By: Izzy Becker ‘24, Feature Section Editor

Harold Fullilove at the Back to School Barbecue, Courtesy of James Worrell

As the 2022-23 academic school year kicks into gear, Newark Academy students and faculty alike experience new beginnings. The new sixth graders acclimate to the middle school, the freshmen to the high school, and the seniors to the somewhat daunting reality that this is their final year at NA. Along with the incoming and soon-to-be leaving students, the start of a new school year brings another significant change: the Upper School President. The role requires more than delivering two to three minute announcements each Wednesday morning in the Coraci auditorium or smiling for pictures during school events. The president represents the goals and values of the school for that year and works hard to implement new initiatives while sustaining the traditions and legacies of those who came before them. 

This year’s Upper School President is Harold Fullilove. Harold is a driven student-athlete who began his Newark Academy journey as a freshman. Besides being president, he participates in Winter and Spring Track as a high jumper. In his free time he enjoys biking and filmmaking, a few ways to channel his creativity and “let loose,” Harold says. When asked why he decided to run for the coveted role of Student Council President, Fullilove emphasizes the community: “NA is the first school that I’ve genuinely felt that I belong in,” he says. “I want to help build a community in which every student at NA feels that they belong,” Fullilove adds, noting that community belonging and enrichment are at the core of his values and initiatives.

This school year marks the first since the beginning of the pandemic that Newark Academy has fully returned to normalcy. Students and spectators are encouraged to “come out and support” at athletic events, all students are together again for morning meetings in the Coraci hall, and major events like IB Extended Essay Night, Parents’ Night, and Homecoming are back and maskless in full swing. Last year, “We were able to slowly get back to a sense of normalcy and reinstate some of the NA traditions that we weren’t able to do because of Covid,” Harold says, and “we’re really focused on using this year as an opportunity to introduce new events and traditions.” Newark Academy has many special traditions and events that students look forward to each year: the Back to School Barbeque, Food Truck Day, and Spirit Week among others. Along with these, Harold and the rest of the student council plan to design a variety of new events and opportunities that keep the spirit of the old ones, while reflecting the new, energetic student body of this year. 

Alongside Claire Waskow, Ethan Garcia, Rahul Arora, and Paige Schachtel, Harold is a part of a creative group of senior representatives who are driven and dedicated to organizing a year filled with education, imagination, and collaboration. Harold and the Student Council members plan to spotlight two main initiatives this school year: mental health destigmatization and Council and student body communication. Harold has mentioned that an “internal Council Communications Committee” is in the works, as well as a Student Council newsletter that can be found on naschoolcouncil.com. “We believe that boosting transparency and giving the broader student body more insight and input into the happenings of the school council will allow us to do our jobs as effectively as possible,” Harold says. For the school council to meet the needs of the student body, Harold believes that the voices of the students come first. 

Student Anna Jack ‘23 had some choice comments to say about Harold as well. “What makes Harold unique,” Anna says, “is his approach to interacting with the people around him. He is both professional and easygoing which makes him such a connective president.” Harold’s positive attitudes and work ethic, as well as his involvement in a plethora of school activities, give him a perspective, unlike many others. An avid filmmaker, peer leader, and member of the Black Student Union, Harold has immersed himself in many diverse facets of the school community, something that makes him both an engaged student and president. Eager to face the year to come, ambitious with his ideas and goals, and purposeful in his planning, Harold Fullilove is ready to take on this new school year!