Even Covid can not stop Notre Dame when it comes to Student Government activities and elections. 

Students were as enthusiastic as ever to involve themselves in Student Government elections and campaigns for Student Body and Class President positions. This time is always exciting, as the entire school supports and cheers on their government candidates.

The positions for Student Body President, VP of Senate, VP of Outreach, Admin Assistant, and the class presidents are chosen every spring by the student body and their classes, respectively.  The representative positions are appointed positions determined by members of the Executive Board of Student Government.

Incoming freshmen will hold their class president elections in the fall and the new senators and advocates will also be selected in the fall.

Anna Gruesen, elected president of the student body, will head the Executive Board for the upcoming school year.  Nick Massabni will serve as Vice President of Outreach, the service branch of the organization, and Alora Schneider will lead the Senate as Vice President. 

Gruesen, who has been very involved with Student Government, said, “To me, a leader is not someone who just works to win a title, but rather someone who works to fulfill that title.  As Student Body President, I plan to work.  I plan to put all the creative and exciting ideas into action.”

In hopes of making the 2o21-22 school year “the best one yet,” Gruesen said she is inspired by a favorite author, Jocko Willink, who said, “Don’t just think.  Don’t just talk.  Don’t just dream.  None of that matters.  The only thing that matters is that you actually DO.”

The two most highly contested positions in the recent election were those of VP of Outreach and Fan Man and Mermaid.  Fan Man for the next year is Adam Vogel with Sophia Richards as Mermaid. As mentioned before, Massabni will lead the Outreach Branch. 

For the senior class of 2022, Baylee Brabazon will serve as class president. For the classes of 2023 and 2024, Beckett Chambers and Francesa Vandrisse will serve as president, respectively. 

German teacher Jen Laaksonen is the lead adviser for Student Government and heads the organization which includes several advisers and three branches of government that organize around 90% of student activities at NDA. 

 She is the woman behind innovative activities like the recent cornhole tournament and past events like Food Truck Friday, dances and the Academy Awards. 

The Executive Board, the centralized leadership team of Student Government, is composed of class presidents, all-school officers, and representatives who are appointed to certain positions, such as school board liaison, communication specialist, administrative liaison and the curriculum and student life committee representatives. 

The Administrative  Assistant is Jordan Nugent, and the representatives to the administration are Maggie Thillman and Katie Green. Representative to the School Board is Grace Durkin with Joey Bonadonna and Emily Hoeppner serving as Communication Specialists.

Lastly, but certainly not least, are the Representatives to the Curriculum and Student Life Committee of the School Board. These two students are Jacob VanOoyen and Molly Kukiela.