By Cassandra Sottile
Elm Staff Writer
The rising senior, junior, and sophomore classes have elected their 2018-19 officers.
Class of 2019 President Katie Peacock said, “I wanted to run because I felt that I could bring a new perspective and passion to the office. I really care about our school and want to make sure we leave it better for the next class.”
Part of the job of the class officers is defining their own positions.
“As senior class president, there are some specific things I am responsible of—leading our class officers, being the Class of 2019 representative in senate, chair of the senior class gift committee, chair of the senior speech committee, and having an active role in planning our senior events/commencement,” Peacock said.
She returned to being a class officer after being treasurer her freshman and sophomore years. Her primary goal is class engagement.
“I don’t expect everyone to participate in everything, but that everyone in the Class of 2019 finds something this year that reminds them why they chose Washington College in the first place,” she said.
Some of the events Peacock and the other senior class officers are considering are snow cone days, class study sessions, and barbecues.
Peacock will serve alongside Vice President Marah Tarawneh, Treasurer Josh Peterson, and Secretary Myssa Abusin.
In the Class of 2020, Andrew Berry, Will Hewitt, Adrienne Chase, and Kanya Radford were all re-elected for the offices of president, vice president, treasurer and secretary.
Chase, who has been class treasurer since 2016, said, “Student government was important to me in high school, so I wanted to stay involved heading into college as well. It was an easy choice to decide to run again in 2017 and 2018.”
As treasurer, Chase is in charge of coming up with ideas for fundraising.
“My plans and hopes for the following year are to locate funds in order to host some fun events for the Class of 2020,” she said.
In the Class of 2021, Betty Yirga, Christian Yosef, Ethan O’Malley, and Nicolina Capitanio were elected as president, vice president, treasurer and secretary.
Capitanio said, “This year I decided to step out of my comfort zone and run, since I made my whole freshman year [about] getting over fears, my shyness and experiencing new things.”
As secretary of the Class of 2021, Capitanio is in charge of collecting minutes from both executive board and class meetings, spreading the word about Student Government Association events on campus, and collecting attendance numbers from those events.
“I want to make more fun events for the Class of 2021 and get the students’ opinions on how we can make our college experience more fun,” Capitanio said.
Prior to being elected Class of 2021 president, Yirga was serving the SGA as a senator under the Community Service Committee.
“I decided to run for class officer because I want to make our time at WC the best it can possibly be. Throughout my high school career I took on several leadership positions, and I would like to bring those skills and experiences to the Class of 2021,” she said.
As a class president, Yirga’s duties include working with students to resolve problems, organizing student activities and events, and informing the other class officers of ideas emanating from the class.
Yirga also has to create a class government, including a cabinet, advocate for the best interests of the class and filling any vacancies in the class executive board.
“My goal is to build the Class of 2021 into a cohesive unit of incredible individuals. I want all of us to feel at home here at WC, since we are going to be in this together for the next four years,” she said.
Yirga has already started planning events for the rising sophomores, including class socials and events, spirit gear, and service projects.
“I plan on establishing a freshman council to help make important decisions that will affect the Class of 2021. I will create monthly surveys and forums where students voice their opinions and make myself available to the student body for questions, concerns and ideas,” she said. “My family and I immigrated to the United States in 2011 from Ethiopia, and I am very fortunate to say that this opportunity has helped me enhance my knowledge of people or cultures different than my own.”