Getting to Know Your Grade Reps (2021-2022)

Getting to Know Your Grade Reps (2021-2022)

Congratulations to Dean Kaduboski and Jack Holtz for becoming our 2021-2022 President and Vice President! Now it's time to select their council, and we have many wonderful candidates running to represent you!

We asked each candidate to respond to the following prompts:

  1. Write a short bio about yourself
  2. Why do you think you should be elected as your grade's Student Representative?
  3. What do you hope to achieve as Student Representative?

Elections will be held on Wednesday, May 5 so be sure to go out and vote!

2024 2023 2022
Charles Allard Kenny Backes Thomas Fitzgibbons
Andrew Beck Leo Beraldi Emmi Freeman
Jake Brown Chase Brown Ronald Harvey
Mason Buerstetta Rex Morris Faith Walton
Matthew Graham Brown Peter Passaro
Brian Karle Ben Persily
Mia Lynn
Spencer Neckritz
Max Wachter

Charles Allard

This candidate did not respond.

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Andrew Beck

Hello, my name is Andrew Beck and I hope to be your next student representative. This past year was my first at King, so while I have always wanted to be a class rep I felt I didn't know the school or the people well enough to be an effective representative for them. At my previous school, I was a class representative for 2 years as well as class vice president for 1. Over the past 8 months I have worked on the peer review board as well as learn more about the school and the community. I would be an excellent choice for your next representative because while I have some of my own ideas on things I'd like to accomplish, some of which include getting beanbags in the pit and organizing friendly competitions such as water balloon fights and school wide scavenger hunts, I want to make sure that the ideas of the students are put first and if possible acted on before my own ideas because as a representative it would be my job to make sure that the students are heard and feel their ideas and inputs are valued.

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Jake Brown

Hello, my name is Jake Brown and I am running for 9th grade student representative. This is my first year at King, but I know I can make an impact in the community. If elected representative, I will make clubs more accessible to people if they don’t feel comfortable reaching out and I will also try my hardest to get my grade many fun days where we can relieve the stress of school.

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Mason Buerstetta

I asked Siri, she said "this bio belongs to Mason." This is my 9th year at King and to be honest, I'm ready for the school year to end. This year was boring because of covid, and my goal for next year is to make school exciting again. If you know me, you know how much energy I have. I hope to bring my energy to student council, and make next year one to remember. I'm a super approachable person and always open to talk to anyone. I would absolutely love to hear and present your suggestions to student council. Some of my ideas include: Grade specific merch such as sweatshirts. The continuation of delayed days. To be honest I cannot function before 9 AM, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Something else I fully plan on doing is events. So many events. Movie nights, picnics, ice cream trucks, student competitions, etc. Since many of us will be driving next year, I hope to find a better place for us to park than the Simon House. Nobody wants to walk half a mile to school from their parking spot every morning. A final idea I have is to include more food throughout the day. Something like a morning/afternoon snack, maybe with special days dedicated to bagels, donuts, and other yummy foods. Like I said before, I totally want to hear your ideas too!! Your thoughts matter and as a student leader, it's my job to make you heard. I hope next year is more enjoyable, and I feel I'm the best person to pump the much needed energy into it! Thank you for reading :)

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Matthew Graham Brown

  1. My name is Matthew Graham Brown and I’m a current 9th. I love to create, write, debate and engineer. I also love to talk and love to discuss things. I’m very approachable and love to laugh.
  2. I think I should be elected because I am an outgoing individual who lives to hear other people's views. Along with that I have a lot of leadership skills and love working with other people.
  3. If I am elected, I will focus on the mental health of students. That includes more fun activities to give your overworked minds a break. I will work hard to make school a more enjoyable place.

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Brian Karle

  1. Hi, my name is Brian Karle, and I am involved in many aspects of the King community. I am a three-sport varsity athlete and love participating in football, crew, and lacrosse. Additionally, I compete with the debate and math teams and am excited to be the Junior Captain of the debate team next year. Also, I enjoy playing my trombone in King’s jazz combo. I was a part of student government at my middle school and am excited at the prospect of being involved in King’s student government.
  2. You should elect me as your Student Representative because I will be able to listen and understand your needs and because I will be a strong advocate. I participate in many aspects of the school community, so I can represent a number of your diverse interests. Additionally, I have experience being an advocate and participating in student government. I am approachable and will support your ideas as a class representative. Most importantly, I am proud to be a Viking!
  3. As class representative, I first hope to listen to my classmates and implement their ideas. I also hope to grow King’s sense of community. After a year of COVID-19 restrictions, it is important to connect and support each other. Next year, COVID-19 permitting, I will boost school spirit by increasing participation at school events, including sports games and races, the play, concerts, art showings, and other school-wide activities. Additionally, I will work to coordinate events that will build school spirit. Ultimately, I’m excited to hear from you about ways we can better our King community.

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Mia Lynn

Hi, My name is Mia Lynn, and I am running to be one of the sophomore Class Representatives. I have been a student at King for the past ten years, and love being a part of this community. I believe I could provide the perspective of someone who has grown up at this school alongside my peers and will do everything in my grade's best interest and listen to what they are saying, for I am representing them. Together, I hope that my peers and I can make the King community even better than it already is and make changes that are in the best interest of the students. I hope to create an environment where people are not afraid to speak up about the things they want to improve. Along with this, I hope to address issues in dress code, delayed starts and specifically incorporating remote/delayed Wednesdays into our schedule next year, stress-busters for under-classmen, and more snacks to be available to everyone throughout the day.

If you vote for me, just know, that I will do everything in my power to ensure that we, as a grade, will be heard.

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Spencer Neckritz

  1. My name is Spencer Neckritz, and I've been a student at King since 5th Grade. I am part of the crew team at King as well. I'm currently a freshman and will be a Sophomore next year.
  2. I believe I should be elected because I know how to lead a group. While I haven't been part of the student council before, I still know how to manage a group of people pretty well and am good at being a voice to those who don't normally get to give their concerns. I also have some good ideas to contribute to student council as well and feel I'd be a great fit for the Sophomore Class Rep next year.
  3. I have two ideas I'd like to begin with as a class representative. The first idea is to condense emails. I know many people don't like to check their email, so I want to make it to where there won't be any random emails but rather one nicely organized and formatted email a week. My other idea is to put speakers outdoors for people who do work outside in order to make it nicer outside and get more people to hang out outdoors as well. I would definitely take into consideration ideas from other students as well, and try to get as much done as possible.

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Max Wachter

  1. I am Max Wachter and I am running for next year's Sophomore Representative. This is my fourth year at King, and I am co-captain of our crew team. I also love to play the saxophone and joined the debate team this year. I was this year's Freshman Representative, and I hope that I have the chance to be part of the Student Council again.
  2. I have been elected to the Student Council at King 4 times, so I have a lot of experience. I feel that because of my experience I have gained the ability to efficiently make changes in the school, and I can use this skill to help out my peers if I'm elected. I want to use the post of Class Rep to ensure that your ideas are implemented and your concerns are addressed.
  3. This year, school spirit has been low since there is limited attendance to sports games and a lack of school wide events. As Class Rep, I hope to change that by implementing lots of events as well as increasing attendance at home games. I also want to continue this year's munchkin Mondays and Dress Down Fridays. However, the position isn't about my ideas, it's about yours. I want to give each of you a voice and set your ideas in motion.

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Kenny Backes

  1. Hi everyone! My name is Kenny and I’m running for junior class rep. If you don’t know me from Theater or Football then that’s about all you need to know. I’ve been at King for a long time, so I think I probably should’ve ran for student council sooner. I hope to work closely with all of you Juniors throughout the year to make sure we can have a great year and get done what we want to get done.
  2. I’ve written below what I want to get accomplished. I think all of it is very plausible and I will work tirelessly to get it done. By voting for me you are also voting to make my ideas a reality.
  3. My three biggest issues upon election would be securing Junior stress busters,  working to get more parking spots, and making sure we get all our favorite extra lunch items back (and maybe even a little better).

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Leo Beraldi

  1. My name is Leo and I am a sophomore at King. I came to King in the middle of 7th grade in 2018. I was born in Italy and moved to the US when I was 5 with my family. I have 2 younger sisters and 3 doggos. Throughout my life I have moved to many different locations over the US, and have learned to be a social person.
  2. As I explained, I have moved around in my life a lot. I have faced many challenges and obstacles, which may have slowed me down at the time, but I have learned to overcome these barriers and stay strong. I am a strong advocate for the student's freedoms and would push for a better school atmosphere every day, especially in our grade.
  3. The COVID year is hopefully ending soon, and we must finish off strong with hopes for a new beginning. I would like to re-add the snack bar in the cafeteria, along with occasional food truck days. I also will talk with the President of the upper school, Dean Kadubuski, who happens to be in my advisory. I am a great communicator with the students in our grade, and will work to satisfy the needs of the people!

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Chase Brown

  1. I was born on a ranch in Southern Mississippi. My family moved to Connecticut because our ranch became infested with Lemurs. You may be asking, what are Lemurs doing in Southern Mississippi? Well, that's a good question. The answer is, well, my brother made the Lemurs. He bred the Lemurs using Olive oil and apple seeds. Also, I was born on December 11th.
  2. I am the smartest person in the upper school. I would bring so much to the table, as I am an utterly perfect person.
  3. As student rep, I promise to build a working railroad on the King campus. This will make getting from class to class much easier.

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Rex Morris

This candidate did not respond.

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Peter Passaro

Hello! My name is Peter Passaro, I am going into my Junior year at King and will be trying for my third year on the council. I advocate for my peers, and help them achieve what they want. I’ve proven myself to be a good representative as I’ve been avid in changing the dress code, and taking care of details for events. I hope to achieve so much more in the coming year, because it was disappointing to only really be able to help munchkin Mondays and our spirit week. I want to have an event where all the grades are included in a day of games, food, and contests as a way to appreciate the students.

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Ben Persily

  1. My first year at King was last year, and I love it here. Before that, I went to Scarsdale Middle School. I have a dog named Juliet, and she is an adorable labradoodle. I am on King's squash team, as well as the math and debate team. I am also in the STEM club, ambassador's club, and leader of the Math Teacher's Assistants Club. I love hanging out with friends, playing video games, and watching YouTube and anime.
  2. I believe I should be elected as the 11th grade representative for several reasons. First of all, I bring 5 combined years of experience, three at my middle school and two at King. Furthermore, I have leadership experience at the Math Help Center where I enjoy helping my peers. This brings me to another reason I should be elected, I want to help all of you and build strong communication. By this, I mean helping all of you get your ideas to the Student Council. I want everyone to feel free to come up to me anywhere at school, or email/text me, so we can discuss ideas in the Student Council. I am also a very hard-worker and I will be and currently am determined to do as much as I can for all of you. Thanks for reading this, and please vote for Ben Persily!
  3. I have many goals that I want to accomplish, but I don't want to make you all read long explanations, so here's a quick list that I will go into more depth about in my speech:
  • Dress-down Fridays continuing into next year and years beyond (already in progress)
  • More food events
  • Junior Stressbusters
  • Bringing snack back
  • Munchkins or donuts
  • Food trucks
  • Any other great ideas you have

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Thomas Fitzgibbons

This candidate did not respond.

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Emmi Freeman

  1. Hi everyone! My name is Emmi Freeman, and I have been going to King for 13 years. I am the current leader of the Book Club, a member of the Environmental, Milestones and Student Activities clubs, as well as next year’s co-president of Model UN. I am also a current class of 2022 representative, along with Faith Walton. I play softball and basketball and will be the captain of the soccer team next year. My favorite subject is US History or Global Art History. My email is [email protected] please reach out if you have any questions or ideas, and vote for me!
  2. This year, I served as class rep for the class of 2022, and am hoping to be reelected. This year, me and my co-rep advocated for expanded junior privileges during the May semester, and we achieved this goal. In addition to helping the student council with munchkin Mondays and other proposals, we used our voice to state some of the needs and wants of our grade, and helped make the year seem a little bit more normal for our peers and classmates. I think I should be reelected because I have strong leadership skills, and have done a great job representing my grade in the past.
  3. I hope to make our senior year as fun as possible, to make up for some of the events and traditions we missed due to the pandemic. As things start to revert to our new normal, I hope to continue to promote school spirit among the grades and a sense of community at out school. I hope to advocate for more senior events, and stress busters, as well as giving more freedom to the 12th grade.

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Ronald Harvey

  1. I came to King in Pre-K, so next year will be my 14th year here at the school. I’m a captain of the basketball team, and I started the Academic Help Club this year. I’ve lived in Stamford since I was four, and I love Fairfield County and its community. You can find me at the Parkway Diner at least three times a week after school.
  2. I know almost everyone in our grade decently well, and hopefully most of you know me too. I’ve been a student here as long as anyone, and I think that helps me understand the culture in and out. I consider myself a good leader, but more importantly a good listener, and I think I would do a great job voicing everyone’s opinions if I’m elected.
  3. The student council this year did their best under the circumstances, but COVID made it hard for us to do many fun things as a school. Next year, I want to change that. It’s obviously our last year in high school, and I want everyone to remember it as their favorite year.

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Faith Walton

  1. I have been attending King since the 9th grade and have joined a variety of sports and clubs; and I was this year's junior class representative.
  2. I was this year's junior class representative so I have experience with student government and I know what it takes to get certain proposals approved.
  3. As the school year shifts to a more normal schedule and activities, I hope to talk to the administration about certain traditions we could modify. I would also want to talk to teachers about workload which seems to be a relevant issue for students. I want to make fun a little more enjoyable after a year and a half of stress and sacrifice.

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