The Record conducted interviews with the six pairs running for All-School President. Click on any of the ten questions below to see how each pair responded.

1. Please briefly introduce yourselves.
2. Why did you decide to run for school president?
3. What makes you guys a good pair? Why did you decide to run with each other?
4. What do you think makes a good all-school president?
5. What are your main goals for next year? How will you go about to fulfill that goal?
6. How do you represent the student body as a whole?
7. How do you think diversity plays a role in our community?
8. What is your take on seniority?
9. In the event that a return to campus the next school year is postponed, what are your plans for continuing to foster a sense of community on campus? 
10. If the return to campus in fall is postponed, what are your plans for welcoming and integrating new students into our community virtually?

1. Please briefly introduce yourselves.

0:03 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Three-year Upper Mid from Shanghai.”
• Overstrom: “Three-year Upper Mid from New York City.”

0:14 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “I’m a three-year Upper Mid on Class Council, board of Blue and White, of Special Olympics, and of HPU.”
• Bao: “Also a three-year Upper Mid on the Disciplinary Committee, am a Proctor and do Cross Country and Track.”

0:40 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Puente: “Two-year Upper Mid from Keller, Texas.”
• Huber: “Three-year Upper Mid from Tucson, Arizona.”

0:50 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “I’m a three-year Upper Mid and my favorite things are the dorm life and my squash team.”
• Mooney: “I’m also a three-year Upper Mid, I enjoy visual art and one of my favorite things are sunsets on Elfers [patio].”

1:17 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “Two-year Upper Mid from Seoul, South Korea, swimmer, water polo player, rower.”
• Kantaros: “I’m from Rhinebeck, NY. I play soccer and lacrosse and am currently on the board of SEA.”

2:24 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “I’m a three-year Upper Mid, co-president with Cyrus and [I’m] involved in Bluestockings, BAHSA, and Café.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “I’m a three-year Upper Mid, proctor in Coy, Varsity Soccer and Rowing, and Upper Mid co-president.”

2. Why did you decide to run for All-School President?

0:07 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “Hotchkiss, the relationships, and the memories have had a huge impact on me the past three years, so it was my love of [the school that made me] want to run and want to give back to the community. I’ve always looked up to the presidents and have loved student government.”
• Bao: “I see this as a chance to give back and serve the people. As an international student, I have found myself here during my time here. After feeling like I have gained so much from the school, I have made a promise to give back my hands, my heart, and my mind, and this is the best opportunity for me to fulfill the promise.”

2:15 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Huber: “I want to rekindle what we had in the past and bring our class together, and our grade in the whole.”
• Puente: “I want to be approachable and organized and being an all-school president can [allow me to] bridge the gap between students and faculties.”

3:38 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “No greater platform than all-school presidents to have a positive impact and to leave Hotchkiss better than it as when we arrived.”
• Mooney: “I looked up to [the presidents during my Prep year] so much [in every aspect of school life], and I have always seen myself trying to do the same thing.”

4:42 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “I want to share the value that I held, so hold, and will hold for the rest of my life, which is to love and care for others a little more when you think you [have already given] sufficient amounts of it.”
• Kantaros: “I provide a unique and relatable experience for many of the students here at Hotchkiss. I had to reinvent myself at Hotchkiss and I have gone through bold journeys.”

7:18 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “I was super excited about running with Cyrus for Upper Mid president but [being all-school president] is something that I have been dreaming of since Prep year. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I want to help the school as much as I can.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “Our partnership started the end of Lower Mid year. We [found that] we worked together well throughout this year and hope to carry [it] on throughout next year.”

8:40 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “We’re both very involved in the community and ever since our Prep years we have seen the ever-changing community’s diversity and passionate students. We care a lot about the community and want to help make change.”
• Overstrom: “Being here for three years we have learned about the community’s [responses to change] and we’re both well-equipped in [ terms of adapting to] what the community wants to see.”

3. What makes you guys a good pair? Why did you decide to run with each other?

0:06 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Puente: “I think Aidan and I are very calm under intense situations and we get things done under [those situations], we are also very approachable and outgoing.”
• Huber: “We have a good past history of working together and we have different strengths and weaknesses so we also complement each other.”

1:31 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Mooney: “We’re both extremely driven and really care about Hotchkiss, and we are also already involved in so many aspects of the school. We also get along very well but are different in regards to our interests, making us a great pair.”

2:02 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “We have been best friends since day one and have limitless trust and respect [for each other].”
• Kantaros: “Jeffrey and I came from drastically different backgrounds, […and] being accustomed to learning about [each other’s] new cultures and being so adaptive is a really special quality for a presidential pair.”

3:35 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Being honest with each other [was something we] talked about back during our Lower Mid year when we were running for Upper Mid presidents, and I’m thankful that this year we’ve become great friends, we complement each other’s leadership styles, and we are very honest with each other.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “Because we’re so different, we mesh really well [and create a combination of complementary ideas].”

4:48 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “We have complementary traits – Gunnar is more outspoken, I am more organized. We have a good balance.”
• Overstrom: “I thought of Amelia as soon as I started thinking that I wanted to run, knowing I worked really well with her during Lower Mid Humanities and see her as a good leader who will help make a positive impact.”

5:48 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “I have always known Felix as reliable, hardworking, and kind, and when I thought about leading the school with someone, I thought of him as the best option. We both love Hotchkiss and work together really well.”
• Bao: “I approached Grace knowing that she is very kind, trustworthy, creative, and has what makes her a great candidate and friend.”

4. What do you think makes a good all-school president?

0:05 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “Being selfless and always doing the right thing no matter who is watching. Also being outgoing and approachable for being able to communicate and help others with their ideas. Being a friendly face.”
• Mooney: “Being able to listen not only in formal settings, being open-minded.”

0:55 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “To have the ability to carry everyone and to support everyone, without giving up on anyone or letting anyone down.”
• Kantaros: “Being able to represent more than just one group of [people].”

2:51 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Being able to read the needs of the community and being the voice of the larger population.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “Being in touch with the community and representing every member of the student body’s needs, and being able to [efficiently work towards resolving an issue and accomplishing our goals].”

4:44 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Being attentive listeners and observers of the student body and of areas that need to be improved; learning how to communicate to help [provide transparency between] faculty and students alike.”
• Overstrom: “For past, successful presidents, being transparent has always been most memorable. It has always been apparent that they have always tapped into what the students want to see and pushed to get it done.”

6:06 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “Should be accountable, approachable, and should listen to the student body in a community driven by students.”
• Bao: “ ‘Presidenting’ is all about communication. A great president must be approachable for the students as well as the adults, especially having seen a lack of communication between students and faculty that has caused dissatisfaction.”

7:37 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Huber: “Making sure that we’re approachable; we are the bridge between students and faculties; we need to be approached [everywhere and at any time].”
• Puente: “Approachability is a prominent characteristic, and [we also need to] make sure that everyone is cared for.”

5. What are your main goals for next year? How will you go about to fulfill those goals?

0:06 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Kantaros: “[Our main values are] balance, honesty, and hard work. Jeffrey and I are confident that if we can stay true to these we will be successful in accomplishing the things we have planned.”
• Lim: “We want to implement “the buddy system”, which means that a new student will pair with a willing upperclassman student and…  [that upperclassman student] will serve as a mentor, or an older brother or sister, [to help] the student to alleviate the stress in the first few weeks of Hotchkiss.”

3:36 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Making Saturday classes more manageable and making weekends more like real weekends; reforming grading and correction policies to create more uniformity within specific courses.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “Finishing the sleepovers proposal and implementing it upon returning to school; giving [legitimate] student-input to the Student Activities Office with a group of student-helpers.”

7:08 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Some smaller, easier plans include instituting fridges in dorms, changing the detention policy, revamping certain Wifi policies, changing study hall, 
• Overstrom: “We have a lot of goals but are also very open to ideas. [New ideas start with] looking at inter-dorming and sleepovers with consent of parents and feasibility in the eyes of the Deans.”

8:45 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “We want student involvement through allocating responsibilities throughout grades to help with smaller ideas.”
• Bao: “Continuing sleepovers’ plans and polishing/publishing the details of the Student Government Constitution in collaboration with other members of Student Government.”

10:46 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Puente: “To maintain the inclusivity and the community aspect of Hotchkiss, [especially] to continue to Bearcat spirit.”

12:29 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “Sleepovers; expanding the Student Intranet for [centralized] information; connecting with peer-schools nearby.”
• Mooney: “Grade accessibility on Canvas to [help students]; inter-dorming for Seniors during the Fourth Marking Period.”

6. How do you represent the student body as a whole?

0:05 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Getting to know the student body and a wide range of students is a priority of ours.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “We are very different in [almost every way], and because of that we work well together and represent different demographics of the school; we want to be accessible for everyone, starting with the ability to just reach out and email us as mentioned in our slideshow slide.”

2:02 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “As a pair, we are involved in different clubs, sports, arts, dorms and spheres of school life, representing a wide [range] of students and holding a [strong] understanding of different backgrounds and priorities.”
• Overstrom: “We bring in two different, distinct networks of [connections], allowing us to represent all of them very well.”

3:27 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “My time in sports and clubs has helped me interact with different students, as well as being involved with the community in [public places around the school] and are very approachable.”
• Bao: “As a proctor, I work really closely with lowerclassmen and have a good idea of what they want to see and I know how to communicate [efficiently] with them. Time on the DC (Disciplinary Committee) has also taught me a lot about [obscure] school rules and [deeper] understandings of students. 

5:59 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Huber: “Nadia and I came from different backgrounds, we’re also very in tune with the students and faculties in whole.”
• Puente: “What I like about us is we’re different, so we can represent the widest range of people at our school.”

7:10 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “So many different interests touching different clubs and sports teams, we work well together to represent the student body.”

7:40 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “Again, we came from very different backgrounds, and we’ve grown at Hotchkiss through different journeys.”
• Kantaros: “There’s not a day that Jeffrey and I don’t talk where we don’t learn anything new about each other or just see a difference and learn from it. Our differences have helped us to learn and appreciate [different values].”

7. How do you think diversity plays a role in our community?

0:05 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Diversity brings amazing things and different backgrounds, as well as different challenges and hurdles that students have to overcome which as all-school presidents we would want to keep in mind.”
• Overstrom: “Hotchkiss wouldn’t be Hotchkiss without its diversity and its geographic and intellectual diversity, making an amazing [combination] of people in the community who bring different points of view that can change perspectives.”

1:46 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “Hotchkiss’s diversity amazes me and is different from [a typical day school], but we can always make it more expanded. We want to work and collaborate with heads of different representative clubs to help people feel more comfortable, maybe with more speakers giving talks at the school.”
• Bao: “Hotchkiss harbors all cultures and identities and the diversity is incredible in magnitude, but the intellectual diversity and academic discussion can definitely be expanded. Unpopular opinions are often [quieted] and those voices are often scared of backlash and debate which can be expanded by the soon-to-be-introduced Chicago Principles.”

6:17 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Puente: “I think diversity is our community and it is our strength. [The reason why] we’re so great at communicating and bringing people into the community is that your best friend could be from another country or lives 300 miles away from you.”
• Huber: “What makes Hotchkiss great is all the different perspectives that people bring to the table and all the different ideas that they may have. Being able to sniff through all of those and blend some of them together is what [makes] greatness.”

8:20 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “Privileged in that the diverse community of our school, which impacts every sense of the school. Diversity is everything at Hotchkiss.”

9:00 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “Our community allows [voices] from all over the world to be heard and represented and makes Hotchkiss much more interesting, [so] diversity definitely plays a huge role in our community.”

10:45 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Being around a diverse range of people has made me grow so much, and as presidents we’d want to make it easy for people to continue to discover a broad range of paths.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “The diverse makeup of Hotchkiss students feel supported by faculty and are able to pursue whatever it is they want to do and will be supported in the diversity of opportunity.”

8. What is your take on seniority?

0:06 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “Parts of Hotchkiss are rooted in the community and in the traditions that come with them, but the idea of being an upperclassmen should not mean power over younger students.”
• Bao: “I would want to remind rising Seniors that with privilege comes responsibility that comes with great [contribution], and it does not [denote superiority].”

4:25 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Huber: “We don’t think that it is a birthright. We think it is something students [naturally] get, but along with that it is not a power, but a responsibility.”
• Puente: “It is a privilege, but also a huge responsibility. I think it is something to look forward to but not something people should take for granted.”

6:06 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “Not a right, but with experience comes a sense of leadership and [responsibility] for the Seniors to be the role models of the school. A platform that can be used for good, [except for when] it can sometimes be abused.”

7:10 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Kantaros: “Jeffrey and I don’t encourage it, but we’re not here to take away the tradition that has been at Hotchkiss for years”
• Lim: “If there is an issue on this topic we will definitely step in a try to solve it, but if there is no issue we will [respect it] as a tradition.”

9:10 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “As Seniors, you should want to earn and be given respect for caring for and adding to the school. It should be something that students can look forward to as long as the respect is deserved.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “Instilling a culture where respect shouldn’t just be consistent of a mindset of ‘oh I’m older than you and better than you,’ but rather helping the community and earning the respect.”

11:08 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Seniority is something that needs to be earned and [leaders of the community] need to be able to hold themselves accountable for being role models of the community, with respect from [peers]. You don’t just have it, you earn it.”
• Overstrom: “After going through [any amount of years] at Hotchkiss, the respect that comes with being an upperclassman is really earned by the love for the school.”

9. In the event that a return to campus the next school year is postponed, what are your plans for continuing to foster a sense of community on campus?

0:09 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Puente: “We want to maintain as many class activities as we can, especially for those coming in as new [students], and also having as many community dinners as we can.”

1:33 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “Hotchkiss has been named the ‘Best fans in New England’, and we will give Blue and White to continue to build on that. There are a lot of people in the community that have good ideas and with support [they can help make an impact on connecting] our community.”
• Mooney: “A strength of Hotchkiss is our community, and Blue and White will continue doing a job to garner school spirit.”

2:57 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Lim: “Our first step is trying to learn from [Luke and Maggie], and we will also push forward our own ideas [as well].”
• Kantaros: “Bringing fun events for the entire community and also fun events for new students to make sure that everyone feels they are still part of the community.”

4:42 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Working with a formalized Student Activities Committee, the TLC, and different sports teams [to brainstorm how to] stay connected and helpful [amidst] distance learning.”
• Farman-Farmaian: “The most important thing to do is to stay connected. Class meetings can be a super valuable time to keep the community together.”

6:59 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Connecting students in different grades is an important part in staying [united]. Doing something like virtual Community Dinners or breakout sessions of different grades could give students the opportunities to interact on the more personal level.”
• Overstrom: “Being able to get together more often would be awesome, and having more to do that we are able to do at home would be [beneficial in staying connected].”

9:09 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “Continuing to make meetings and events feel as normal as possible.”
• Bao: “We will work with Orientations and Proctors to help get new students used to the new environment of the school since normal orientation time will be taken away, despite the time of arrival at school.

10. If the return to campus in fall is postponed, what are your plans for welcoming and integrating new students into our community virtually?

0:09 – Olivia Mooney and Taylor Clayton:

• Clayton: “Give Seniors more responsibility, or give them more chances to take on more responsibility. Group meetings for all grades to talk outside of the people they usually talk to and give Seniors the chance to lead and to meet people they would not normally [meet].”

1:37 – Eve Kantaros and Jeffrey Lim:

• Kantaros: “[Continue doing] our buddy system [online] and make the best way we can to make it as if it were on campus.”
• Lim: “[Encourage] teachers to give out collaborative works like group projects so students can have fun with each other [in class].”

5:11 – Keren Mikanda and Cyrus Farman-Farmaian:

• Mikanda: “Continuing Orientation further during the year to continue support; virtual matriculation, convocation, Contra (translating as many traditions virtually as possible).”
• Farman-Farmaian: “Working with Ms. Yasumura, who is in charge of Orientation as a start, implementing a buddy or group buddy system pairing new students with a returning student to [promote meeting] new students.”

7:23 – Amelia Wang and Gunnar Overstrom:

• Wang: “Since students’ typical Orientation experience will be taken away, Gunnar and I thought a program between incoming and current students would help them be [guided] through the first few months of Zoom school, as well as more guidance by class presidents. Overall, it will still be important to introduce new students to clubs and communal initiatives, integrating the new students into their new community faster and making pre-existing traditions accessible on the online platform.”
• Overstrom: “Having the first few days for a delayed ‘Camp Hotchkiss’ or even an indoor Contra Dance since traditions like these are so important and looked-forward-to.”

9:04 – Grace Helm and Felix Bao:

• Helm: “Working with the Orientation Leaders and [Proctors] can work on reaching out to new students and having class presidents create a welcoming video with students’ submissions to be sent to the new students for each class, as well as a buddy-system for student connections.”
• Bao: “For Preps, we will collaborate with [other leaders] to help them adapt.”

13:06 – Aidan Huber and Nadia Puente:

• Huber: “We want to still keep the welcoming groups, [just like] Orientation groups. More class calls and virtual community dinners can also help.”