By Aidan Fox ’16, News Editor

The end of every year at the Academy marks a time of transition. April 10th marked the first day of this transition for Newark Academy’s student council, when five capable juniors vied for the position of student council president. After these juniors– Matt Thekkethala, Lila Rimalovksi, Nick Murray, Eric Liao and Morgin Goldberg– had already commenced their campaigns weeks before, doing everything from gaining the necessary amount of signatures to making campaign buttons, but this day was the culmination of their efforts. Ms. Galvin and Mr. Erlandson, along with the retiring President Hannah Zack, helped organize this long process that ultimately affects which visions, ideas, and events will be implemented next year. With a simple majority and no need for a run-off, Thekkethala was crowned our school’s next President.

The following week, grade-level elections took place, replacing the old council with a myriad of new, fresh faces. The process is extensive: sign-ups, platforms, runoffs, speeches, and possibly more runoffs. Students undeniably put a lot of effort into such an arduous process. Some understandably feel stressed, as rising-sophomore president Sanya Bery highlights, “The process is so long that it just becomes more and more  stressful.” Students running for council are taking a risk by presenting themselves in front of their peers. “I had several nightmares before [the election],” recalled eventual School President Matt Thekkethala. “I had ones in which I realize halfway through the speech I’m not wearing pants, one where I start choking during the speech, and one where I hit a guy in the parking lot the day before the election, thus delivering a fatal blow to my campaign.” The margin between victory and defeat is narrow, so emotions can run high. Ms. Galvin even emails all the candidates beforehand, advising them to maintain their dignity once the results are announced.

Upon being elected, the new members must then immediately shift their attention to making good on their promises by taking action in Council. This early in their term, every Council member is optimistic about the future. “I’m so excited to work with everyone; we have a lot of fun plans for this year” emphasized Morgin Goldberg ’15, Senior Representative. “I want this year to be the year people talk about for years to come,” said the ambitious Thekkethala. He added that,”My goals are feasible, so I’m confident that they’ll become a reality in the near future.” Some of his goals for this year include include holding a public forum on the council constitution and organizing two initial events, Tie-Dye Day and Friday Floats. Much of the Newark Academy community shares Matt’s confidence. Nick Murray ’15, president of the rising senior class, commented, “I think Matt has all the necessary qualities of a great president and I would say chiefly among them is his organization. He handles multiple tasks very well.”

While the time after elections is usually spent discussing the future, it is also a time to reflect successes and failures of the previous Council. Hannah Zack said that there was nothing they failed to achieve. “I was really happy with how we managed to pull off a wide range of things, from the Run for FOP Research to March Madness to Chocolate Day.” Hannah added that she enjoyed being President.  “I remember when I wrote my speech last year, I wanted to make it perfectly clear that I wasn’t doing this because I liked government, I was doing it for the people. Having people feel comfortable enough to smile at me and talk to me was insanely rewarding, because that was one of my main goals.” Looking to the future, she said that she has “no doubt that the Council will do wonderfully. I have a lot of faith and trust in Matt.”