There are over 100 SRTs in the school, many of which are alphabetical by grade. Others are for different specialized classes or groups and are called Special SRTs. However there is one, in the back of the art hallway in a ceramics room few people ever see. While it is “special” by the school’s classification, I would call it extraordinary. I have had the personal privilege of getting to be in this room for the past two years and getting to end my senior year, too, surrounded by what I started oh-so-long ago. It is C123, and it’s Cabinet SRT.

Cabinet is a group of 33 kids and one Sarah Wolff, who are all leaders of House of Representatives, planners and organizers of Dance Marathon and what feels like one hundred countless other things throughout the year. I have the privilege of being their proud leader for the year.

Now it may seem at this point I am romanticizing what we do and who we are, but in my mind, all of this is justified. This year we are looking to make some changes. We are putting much more emphasis on our student leadership. We started by redefining what leadership was to us and how we can take those definitions and apply them within House and our lives as a whole. We are trying to make House more involved for those who would like to and really work together with everyone in House to make sure all we do is the best it can be from now until May.

We have already had two amazingly successful events between Car Wash for Dance Marathon and Tailgate for Life in support of the American Cancer Society. Within a period of six days, this group raised over $10,000 for two different charities, and I could not be more proud.

Coming up soon, we have a kid friendly event geared to the community on Oct. 26 called Trick or Treat FTK where local kids get to come in and trick or treat at the high school. On Nov. 16 is Movie Night in the Freshman Cafeteria, and then on Nov. 23 to 24 is our big Garage Sale for Riley, which is sure to be an amazing weekend of great finds and a good cause.

To House, thank you for joining. I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for all of us together. To Cabinet, thank you for already inspiring me and working harder than you have had to before. I expect a lot. A lot of what you do doesn’t and will not get recognized. Remember, everything we do has a purpose, and it is for a cause much greater than us.

To everyone else reading this. I am here. We are here. I love Carmel High School. I am proud to call myself your Speaker of the House.