New leadership roles are opening up on the Associated Student Body (ASB) team, specifically for incoming seniors. ASB will be transitioning to a new style of organization within the team, involving the leadership classes in a new way. Beatrice Gilroy, junior, described the new organization system. 

“Your owner is your president, and then the manager is kind of the commissioner,” Gilroy said. “[It’s] kind of like your role as a commissioner is zoned in on that specific thing. The employees are some of our newer officers, and those will be some of the underclassmen that apply and get on ASB.”

Gilroy is running for ASB President, and her peers Josie Pothast, Marin Jones, and Emme Staten, all juniors, went for commissioner and secretary positions. 

[Edie Himmer]: What are the responsibilities of the position you’re running for?

[Beatrice Gilroy]: I feel like [as ASB] president you have your hand in everything. Making sure everything is running smoothly and being an overseer of all the events, and a person any of the commissioners can come to for advice or help.

[Josie Pothast]: I would say for [athletic commissioner], a really big part is just knowing every sports team that competes here, and having rosters and getting scores and making sure to update that on the [LiveROAR] every week.

[Emme Staten]: [ASB secretary] is definitely about helping to oversee ASB, and what ASB does. Helping to write thank you notes and manage that, and then also helping to oversee our meetings and help manage those, and keeping track of what goes on in meetings so that we can remember them for the future.

[Marin Jones]: For clubs and art commissioner, it’s kind of like being the liaison between clubs and art programs, and planning any kind of club/art events, things like that around the school. Just getting those programs organized and communicating between us and the student body.

[EH]: What inspired you to run for ASB?

[BG]: Watching all the older kids who have since graduated go before me, and see everything that they do and [I] want to fulfill that role in the same way that they did. That kind of inspired me, like I want to help lead others in that same way and make sure everything goes smoothly next year.

[ES]: For me, it’s all about working with the student body and helping to serve students. One of my favorite things about ASB is that every ASB officer has something unique about them that they bring to the table. We all use what’s unique about us to help formulate what ASB does, and create really amazing experiences for the student body, and so I wanted to be able to be a part of that.

[JP]: I think we’ve built a really strong community as a class. I think that being a part of all of these events, and making sure that every single thing isn’t overlooked, and just working together has been super successful. That’s my favorite part about it too.

[EH]: How has that experience helped you either start your campaign, or if you’ve been on ASB, how has that helped you do your job?

[JP]: One big thing that I’ve learned from being in this class is how many people are at the school that have different backgrounds, different things that they love to do every day, and having to tend to what they want as well. Just going deeper and being like, ‘Okay, how can we help certain programs be recognized here at the school, or how can we help?’ 

[BG]: That’s so true.

[MJ]: Going along with what Josie said, one thing that was kind of new to me was [that] while there is a very positive presence at our school, and we try our best to build off of that and create a supportive environment, there’s always going to be people who feel that we’re not doing our best job. Just figuring out how to deal with two different sides and find a solution that works for everyone is something that’s really important.

[EH]: How do you think you stand apart from your competition? What will you bring to the table that’s new or different? 

[JP]: I have a lot of ideas about how to improve not only women’s sports, but also just how to organize everything, and make sure like, scores are correct and all of that because I know sometimes not everyone is sure, and obviously not everyone can follow every single sports Instagram account or anything like that, I personally don’t. I just think having just one person that everything can go to [will] make it so much easier.

[MJ]: I’m a part of a lot of clubs here at school. Anyone can ask, I’m always at lunch going to club meetings. I just kind of know the background of what goes on in these clubs and how they function and things like that. I’m also an artist myself, so I think it would actually be really fun to work with the arts team, just because it’s something that I’m truly interested in. I think that when you’re more passionate about something it creates a better outcome.

[BG]: I would say for me personally, I’ve been on ASB two years, and I think [through] last year and this year it’s fair to say that I’ve fulfilled like, our unofficial vice president [role].

[laughter]

[BG]: I’ve run the ASB Instagram since the beginning of my sophomore year, so that has allowed me to know what’s going on with sports, [arts, and events], and really make sure I understand what we’re putting on so that I can relay it out to the 3,000 people that follow that account. We’re shifting to a new system, but currently we have committees like for each event, [and] through my past two years I’ve been on all of those committees at least once.

[MJ]: I’ve never met someone as hardworking as her, she does everything.

[JP]: And the 2023 [graduate] Instagram. 

[BG]: Oh yeah, and I did the 2022 one.

[laughter]

[EH]: What might you want to do differently at our school? You can also feel free to talk about things that previous leaders have done that you didn’t like, or that you liked but maybe you’d do differently.

[BG]: I think just like, making more accountability within our class. I feel like a lot of times we have an agenda, like a list of stuff we need to get done, but like no one’s ever told like, ‘Josie, you’re making the soccer post today and I need it done by Thursday.’ 

[MJ]: I would definitely agree with Beatrice. A lot of times we don’t really have a specific agenda, and then people are kind of just running around doing whatever and no one really knows exactly what they’re doing. I feel like with this new system and having leadership and ASB separated, that’s definitely going to be addressed.

[ES]: One thing that I’ve heard from students a lot was definitely a desire for more spotlight to be placed on performing arts as opposed to athletics. One of the things that I really liked that we had this year was May Day, and we had so much student talent come forward and it was amazing to see. It’s hard to realize just how much talent there is [until] that many students come forward and they just really shine. I really want to be able to share that.

May 24 was the last day of campaigns for ASB, and also when the election took place. Appointed commissioners like Pothast and Jones were still on the ballot, along with those running for class officer positions. Make sure to check the LiveROAR and the ASB Instagram account for more updates and information on next year’s leaders.