Ninth grade
Ben Covert — “When put to the test, Ben Covert is the best”
Why are you running?
“We need a unifying force, and actually I said it in my speech too. I feel like there needs to be a union of the class, and everyone needs to come together.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I know that I would take it very seriously. I’m devoted to the class, and I already have commitments. You know that I can manage my time well and balance it with schoolwork. I really care about everyone in our class.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
I definitely want to bring some more sporting stuff but all freshmen-run. If it’s freshmen-run, we can really get more freshmen out and then build class morale.
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
I definitely hope to increase fundraising and that sounds boring, but it needs to happen. Another main focus is to get class morale up and join together.
Savannah James — “Tall expectations and savvy ideas”
Why are you running?
“I want to make sure we accomplish our class’ goals, both in fundraising and also just creating a memorable high school experience. We’re really behind on our fundraising, and I feel like we need someone who can bring our class together and really encourage class participation and engagement.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I am dedicated to my class, and I’ve been here since second grade. I have a passion for helping my community and my class, and I love Pine View. Also, I’m experienced in business matters. For example, my college business class or all the clubs I’m in have given me the experience I have now to lead us as a class.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“Personally, I have thought of a lot of fundraising ideas and ideas to get our whole class to participate as a whole. Marguerite and I together, we thought of a whole bunch of different fundraising options we can do as a class, but we need to be elected in order for those to become not just an idea but a reality.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I hope to really motivate our class to raise funds. I’d like to encourage participation in class events and raise a lot of money and accomplish our big goals for graduation and the class ahead of us’ Cobalt.”
Emily Naidel
Why are you running?
“I think it’s fun to learn about everybody in the class and meet them. Last time I ran, I had a lot of fun, and I made a lot of new friends, which is why I’m running again this year.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I know some of the other candidates have run before, but so have I. I have had a lot of experience in leading because I was a coxswain for Scullers for three years before this one, and I like to take leadership roles.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“There will be a lot of new fundraising ideas, but I also want to have a lot more class bonding, like trips maybe, if that’s possible, and stuff like that.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I hope we can get most of our fundraising done so that we can have more fun activities and less worrying about fundraising in the future so that we’re not stressing about it in our last year.”
Brian Xiao — “Want change now? Then vote Brian Xiao!”
Why are you running?
“I believe I can fundraise successfully to raise the funds for Cobalt.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“First, I hope to fundraise more receptively by listening to ideas and suggestions. Second, I hope to fundraise more aggressively by promoting our fundraisers to all communication channels and adopting a new loyalty program.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“Bake sales.”
Forrest St. Pierre — “You’ve had a tree, now go for the Forrest”
Why are you running?
“Primarily just to see what it’s like but also just to help out the class. I personally am friends with a lot of people in my class and can gather a large opinion of what everyone wants to do.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I have been at Pine View since second grade, and I don’t think that any of the other candidates have. I have a larger relationship with a larger number of people at Pine View, so I can take a more of an inclusive idea of what everyone really wants.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I would say getting our class to participate more because I know that we had only three people that ran our fruit fundraisers all year, and so I would just try to get more class participation.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I am going to try to accomplish what everyone wants, but I also primarily want to do what the majority of the people want. There is only so much you can do in one year, and I would really just like to keep the class going.”
Tenth grade
Zayda Fredericks — “Vote the girl on fire”
Why are you running?
“I’m running to help bring my class together. I feel as though a lot of the members of our class are almost divided in a way. I find passion in bringing people together across barriers, and I plan on executing this concept with my class.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I’m ginger. I also talk a lot, so I can talk issues out. And since I play sports, I have a natural dedication to whatever I am apart of — mainly our class.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“I would bring an idea of international travel to the table. I wish to bring us together through an enriching experience overseas, which can change lives. Since I have traveled so much, I know how much traveling can change someone for the better and bring them closer to people they have never even thought they would be close to before. I’m passionate about this concept and about our class.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I hope to help our class raise as much money as possible and lead us down the path of academic success. I mainly want us to come together. I see other classes and how tight-knit they are, and I want us to be that close.”
Kevin Zhu
Why are you running?
“I spent two years looking at the class office from the outside and found issues that were definitely solvable. One of the main problems is communication, which can be corrected by making the class office more transparent, allowing for better scheduling and planning in order to make activities more enjoyable and financially successful. Along with that, I have the leadership experience and work ethic to enact and follow through on my promises, which will help the class office reach the necessary fundraising milestones and also make one of the busiest times in our lives as enjoyable as possible.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“Of all of the candidates running, I am one of the only ones to have actual leadership experience. That comes from starting and running Pine View Medical Club, which entails skills in areas of administration and communication. With effective planning, a good work ethic, and efficient time management in the class office, we can accomplish milestones very successfully. Along with that, by being able to communicate well with the student body, it helps solve the issue of the current class office of planning and scheduling events effectively.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“I will emphasize the importance of the students when making class office decisions. With this, class activities will be more enjoyable and financially successful as they will be better tailored to students’ hectic schedules and diverse preferences, allowing for greater participation and more opportunities to form quality memories with friends.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“The most basic goal will be to garner enough money to complete the milestone of funding Cobalt and our graduation. More importantly, I hope to successfully transition our class to senior year by making junior year as enjoyable and memorable as possible, as it will be the busiest and most stressful time in our educational career.”
Bianca Carey
Why are you running?
“I’m running to further involve myself into the class this year. I loved working as a class officer this year, and I want to continue it.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I think I have a lot of leadership experience —already being treasurer for the class and knowing how class office runs, being treasurer for two years for Key Club, and being the chair of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. I feel like all of these experiences can help me with leadership and keeping up with my responsibilities.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“A new idea I have is to hold and organize class activities to unify class here and there with the specific reason to raise money.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I hope to unify the class more, lift the class spirit as well as raise enough money for Cobalt and graduation at the Van Wezel.”
Valerik Roumi — “Slick will do the trick”
Why are you running?
“I am running, so that I can provide the class of 2019 with the best leadership possible. My past experiences, coupled with my future aspirations, make me an ideal candidate.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“My experience and drive to succeed. For my entire life, I have been serving in community based activities, particularly those in student government. I was the NJHS president at my previous school, and I have served as the School Advisory Council Representative for the class of 2019 for the last two years. I am an especially driven person, and I know what it takes to succeed.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“While the class has organized many fundraisers this year, I feel they have all lacked a key component —proper advertisement. I hope to do a better job of opening up activities to the rest of the school to ultimately achieve a more collective, though still diverse, student body.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I hope to continue to point the class of 2019 in the right direction, with the ultimate goal of funding our Cobalt and graduation. While the class of 2019’s current leadership is doing a great job, I know I can bring fresh ideas to the table that will push the limits of what our class can accomplish.”
Edward Brunicardi — “Trusted”
Why are you running?
“I just want to be another member helping our class grow. I am running again in particular because I had a blast running last year. I knew coming into sophomore year as Vice President would be a lot of work, but it was still a lot of fun. There is also a lot of work I would like to do next year.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“Experience. It is very important to have since junior year is one of the most important. I have gained a lot of leadership experiences to know how to run the class office, to work with other officers, and to know how the functions and events work.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“My main new idea is to start advertising toward other grades and other groups because I know we have done many fundraisers which aren’t the most popular, so I want to advertise the money parts to other grades and the fun and big events to our grade.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“There are a few goals I always keep in mind, one being to raise as much money as possible in order to make senior year as least stressful as it can possibly be. Also unification of the class, which comes through doing a great Pine View Fair and doing events the best they can be.”
Shivni Patel — “Vote Patel for us to excel”
Why are you running?
“I’m running because I truly feel that we can meet our goals faster and more efficiently. The status quo has certainly been lacking a bit of the speed I know the officers and our class as a whole can have. It’s not just that we deserve better, we deserve bigger and better.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I can list off the attributes in terms of qualifications which I’m sure my other competitors will do as well, but what I hold unique is the mindset in putting the spotlight on our class, not on our board officers. I value working faster and achieving the best outcomes. I recognize problems that we have in the status quo, and the first thing that comes to mind is how to make that better. Most importantly, what’s unique about me is the value I put on the consistent communication. I value communication with every social group in gaining insight on solutions and ideas, not just some select groups.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
Because I value consistent communication with every social group, I’d make sure we gain the best possible insight and put it to action. But, I recognize what many in our class perceive to be fun. Having events outside of school and trips as a class are what many genuinely enjoy. It would be one of my priorities in doing my best to incorporate such into our events throughout the year.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“If I win, I’d like to be smarter with and speed up our current fundraisers, of course. Yet, I also recognize the concerns in our events not being nearly as grandiose as they could potentially be. I would work with the artistic directors of our grade along with every member of our class in gaining insight in making the situation as best as possible.”
Matteja Kovalyshin — “Jain the coalition with the Kovalyshin”
Why are you running?
“I am running to bring a new type of leadership to this school.”
What new ideas will you bring to the table?
“I think the school spirit as it is right now is very nice; however, I am always open to new ideas so if we have a new opportunity, I am open to that.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I think that if we bond together, and we work strongly together towards a common goal, then we will achieve what we are aiming for.”
Eleventh grade
Lindsay Kaighin — “Let’s make senior year the time of our lives”
Why are you running?
“I think that going into senior year is that it’s the most important year for us as a class. I feel that throughout high school we have built up, at least when I was in class office freshman and sophomore year as well as through junior year, that our class has put a big focus on class comraderie and kind of being one unit. Seeing all the great relationships we have developed over the year, I really would love the opportunity to help make our senior year the best that it can possibly be.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I think I have a lot of experience with class office and all that entails, including all the work that needs to be done such as the textbook type work, as well as I feel as if I can bring a nice cohesiveness to the class, making our class fun and ensuring everyone feels included.”
What new ideas will bring to the table?
“I want to mix class meetings up next year, keeping the basic traditional approach on things, but also getting more people speaking and more officers involved. I want to make the meetings more interactive, just like we saw last meeting with the Henna Club. I just want to have everyone’s voice heard and make it so that everyone feels included.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“The cool thing about senior year is that it no longer is entirely about money since our class has done such an amazing job at fundraising. So, I think that it’s still important to fundraise but also we should focus on the fun aspects behind such events. For example, Kids’ Night Out focuses on the awesome time you have, playing games and making new friendships. I think my goal is to have everyone partake in activities and get involved with the class. I also want to make sure that for the classic Pine View senior events, that we really get involved in those and blow those out of the water with things like senior Fridays, Cobalt and watermelon day.”
Adi Rao
Why are you running?
“I have been at Pine View for about eleven years and throughout all those years, I have looked up to every single upperclassman, especially seniors. I see our class growing, and it is arguably the most cohesive and the most friendly class. I know that senior year is tough to get through, but I think that I would do a great job at leading us through Cobalt and graduation. There are a lot of different details that go into graduating and class office, but I am already in the full swing of things by being vice president this year, which can help me a lot if elected next year.”
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“I am currently Vice President, and I have put in a bulk of the work. I have been to every class event and designed class presentations, which have been awesome. Even Mr. Rienhoff said that this was the best class presentation he has seen in 10 years, which is amazing. I think being really involved right now is what sets me apart.”
What new ideas will bring to the table?
“We already have some ideas in the works right now. We are thinking of a trivia night for the class and some other ideas. We are so well as of right now that it’s really just putting in the time and effort, and I think I can do that.”
What do you hope to accomplish if you win?
“I want to keep up the success of this year. We are already above of our goal, reaching our destination for profits and all the other things that class office has to do. Right now if I were to be elected, I would continue that and establish a great graduation and make sure that goes through as best as possible.”
Read about the students running for class office and learn more about them. Elections will be Friday, April 7, so keep visiting for more updates on the rest of the candidates from grades nine to 11.
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Story by ANNIE HASSAN, WILLIAM KHABBAZ, NATHALIE BENCIE, and SANA RAHMAN