Announcing the 2023-24 Student Council

After a thorough review of applications and a number of interviews conducted by president-elect Bryce Langdon ’24, Honor and Discipline Representative Daphne Volpp ’24, Academic Representative Conan Chen ’24, and Social Life Representative Grace Chu ’24, the remaining representative positions on the 2023-24 Student Council have officially been selected and announced. Congratulations to IV Formers Sofia Carlisi, Cassie Dillard, Ian Lee, Chelsea Lim, Liza Strong, and Rayce Welborne. With the 2021-22 school year coming to a close, now is the time for students to familiarize themselves with the new Student Council. 

Welborne, as next year’s Athletic Representative, aims to serve as an “advocate and voice for the wants, needs, and concerns of the student body on all matters, not just those concerning athletics.” He appreciated the current Student Council’s mission of “ONE,” which stands for “Our Next Era.” Looking to build off of this theme , Welborne aims to enact changes that will “bring out the best in Lawrenceville.” Saying that while he seeks to “rebuild and redefine the excitement and pride surrounding the athletic life of the school,” he is also excited to bring positive change that will benefit student athletes in their day-to-day lives. Specifically, he wants to work toward enhancing Friday Night Lights games while also increasing student accessibility and anticipation for these events. In addition, he plans to add a ‘Player to Watch’ section to the weekly TWISAL (This Week in Sports at Lawrenceville). Welborne especially values school pride, with his ultimate goal being to “make Lawrenceville athletics scream ‘Big Red.’” 

Liza Strong ’24, the new Community Service Representative, is currently Community Service Representative for the Kirby House. Having organized Kirby Quesadillas and other One-Time-Events for the House, she has already “worked closely with Director of Community Service Elizabeth Ferguson and Sara Chiang [’23]...through Halloween Party and Springfest.” On Student Council, she said that she plans to work more closely with House Community Service Representatives to “weave service initiatives together” and contribute to House culture on campus. Strong noted that her main goal is to “create a link on Veracross with a running list of all community service opportunities each term, including philanthropic club events,” as well as broadening One-Time-Event opportunities for the School. By working with Ferguson, Strong said she also aims to “discuss how to credit students who are involved with community service outside of Lawrenceville.” Ultimately, her hope is to make community service at Lawrenceville “less of a requirement, but more of an enjoyment and opportunity,” including through making Lawrenceville’s community service requirements more transparent. 

Chelsea Lim was selected to be next year’s Diversity Representative; she is “incredibly excited” to continue this year’s “StuCo’s” hard work and the “positive mark they have left on Lawrenceville.” Having worked with the Korean American Grassroots Conference, an organization primarily focused on uplifting Korean voices in politics, Lim already has experience in working with DEI work. She hopes to apply this prior experience to her role as Lawrenceville’s next Diversity Representative. Lim said that by improving “the involvement of the student body in diversity initiatives,” she aims to encourage diversity on “as many levels as possible,” including in the Houses, at social events, and in class. Additionally, she said she plans to work closely with “all affinity groups on campus to help organize school wide events that correlate with the heritage months, including showcases, guest speakers and performers, and food immersion” for AAPI month, Black History month, Women's History month, and more. Moreover, she plans to “establish official Diversity House Council Representatives in each House to [include] a house perspective on diversity.”

Ian Lee, who will serve as Lawrenceville’s Sustainability Representative next year, would love to “see Student Council inspire the student body to make some massive improvements” during the 2023-24 school year. Having been on the Sustainability Council for the past three years, Lee has already contributed to various efforts to create a more sustainable and eco-friendly Lawrenceville. “First and foremost, I want to establish sustainability and awareness as a fundamental pillar for every Lawrentian,” Lee said. Lee also commended Lawrenceville’s current Sustainability Representative, Alistar Lam ’23, for being “a phenomenal Sustainability Representative and leader during the 2022-23 school year.” He hopes to “capitalize on last year’s successes and lessons to create the change we want to see.”

Wellness Representative, a new position added to Student Council this year, will be filled by Cassie Dillard. Going into the 2023-24 school year, Dillard said she is “hoping for productive change, active listening, a constant betterment of StuCo and in turn of campus as a whole.” Dillard plans on implementing Narcan in every House, including training on how to administer Narcan in Personal Development Class.” Additionally, Dillard will “send out forms for people to submit feedback and stay in close communication with prefects to identify and distill trends,” emphasizing the importance of transparency and communication between the administration and the student body. Dillard hopes to continue the current Student Council’s work in “re-imagining School Meeting,” by advocating for more student performances that are “fun and showcase unique talents on campus.” She believes the vague parameters  of the job description for the Wellness Representative will enable her “to tackle a wide variety of the most crucial issues on campus and shift her role as the student body seems fit.” Overall, Dillard is “extremely passionate about this role and encourages people to reach out with their ideas so we can have the most productive and beneficial year possible.”

Lawrenceville’s Arts Representative for the 2023-24 school year is Sofia Carlisi ’24. Carlisi's main goal is for “next year to be, simply put, fun!” saying she plans to “work together with her fellow Student Council members to provide events to better student life and our campus spirit,” as well as to “expand the arts on campus, creating events that any Lawrentians can enjoy regardless of artistic experience.” Reflecting upon her experience at Lawrenceville, Carlisi said that “the arts here have had such a positive impact on me, and I want everyone to feel that art is both a stress relief and a way to socialize.” Carlisi commended Stephanie Xu ’23, the current Student Council Arts Representative, noting that she has “loved watching her showcase the arts on the @lvillearts account and would love to continue her legacy when she leaves.” 

Overall, Carlisi, Dillard, Lee, Lim, Strong, and Welborne pledge to work hard to create a better Lawrenceville for this community and future generations to come.