Each year the Boulder High student body votes to elect officers to six positions within the Student Council. These officers are charged with community service responsibilities as well as planning iconic school events such as Spirit Week, Homecoming and Prom. All in all, these officers are a crucial part of our Boulder High experience. I was viewing the election results when I had the realization that because of COVID-19, many students are unlikely to meet these officers personally and wouldn’t get to hear their vision for this year. So I decided to help by getting to know them all better and asking some serious, and some not so serious, questions. Here’s what I found out. 

Anna Sirkus – Sophomore Class Co-President

 This is Anna’s second year in StuCo and as Co-President she will be working with Riga Czarkowski to organize and chair sophomore events. Together, their job includes a wide variety of obligations such as heading their committee, attending executive meetings, decision making for the class and event planning. Anna loves to spread joy in the Boulder High community through her involvement in Student Council. She said, “We want to connect students to each other in safe ways during these hard times.”

Virtual connection is an outlet Anna is planning to take advantage of to host virtual events for students this year. Among her passions of surfing, marine biology and dance, Anna also has a love for cookie dough ice cream. 

Riga Czarkowski – Sophomore Class Co-President

Alongside Anna, Riga will be spending her second year in StuCo leading as Co-President. The job is big, but Riga is sure that “Anna and [she] work incredibly hard and [together] make an unstoppable team.” Although this year is looking different, Riga knows that she and Anna are going to accomplish a lot. She is hoping our school can still have some fun together and escape feeling overwhelmed by the rough challenges students have been facing. “I know learning right now is really hard and feels impossible, but I promise it will get better,” she said. Riga is doing her best to make online learning a little more fun for everyone. The sophomore enjoys singing and is a big fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream. 

Luke Zana – Junior Class President

 Luke has been a part of StuCo since freshman year and now as the Junior Class President, he not only heads the junior class but also plays a lead role in planning for Prom. Luke ran for office because he loves StuCo and, as he put it, “I’d like to be proud of the Prom we put on.” Ideally, Luke would love to have a prom where everyone is having fun and he’s hopeful that it could be a reality with the talk of returning to school by next semester. If a normal Prom isn’t an option, Luke would still like to get as much done as possible regardless of COVID-19 guidelines. That may mean having only ten people per room for some kind of Prom to happen. The Junior Class President enjoys playing football and loves a big scoop of the delicious, and in his mind superior, cookies and cream ice cream.

Drake Arthur – Senior Class President

Drake started participating in StuCo as a sophomore and now as Senior Class President, designing the Team Rowdy jerseys is one of the many responsibilities he has taken on. He wants to make the best out of an unideal situation and help seniors create memories despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. He would love for students to be back in the social environment that school offers, but he knows that vision may be unreasonable given the current situation. He said, “ I would like to see our Boulder High community participating in cheering on each other at sports events if possible. I also want to try and keep up the student traditions that have been at Boulder High for generations.” To Drake, these visions help offer a sense of normalcy. When talking about school, Drake took a rather relatable stance on math, saying, “I am convinced that I have never actually learned how to do math; I have just been using a calculator to save me for the last four years.” And like Riga, he finds much joy in mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Esteban Urbina – Student Body Secretary/Treasurer

The job of a Student Body Secretary/Treasurer is centered around organization and economic management. Beginning his second year in Student Council, senior Esteban Urbina states, “I hope to manage the finances of the committees most effectively so as a school we get to take advantage of every penny in the best way possible.” Esteban is experienced in project leadership so he feels that this role is a natural step up for him. He enjoys strawberry ice cream. 

Audrey Kaufman – Student Body Vice President

Audrey started StuCo as a freshman. She now helps run the class, represents BHS and oversees all committee work. Audrey looked up to the leaders of StuCo from the past few years and wanted to take her involvement to the same level. She has a clear vision for this year: “I would like to make the best of our current situation, keep students involved with the school and their classmates through virtual events and help StuCo continue on as many Boulder High traditions as we can.” When she’s not guiding StuCo, Audrey is day-dreaming about everything beach-related except for the fish—which she has a slight, if not irrational, fear of. And like Luke, she has a soft spot for cookies and cream.

Maya Roberts – Student Body President

This is Maya’s fourth year in StuCo and as Student Body President she will be working closely with Audrey to oversee committees, brainstorm events for the school and be a messenger between the Student Body and school administration. To Maya, the most important part of the job is making sure that all students have a voice and are heard. She wants to provide as many fun and safe events as possible. She explains, “I’m also hoping to find a way to strengthen the community and increase school participation in events such as Spirit Week and dances despite the challenges.” Community service is another key component of the StuCo experience that Maya values. She hopes to use her position to involve students in the community and help those who are struggling. The president’s all-time favorite sweet treat would have to be the lavender honey ice cream, specifically from Sweet Cow, but don’t give her anything with mint in it or she will be sneezing from her rare allergy. 

With inclusion and bonding being large factors in StuCo leadership, this year is looking different. Uncertainty is surrounding school events like Homecoming and Prom but StuCo is preparing for anything by planning ahead. Virtual Spirit Weeks are a tactic StuCo is going to be using this year to try to make Google Meets amusing as well as continuing their canned food drive for the Emergency Family Assistance Association in North Boulder. Later this October there will be more information sent out about the food drive and how to get involved. Restaurant Nights are another possibility in the discussion to help support local eateries and support wildfire relief. There are a lot of great opportunities ahead for students to participate in the community so be sure to watch for upcoming StuCo announcements. 

To round out each conversation, I asked one simple question: If you could say anything to all of the Boulder High students right now, what would it be? The theme was unanimous: persevere. Things are hard and everyone is struggling in different ways but StuCo wants you to know that they are looking out for the student body as best they can. These newly elected officers and all the representatives on Student Council are going to do everything in their power to create a positive student experience this year so, as StuCo advisor Mr. Russel Selnau put it, “Smile.”