When Manas Kathir walked into his ninth period class on Friday, September 23rd, he felt butterflies swarming his stomach. He knew that the winners of the Senior Class Officer election would be announced by the end of the school day, so he was understandably stressed.

Kathir has wanted to be elected Senior Class President since 8th grade when he saw his brother graduate. During his brother’s commencement, Michael Mitole (President of the Class of ’19) delivered an excellent speech, and from then, Kathir dreamt of being on the same stage.

When Senior Class Sponsor Mrs. Perry came on the announcements at 2:10pm on the 23rd, Kathir, surrounded by his classmates’ phone cameras, heard his name—he was ecstatic.

“This is by far the biggest accomplishment of my life,” Kathir later said. “I can not wait to get to work.”

Kathir and his fellow officers — Ian Zahorchak (Vice-President), Brayden Kushner (Secretary), Varun Kaveti (Treasurer), Gaurav Nayak (Publicity Director) — hope to make senior year as memorable as possible.

“As Senior Class President, I understand that our grade has not had a normal high school experience, so we need to cherish these last moments together,” Kathir said. “Through events dedicated to bringing the seniors together and small gestures made by our team, we will work to create a great environment as it is our last year.”

Kathir is also aware of the challenges before him.

“I understand that many people are nervous that this is an all-boys team and think there will be less diverse opinions, but my team and I are determined to do what is best for all of the seniors,” he added.

Kaveti and Kushner also have the best interests of the senior class in mind.

“The goal is simple: to make the last year of high school the best,” Kaveti said. “This means working with the team to create fun events for seniors throughout the year in addition to the three main ones planned.”

The three main events for which the Senior Class officers are responsible are Prom, Senior Banquet, and Commencement.

“I plan to make our senior events unforgettable,” Kushner added. “We have already begun to work on the senior t-shirt, and I think a lot of people will like the design. I’m really excited to work with the rest of the team to plan a great Prom and Senior Banquet.

Nayak hopes to document the senior experience as much as possible.

“My plan is to simply spread awareness of our events and ideas,” he said. “Our group wants to make our last year our best year, and for that to happen, I want to make sure everyone knows what we have planned. More awareness means more attendance, which makes a great event.”

The entire officer team was excited to win, and it’s clear that there’s a strong mutual understanding between the Class of ’23 and its leaders.

“Hearing the news of winning the election, I was definitely happy but even more excited to work with my other officers,” Kaveti said. “The cabinet had chemistry even before the election, so I was thrilled to find out I get to work with such a qualified group.”

Kushner added that his win did not come easily.

“I was surprised when I won,” he said. “I had been coming off of a sickness, so I didn’t have a lot of time to campaign, but I ended up with the win. It was really exciting in that moment to hear who my other teammates would be.”

Nayak was equally surprised.

“I had not expected to beat my competition,” he said. “I am glad I found the opportunity for this position, and I am glad to be one of the leaders for the Class of 2023.”