Tony Giech, the Class of 2022 Art Coordinator, expressed that having been able to be a part of the student council for the past three years allowed him to recognize “how to work with a lot of different people and how to communicate.”
He explained that since the student council is diverse, there are many different work styles and mindsets, but ultimately he was able to cultivate impactful experiences. “Trying to figure out how to balance all of that and communicate that we can all do our best and help each other shine in our own different ways… was what I learned the best,” said Giech.
Giech mentioned how he first ran for the position in his sophomore year due to his peers from the Class of 2021 talking about how the Class of 2022 should get their advisor soon because of fundraising purposes. As a result, it made him realize that the class was behind which got him motivated to run for the position. “I wanted to see if I can make a difference and impact with my efforts in any way possible,” he said. In addition, Giech enjoys art as he has “always loved drawing and sketching” so he felt that he could put his hobby to use.
As the Art Coordinator, Giech expressed that there weren't necessarily challenges associated with his position, but rather what the student council faced as a group. He explained that COVID was a difficult year that they tackled as they lost fundraising. Despite it being a stressful time, he expressed that they eventually overcame the restrictions, and figured out a way to work around them. “I believe that we were very successful in that… I'm really proud of everything that my peers have done,” Giech said.
From these experiences, “we were able to find out our commonalities and our shared interests,” he explained. Giech emphasized how everyone is open and understanding because you don't feel as if you are going to be criticized which contributed to creating a stronger bond.
He noted how a specific memorable experience was Junior Varieties when after the show was over, the student council and the performers had cake and decided to smear cake on Class of 2022 advisor Dan Jurkowski's face. Aside from this humorous moment, Giech expressed that overall it was fun to see everyone come together as it was a stressful time preparing for the show. “It was really great to see us work through that and overcome all those obstacles to put on that show... and see everybody again after being away for so long for COVID,” Giech stated.
As Giech’s high school career is coming to an end, he mentioned how he has “grown so used to always having something come up.” Despite that, he is grateful for Jurkowski, especially for all “we have put him through.” Giech is ultimately grateful for him to have done this and will “miss those moments with Dan and everyone else” as they come to an end.
