Life as President of StuCo — NorthStar Navigator

By John R.

What would it be like as president of StuCo? How would one run a body of students like StuCo? What does one do as president? As every question has an answer, these have a multitude of answers. As of the 2021-22 school year, we here at NSA have a great StuCo leader, or, is it Stucco? StuCo is short for Student Council, which is the body of students here at NSA who not only put out a newsletter monthly, lead youth groups, and such, but also create, plan, and host many of the events you see around NSA. But back to the question, and as every good question has an answer, Caleb, the president of StuCo, said: “Well… Stucco is wall texturing, isn’t it? So I’m gonna have to go with StuCo on this one.” StuCo it is then.

The title of “president of StuCo” is an impressive title, but most people don’t know what the jobs are behind the title. As said by the president: “My main jobs are making sure that things are running smoothly, the events are getting out on time, and that everyone is feeling heard and is comfortable getting involved. I also help plan and design events and just… help people. That’s what the job, or any job really, is really about: the people.” Basically, the president mostly leads and manages the StuCo, as well as making sure things get done on time. Another part of his job is managing StuCo’s regular meetings. “About once a week to once every other week! And normally I help guide the meeting, keep us on track and stuff! Hahaha, even the StuCo gets derailed sometimes! *under breath* especially StuCo gets derailed…” Caleb commented, “We’ve got an amazing team this year, and I’m just honored to call them my friends.” Because there is a lot of responsibility that comes with managing the StuCo, Caleb, thankfully, doesn’t have to do it alone. Both the vice president and the rest of StuCo are always there to help out.

Of course, when people think of the term “president” they think of power and popularity. While it's not quite the same here on NSA, you can become quite famous by being president, depending on how you look at it. According to Caleb, “Apparently it’s easier to become a meme this way? I didn’t really see that coming, to be honest with you.” You may have seen Caleb memes on NSA by this point, and in all honesty, I don’t think anyone can expect, much less be prepared, to be turned into a meme.

But, and this is a big one, that’s not to say that there are no challenges or trials by fire. Some things come easy to people, and others might struggle. Caleb says “One of the bigger parts of my journey is that… I’m not really a leader by nature. I was, and to some degrees still feel like, a follower. So a lot of my journey has been growing into that and learning as I go how to lead and how to do it right.” Of course, everyone has to start somewhere, and you are always learning, so if you think going to college is your ticket out of learning, you’ll be in for a flabbergasted shock. But, challenges and shortcomings aren’t completely bad, not only can we learn from them, but we can also grow because of them. “Well, none of us are perfect, are we? And me most of all! I think one of the biggest challenges to working on any team is having grace for the shortcomings of others and accepting grace for your own shortcomings.”

NSA is different from most other schools. It is different not just in the way that it isn’t your typical brick and mortar school, but with the community, and that is what is special about NSA. As your StuCo president, Caleb and the rest of StuCo are dedicated to keeping NSA the special place it is. Caleb is president not to isolate himself from the rest of the student body, but to aid in whatever he can, and he is happy to do it. He is happy to answer questions and help out. There is always going to be a question asker and the questions giver, Caleb is here to give those questions some answers, feel free to contact Caleb anytime! He is your StuCo president after all.

Columns: 👤NSA People

John R. lives in Oregon, in the United States and this is his first year at NSA. He is in 11th grade, and enjoys pastimes such as reading, hanging out with friends, friendly debates, and speaking international affairs. He also loves studying and speaking of U.S. and Military history. Future career goals include engineer, architect, firefighter, or police officer.