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Getting to know: Senior class officer candidates
April 23, 2025
Campaign Speeches
Juniors listen to senior class officer candidates' speeches in the gym on April 23.
President Candidate: Bailey Kidd
Bailey Kidd, running for senior class president (Courtesy Bailey Kidd)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for senior class president! I have always found myself to be a leader in most situations, so deciding to run for this role was super easy. After a fun and successful junior year, I have been very excited to run for next year. My team and I have initiated much of our planning for senior year already, and most of it just has to be finalized. As long as we are kept together, we will be able to tackle all of the event planning and fundraising needed for next year.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“I have always found myself to be an understanding and empathetic person, which I believe motivates me in everything I do, especially when it comes to roles of leadership. I find compromise easy, and will always do my best to represent what the majority of our class wants. I pride myself in being a “people person”, and even though I am imperfect, I do my best to love and see the best in everyone around me, which leads me to communicate and work well with everyone I come in contact with. Overall, I believe the most valuable experience has come from being class president for this past year. I have gotten super close with my team and we have learned to work well together, so continuing on what we have already started would make it even better.”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“Senior year is a BIG deal, and it is where most of our high school memories will be made. Thankfully, our school honors many exciting senior traditions that we have to look forward to. All year, my team and I have been coming up with ideas on how we can take the traditions that are currently instated and make them better. For example, we plan on relocating senior breakfast to the Yacht Club, as it is an ideal and gorgeous venue. Many other classmates and I would also like to see Wildcat Challenge moved more outdoors as it had previously been, so I plan on fighting to make that possible.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“I believe that there are only so many good ideas I can come up with myself, and that is why I rely on my classmates for new propositions. Talking to so many of you this year has made me realize how valuable of an asset each of you is to our class, so I always plan on representing exactly what the majority of the people want, even when I may disagree. I consider myself a very approachable person, so I hope that for the remainder of my campaign, everyone feels as though they are able to ask me any remaining questions they may have any time.”
President Candidate: Blake Johnson
Blake Johnson, running for senior class president (Elmer Lozada Rodriguez)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for the role of class president because I know I have what it takes to make senior year a great time for everyone. I initially wanted to run for class president because I thought that it would be a great experience for me and it would allow me to give a little back to the class that has supported me for all these years.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“An important skill that makes me the best candidate for class president is my ability to stay calm under pressure. My experiences with dealing with stressful situations at work, home, and even at school allow me to stay cool when the heat turns up. There will undoubtedly be conflicts that I will need to address as class president and my experiences and skills, not only as a stress reliever, but as a leader, will allow me to succeed and properly navigate any issues that arise during my term.”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“Although I don’t want to reveal too many of my ideas for next year before the election, I hope to make next year memorable and lasting, whether that means extensive photo albums that everyone has access too or unforgetable school events, I hope to display my talents as an entertainer next year and implement some great ideas that everyone can enjoy. I also intend to increase our school’s media presence as a whole with more personal snapshots and trends that students will be able to look back on years later and appreciate.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“Communication is key and not just in relationships but also when acting as a leader and voice of a group of individuals. I plan to best represent my constituents through constant communication with everyone, and I mean everyone. We go to a very small school and there is no excuse not to hear everyone’s voice. I hope that my classmates will feel comfortable enough to suggest changes or ask questions anytime and I promise to be available to them, whether that be through email or in person discussions.”
Vice President Candidate: Danielle Sorgenfrei
Danielle Sorgenfrei, running for senior class vice president (Courtesy Danielle Sorgenfrei)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for vice president because I would like to make our final year at West Shore memorable by improving school events and contributing to the execution of fundraising ideas and our various senior celebrations.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“I am currently the junior class vice president and know the responsibilities of the role. I also understand the importance of fundraising in order to make our ideas a possibility. This year, I learned many valuable lessons in budgeting, planning, and decision-making. Aside from that, I really enjoy coming up with fun ideas for our entire class to partake in!”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“Next year, I look forward to planning our senior breakfast, senior picnic, Grad Bash, and of course, our graduation ceremony. I have a lot of really fun ideas that I think will help generate a lot of money towards our senior functions. For example, a school-wide flea market type of fundraiser, high school roller skate night, or movie night at the school, and some spirit nights at popular restaurants.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“I hope that everyone feels comfortable enough to talk to me in school with any ideas or concerns, because I will make sure they are discussed and addressed in our meetings. I really want to emphasize participation from our class in giving their opinions and feedback, especially since it is our senior year, and I want to make sure we all have a say in what goes on!”
Secretary Candidate: Tadi Zivotic
Tadi Zivotic, running for senior class secretary (Courtesy Tadi Zivotic)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for senior class secretary because I have learned numerous life skills necessary for leading next year’s Senior Class, such as patience, effort, and effective communication throughout my time at West Shore. These life skills that I have acquired as the junior class secretary have not only helped me pursue a strong work ethic, but also improved my confidence as a leader. For example, having experience in the theater program at West Shore has been one of the most eye-opening experiences in the world of leadership. Within that program, I learned how to both interact and communicate with people of different backgrounds and perspectives as well as collaborate as a team, which is necessary to maintain order and organization as secretary.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“I have a lot of time management experience because I have been part of 10 theater productions at West Shore, where I learned to manage my school and home life. I also have prior leadership experience in directing one-act productions and my own scenes within theater, which showcases my willingness to be creative and learn new things. As the junior class secretary, I was able to learn about the process of planning a prom and setting up an important school event, which adds to my knowledge of planning school events. My leadership and confidence in communication and planning make me the best candidate for being the senior class secretary.”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“Some big ideas that I have for next year are planning events and fundraisers, such as more faculty and student collaboration so that the senior class has more chances to hang out during senior year. I also have ideas for fundraising for the Senior Class, such as using the food and wine festival (without the wine) to support both the Senior Class and clubs at West Shore, as well as planning spirit nights at restaurants such as Ford’s Garage.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“I plan to represent the ideas and concerns of my classmates by creating polls that ask seniors about their opinions about school fundraisers and events, such as where and when they should be held. I will also be working with my colleagues to share our contact information with the senior class in case they have any questions about school events and graduation!”
Secretary Candidate: Jack Grimison
Jack Grimison, running for senior class secretary (Courtesy Jack Grimison)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for the role of Senior Class Secretary because I want to serve this immensely talented cohort by helping to create the best senior year possible. I think that an important part of any elected office is change, which allows for new ideas to take hold and for impassioned activists to move the needle of excellence. My main goal as secretary is to be the conduit of the entire senior class in officer meetings: to both be the ear that listens to the people, and the mouthpiece who speaks for them when no one else will.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“I believe that my dedication and tenacity to impart the will of the people make me a perfect fit for the secretary position. My experience as the former middle school SGA president has given me much insight to the inner workings of student body councils, and my time as opinion editor of the Roar has already allowed me to develop a good gauge for student opinion. Of course, I will lean on my fellow class officers as they will lean on me to execute our goals, but I am sure I will excel in executing the plans built by all the senior officers with input from our constituents.”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“I am yet to develop specific plans to enrich our senior class’s community, but I have no doubt that the fruitful joys of our hard labor are soon to come. Once in office, my main goal is to listen to my constituents and act accordingly, creating an amazing senior year which caters to all.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“As stated earlier, my biggest concern as secretary is specifically representing the voters in a way no other candidate will. Some other candidates may speak as such, but none are as truly committed as I am to serving the Class of 2026. I urge students of the Class of 2026 to come to me with any problem they face, or any suggestion they wish to pose, and I will guarantee to them that they will be listened to and treated with the utmost respect.”
Treasurer Candidate: Violet Castillo
Violet Castillo, running for senior class treasurer (Courtesy Violet Castillo)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for the role of treasurer because I enjoy planning and organizing events that help our class raise money for special events. I like figuring out how much money is necessary to fund a pleasurable experience and ways to gain funds that contribute to new and improved aspects of ordinary senior activities.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“I am the best candidate for treasurer because of my prior experience. I was treasurer for our junior class, and I performed very well alongside my team, and we raised quite a bucketful of money to fund a successful prom. With our extra money, we have already begun planning for senior activities like graduation and senior breakfast!”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“For our senior year, I have big ideas to possibly host a Color Run fundraiser. I think having this kind of fundraiser will be beneficial for collecting funds to have a senior breakfast that is above and beyond, to give our class moments that last a lifetime. Not only would a Color Run generate senior class profits for future activities, but it is also an extremely fun way to exercise while getting to take home a colorful white shirt (and hopefully happy memories). Students can pay a certain amount of money to walk, jog, or run a course while teachers or students throw color powder packets to make for a colorful and exciting experience for the school. Hopefully, with the right planning and organizing, this fundraiser will work out, and the senior class can have another successful activity.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“I plan to listen to the concerns of my classmates by having an open-minded attitude towards every opinion. It is extremely important that my team and I are attentive to our class and their perspectives regarding our senior year. It is not just the representatives who have a voice, but everyone in the senior class, and it is my job to be inclusive and allow for all of the voices to be heard.”
Historian Candidate: Evangeline Trazerra
Evangeline Trazerra, running for senior class historian (Courtesy Evangeline Trazerra)
1. What role are you running for and why?
“I am running for senior class historian! I currently serve as our junior class historian, and holding this position has been one of the most rewarding and fun experiences I’ve ever had. From raising funds for our class to planning prom and beginning preparations for all our exciting senior events, it’s truly been a blast. Although we faced a few obstacles along the way, I’ve grown incredibly close to my fellow officers and our class sponsor, Mrs. da Silva.”
2. What skills or experiences make you the best candidate?
“My biggest advantage over other candidates is that I’ve already held the position of junior class historian and have a head start on planning for our senior year. I’ve learned how to raise funds in creative and effective ways, and I plan to bring those skills into the upcoming year. I’ve also learned how to overcome challenges in this role—especially when we had to restart months of prom planning due to issues with our original venue. Beyond this role, I’ve held several leadership positions, including serving as my homeroom class ambassador for four years and being captain of my basketball team during my freshman year.”
3. What big ideas do you have for next year?
“One of the things I’m especially excited to build on is our class Instagram. Although there were some issues accessing the account this year, I plan to catch up on everything we missed due to that setback. As class historian, my role is to preserve the history of our class, and with my strong media background, I’m confident I can do that for the Class of 2026.”
4. How do you plan to listen to and represent the ideas and concerns of your classmates?
“Just like this year, I plan to make sure my classmates’ opinions are heard in every officer meeting. I want every student to know that I’m always open to discussing any questions or concerns they have. Every voice deserves to be heard, and I take pride in making decisions that reflect the common good of our entire class.”
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