T1 student council representatives were announced on Wednesday, October 1st. The students running included Camila Ringel, George Sarosi, Shaya Zaman, Ulysse Nanopoulos, and Avery Kim. The newly elected representatives–Avery Kim, Ulysse Nanopoulos, and Camila Ringel–will serve from October 2025 to March 2026.
During the T1 Week Without Walls trip, the nominees delivered short statements explaining why they should represent the Class of 2029 and how they planned to improve school life. Their ideas included reinstating study days, emergency Yondr magnets in classrooms, and boosting school spirit and positivity through posters.
A few key themes stood out across the speeches: preventing empty promises, maintaining communication between the representatives and students, and taking accountability when goals prove unattainable. Students were able to tell who was over-promising, highlighting that attainable goals trumped great but unrealistic promises. Confidence and preparedness during the speeches were also highly regarded, as well-rehearsed and sincere delivery helped students feel like they could trust those candidates more. However, while confidence was admired by the audience, overconfidence and cockiness were frowned upon. In the end, qualities such as hard work, confidence, honesty, and realism emerged as the real decisive factors of the election.
Camila Ringel, one of the three new representatives, promises to keep her commitments “simple” but incredibly effective and impactful. She hopes to organize more field trips and enhance the overall school spirit as a whole. Camila emphasized the importance of clear communication, stating, “I plan on providing increased opportunities and communication about school spirit; whether they are days or weeks, I plan on working with other members of the Council to enhance spirit across the High School. Communicating these specific weeks early is crucial to get as much student involvement as possible.”
Another strong belief for Camila is to have transparent communication between the council and the students. Through this disclosure, she believes, the council will be able to understand what they need to do to best serve its peers.
Ulysse Nanopoulos has a lot of interest in expanding community service opportunities, helping T1s fulfill their current community service requirements, and preparing for the IB. Ulysse also plans on alleviating the concerns surrounding the new Yondr pouches by placing emergency Yondr magnets in certain classrooms.
Additionally, Ulysse hopes not only to have big events as a whole but also to plan small and impactful things to foster positivity among T1s. The newly elected representative aims to complete all of his goals by keeping his promises attainable and meaningful. If he is unable to do so, he intends to formally apologize to the grade and to reflect on what he must do to succeed next time.
Avery Kim envisions a stress-free, enjoyable, and positive high school experience. Currently, Avery is attempting to reinstate study days, giving students time to thoroughly prepare for upcoming exams and reduce academic stress. Avery is a hard-working representative and hopes to work closely with the administration to make her hopes for high school students a reality. Additionally, she plans on strengthening UNIS’ identity through community-building events.
“I believe the T1s need more chances to succeed academically and to foster school spirit, especially since this is our first year in high school,” she explained. “As a student council representative, I plan to help organize fun events, implement study days, and be a figure my classmates can look to if they need help.”
Avery is dedicated to making her goals a reality and emphasized that, “If I’m not able to complete a goal, I’d reflect on what went wrong, ask for feedback, and adjust my plan. Leadership is about staying persistent and finding creative ways to still make progress, even if something doesn’t go according to plan.” Avery’s dedication, reliability, and commitment make her an admirable representative for the class.
The T1 student body is thrilled to welcome its new student representatives and has high hopes for the positive changes they will bring. The council is eager to serve their companions, friends, and classmates of the Class of 2029 as they start their high school journey – ready to turn their collective goals into reality.
