ownership is vital to the culture and preservation of the individual ideas present when a student council exists. Representation of all the individuals of a group has always been very important to me, and therefore I would love to assist in this communication between the students in my class and the staff at Saint Joe.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think the roles of a representative should consist of knowing when to listen to other’s ideas, and when to bring forth your own. During meetings they should be attentive and respectful when others are talking. When participation is encouraged, they should take advantage of these opportunities and voice their opinions in a way that would be most beneficial to their peers. I believe that I would be able to identify the differences between these times to listen and opportunities to talk, and would contribute my own ideas to this leadership team. An officer or representative should also be prepared to be conscious and analytical of their surroundings at school. Therefore, they can first identify possible issues affecting their peers, and then propose ideas and solutions as how to improve any problems. I could see myself helping with finding these solutions, as I am a very driven person, and willing to listen to others’ ideas to achieve a common objective.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

Among the mounting issues currently affecting the students at Saint Joe, I believe the most prevalent are stress-related. This stress comes from both social and academic commitments. I think the students at Saint Joe have a tendency to be involved in lots of extracurriculars, as well as hefty academic schedules. This can become incredibly overwhelming at times. As a high school student, I know that I find it easier to relate to other students when speaking about my daily stresses. Students need someone who is able to relate to their stress and concerns, and then take the initiative to communicate this to their teachers. I would love to assist in that level of understanding between students and faculty. If I had the opportunity to serve on the student council, I could help students face these challenges by providing helpful time-management and self care techniques that would be useful in handling their problems. I would work to foster the close correspondence necessary for staff and students to understand each other better.

Lily Mayfield

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I would like to be a representative of my class because I believe that I would be able to accurately represent the ideas and opinions of all of the people in my class. I think that I would not only be able to hear all of these opinions from all corners our class, but I would be able to communicated them to the leaders higher up in the student council. I would be able to make sure that they understand the importance of these issues and help them to find ways to respond to these opinions and solve these problems.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think that the role of a representative should be to REPRESENT the people. To be able to receive the thoughts of everyone in the grade and relay that to the people who can make the changes. I see myself contributing to this leadership team by bringing the ideas of the people in our class to the attention of the officers in the student council. I would also help by contributing to conversation and helping the officers to come up with ways to resolve these problems.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I believe that the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today is the lack of community. I feel like even within our class we are extremely divided. I think that due to this lack of connection within the grade, many students do not enjoy school. I think that the pillar of Saint Joe of Build Family is very important and definitely needs to be a main focus this next year, especially after COVID has really driven us apart.

Madison Naman

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I want to be a representative of my class because I will be a voice for the student body. Many students express their concerns or proposals for change, but are too afraid to bring them up to a person of authority. As a Junior Class Representative, I can be the active voice for all students and present their concerns and ideas to someone who is willing to address them. Additionally, I am very passionate about being a leader, role model, and overall representative for my class and school community. I want to serve my fellow classmates and give them a memorable high school experience. I want to be a person that any student can express their issues or concerns to. By being a representative, I can achieve these goals and allow my fellow classmates to feel heard. 

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think that the role of an officer at Saint Joe should be held by a positive, hardworking, responsible, open minded, leader. Positivity and being open-minded allow flexibility and new perspectives on approaching issues. They make a representative respected and trusted by their fellow classmates. I believe I possess all of these qualities and will contribute to this leadership team. Additionally, I think that a representative should encompass several aspects of the student body. Since I am involved with multiple sports, as well as academic clubs, I get to collaborate, converse, and be in contact with a large amount of the student body. This allows me to see multiple perspectives on issues within the school. I see myself contributing by being the voice for the student body and addressing any concerns or issues they have. Overall, I see myself as fitting the role of a member of the Student Council. I am hardworking, responsible, open-minded, and positive.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I believe one of the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today is mental health issues. Especially during the pandemic, and everyone being stuck behind a screen for a long period of time, mental health issues within our school have increased significantly. The school has done a sufficient job at addressing these issues and how to solve them, but I feel as if we can do more. Mental health is something that should be taken seriously, and as a student of Saint Joe, I feel as if we do not have many outlets or resources for those who are struggling. The guidance office did a great job providing us informative videos, and a stress-relieving room for mental health over the past year, however, mental health is an issue that is best solved through communication, encouragement, and most importantly, face to face interaction. We have educated the students, but haven’t taken any action to actually fix the problem. Our generation, tends to lack the ability to communicate our problems, or are fearful of being judged. This leads to several people suffering in silence. Sometimes, all somebody needs is a person to listen. Not only will I be that person, but I want to influence others to be this person as well. I want to be someone who any student at Saint Joe feels like they could approach, converse with, or even just vent to someone who is willing to listen.

Mitchell Kazmierzak

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I want to be a representative of my class because I have lots of ideas to bring to student council. I am proud to have represented our class in the past years and wish to stay on council so that I can help make our school a better place for all.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

A role of a rep should look like many things like, helping your classmates out when they need it. Another is bringing ideas to the student council and telling the ideas from the students to the student council.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I think the biggest challenge at school for students today is bullying. Students get bullied everyday at school and nobody does anything about it. I will help the students that are getting bullied everyday and step in and make a change in their lives.

Liam Mayfield

Why do you want to be an officer or representative of your class? *

I would like to be a representative for the rising junior class because I think it would be a good way for me to develop leadership skills and rebuild relationships after being away from so many this past year. Our class’ high school experience has been like nothing that has been through Saint Joe before. I think the student council should organize several co-curricular events such as free skate at Howard Park, or fun things to do on campus in the commons or auxiliary gym. This upcoming school year should definitely focus on the pillar of Saint Joe, “Build Family”. The student council should lead this effort, and I would love to be a part of it. As a representative, I also feel like I should be a bridge between the council and students. So not only would I like to present my own ideas, but others as well.

What do you think the role of an officer or representative at Saint Joe should look like? How do you see yourself contributing to this leadership team? *

I think that a representative should bring the ideas from the students in their grade level. I think that leadership wise, I can contribute by speaking up at meetings, and keep meetings on track.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the students at our school today? How will you help the student face these challenges? *

I think that currently the student body isn’t united after a year social distancing. I would fix this by putting forth ideas for more events and fun activities for people to mix and see people they wouldn’t normally. A lot of this is hoping that we don’t have to follow masks and social distancing next year.