Why did you decide to run for SBP?

I felt with my experience with student government in the past as well as my leadership experience outside of student government such as with Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council, I felt like I would be able to lead Senate efficiently and effectively. I just thought it would be a good way to help myself get the student body more involved in (school events). One of my big goals for next year is to just get us out there, talking to people, people that we may not necessarily normally talk to. It’s that I just think that it’s a position I’d be well suited for because I like talking to people, and I have lots of new ideas I think would be good.

What does being selected as SBP mean to you?

To me, if you’re student body president, you just have to be a good representative of what a Greyhound is. You’re putting yourself out there to be a face of the school you’re being representative of the student body, (and) now you’re running the convocations, you’re going to meetings, you’re one of the prominent figures in the school, so I think what being student body president means to me means that you have to represent everything that greyhound nation is about. You have to put a good face on the school.

What do you hope to accomplish as SBP this year?

I think the biggest thing is that we just need to continue the tradition of excellence that our student leaders have set in the past. We’re fortunate here at Carmel that we really have been blessed with great student leaders. George (Gemelas, ‘14) did a great job (last) year, and in my time we’ve had Chris Johnson (‘13) and Terrance Lewis (‘12); they’ve both done excellent jobs. To me, that’s the number one priority. It’s just to make sure that Senate does not move back from the standards that have already been set. We want to continue and try to reach the level that those student leaders have met. Then, you know, we have to build on them, you know, we have to try to think of new ideas (and) ways to keep the student body involved and engaged with student government activities, so I think that’s the biggest thing for next year, it’s to figure out what the students want, give the students what they want, and best serve the student body to the best of our abilities as a group.

What are some things you plan to do differently this year?

As for things I believe that we can do differently, like I said earlier, I just want there to be times when Senate almost goes into SRTs to just ask students, “what did you think of this event?” “What can we do to improve this event?” “What could student government do to make Carmel High School a better environment for you?” And then there’s always things to change; I’m going to go in there and I’m going to ask for attendance figures at events (to) see how much true student participation we got in events this past year, and see what there can be done to perhaps bring in new ideas and change events. I think the goal of student government is to be the voice of the people because that’s what government is all about, and I think it should be that way on a school level and a national level, so I think we need to make sure that we stay in touch with the people who elected us as senators and, for me, as student body president by talking to them and getting the idea of what they want, (but) maybe not exactly what we want. What do you anticipate about this year? It’s going to be a lot of work; I knew that when I ran for the position, but I expect it to be very rewarding. Senate has done a great job managing events in the past, and I think I’m just looking forward to getting out there and doing a lot of community outreach projects. Care to Share, (which) we do every year, the blood drive, Senate does a lot of stuff that does good for a lot of groups of people. I feel like that’s something we got to continue to do in the future, to continue to be a bridge between the Carmel High School student government and the community, and try to help as many people as we can.

What is something you’d like to let the student body know about you?

I’m a very approachable guy. Don’t ever be afraid to come up and talk to me if you see me in the hallways. If you have something you want to say, feel free to tell me. I don’t want to be scary, I want to be as approachable of a person as possible. I don’t bite. If you have ideas, tell me, always feel free to talk to me.

Click here to read the Q&A with speaker of the House Henry Curts.