Next year’s student council officer team, a squad of 6, plan to continue the legacy of past leadership and leave their mark on the school and the entire student body as they take charge of one of the school’s most influential clubs. Former president Sophia Shepherd, social media manager Ella Hudson, and other past officers leave big shoes for the incoming senior class to fill. Still, because of their direction, an emerging class of leaders, including the new president junior Mason Flynt, believe they can continue and add-on to the work the former student council has already done in attempting to improve the school. 

“I feel like people see student council as just planning events and stuff,  it really boils down to trying to make school a better place,” Flynt said. “I want to be the one to represent that and make the changes in the school.”

Flynt’s primary goal is to make the school more welcoming, especially for those who feel uninvolved and out of place. He hopes to motivate student council members, who he believes are natural leaders, to reach out and create a better experience for kids who dread school.

“School can easily turn into something where it feels like a prison where you’re just in classes all day,” Flynt said. “Whenever there’s students reaching out to you intentionally to help you feel more welcome and have a better experience at Har-Ber, that means a lot and can make you come to school more.”

As president, Flynt’s primary responsibilities are running meetings, planning dances and pep rallies, conducting leadership discussions during the class period, and acting as a student body representative to the school board at meetings. 

Flynt has leadership experience that will help him accomplish his tasks and excel at his role in student council. This past year he was the president of the school’s DECA chapter, and after serving as the vice president of leadership for the state chapter, he was elected as the statewide DECA president.

“I think that I’ve learned a lot about leadership,” Flynt said. “The way I see it is I’m taking all that experience and all the things that I’ve learned, and I’m going into this position of leadership where I can teach other people those things and help them grow to be better leaders and people.”

Yet his multiple leadership positions in addition to other extracurriculars give him limited free time and less hours of a day to spend on student council. As a result, he plans to place a huge emphasis on delegating authority to his officer team.

“I can’t make myself think that I’m able to do everything, and I can’t say yes to everything,” Flynt said. “I need to look back at my team and know that they’re there to help me, and we’re there to all achieve the same goals.”

Vice president junior Carter Swope primary goal for next year is to be there for his president in addition to the rest of the class and teachers. He also hopes the club can bring the student body together and promote inclusiveness. 

Through his years on student council, Swope has learned to consider a plethora of thoughts and ideas because of the club’s huge membership, which reaches almost _. As a result, he has grown both as a person and a leader.

“I’m pretty good at being open-minded and considering everyone’s thoughts and ideas,” Swope said. “I think having someone like that in this position is pretty, pretty good.”

The club’s wide and diverse body also allows student council to appeal to students from various groups and backgrounds, junior and social media manager Emma Pierce said, which helps accomplish one of Flynt and Swope’s goals of helping students feel connected to the school.

As social media manager, Pierce’s aim is to keep an updated website and Instagram. According to Forbes, Americans spent 1,300 hours on social media in 2021 (results may be skewed because of the pandemic). As a result of the substantial amount of time Americans spend scrolling, social media is the best way to reach a wider audience of people and provide them with information about student council events, Pierce said. 

Pierce also hopes to serve the student council by continuing the work of past social media managers, including Ella Hudson and Brooke Bowen, by keeping the student council social media appropriate. Growing up, Pierce’s mom constantly told her daughter to keep her social media “clean” and be smart about what she posted, which Pierce feels could help her be a good fit for her new position. 

“Student council represents Har-Ber high school, and social media is a digital footprint; everyone can see it,” Pierce said. “I think keeping an appropriate social media account is important, but I also think [having a social media account] is about being inclusive, diverse, and hitting a bigger target of people and not just one clique or group of people.”

Besides updating students, parents, and teachers on events, one of the student council’s most important tasks is planning both the fall and spring homecomings. Junior Kennedy Dykes and Junior Carter Moss are homecoming officers and lead the student council during what Dykes said is one of the busiest and most hectic times of the year for the club. 

“Homecoming is a huge event at Har-Ber and something that everyone looks forward to,” Dykes said. “I really want to be able to make [it] memorable and fun for everyone.”

Although she knows it is difficult to work with and lead a group as big as student council, Dykes believes she can excel in her position as a result of her interpersonal skills, and she is excited to take on a key leadership role with a strong officer team. 

“[All the officers] just want to be able to give back to Har-Ber. We all obviously really love Har-Ber and have a big passion for the school,” Dykes said. “[Our goals] are just to be able to lead and serve however is needed and to be able to walk through the halls and smile at people and see how their day is going.”