The results are in!
The Class of 2019 elections took place on Thursday, February 16th. Several sophomores ran for eight positions, which were President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Social Media Coordinator, Historian, Volunteer Coordinator, and two Junior Variety Coordinators. There are also two Artistic Directors, which are appointed positions.
The winning candidates were Matt Farias as President, Helen Eshetu as Vice President, Santiago Portillo as Treasurer, Salma Bezzat as Secretary, Sebastian Romani as Social Media Coordinator, Bryan Burgess as Historian, Libby Taylor as Volunteer Coordinator, and Jennifer Crespo and Shataeya Smith as JV Coordinators.
The campaigning process started out with an open class meeting to gather interest. Anyone who wanted to run for a position had to submit an application and had to interview personally with class advisor and history teacher Rebecca Corcoran. Once the candidates were chosen, campaigning began by the candidates putting up posters, posting on social media, and handing out pins and cards.
On the campaign, Corcoran thinks that it has been very positive. She commented that “the candidates have really focused on letting [their] classmates know why [they] would be the best candidate for the position they are running for. [She] feels that that everyone that ran truly wants to help [the Class of 2019] be successful and wants to play a role in making their years at Malden High the best that they can be.”
Corcoran was looking for candidates who are “dedicated, responsible and are team players”. She believes that these qualities are important because “it’s good to have officers that are friendly, approachable, good listeners and that motivate others” Her goals for the Class of 2019 include having a great Junior Varieties next year and bringing the Class of 2019 together as a class and as a community.
Portillo describes the campaigning process as “extremely fun, as [he] ordered buttons to help [his]campaigning process”. He decided to run for the position because “[he] knew he would be a reliable secretary that [the class of 2019] could count on. [He] also felt like it was opportunity for [him] to step up and do something for his class”. Portillo looks forward to helping bring the Class of 2019 to where they need to be while also representing themselves to a school in a positive manner.
The class officers are very excited for what they will accomplish in their positions as well. Farias is hoping to bring the Class of 2019 together as “a group of students who are willing to help each other out and do what’s best for all of us.” With upcoming fundraisers such as Junior Varieties, Farias praises the fundraising ideas set by the previous officers, believing that “their work has been a huge help to our class, and with their effort and the possibility of sporting events and other fundraisers such as bake sales, [the class of 2019 officers] would be more than happy if anyone in the class helped and participated in.”
